Annabeth POV
Chapter 11 - I Pull a Knife on My Best Friend
After Percy left, I told Chiron what had happened. He didn't seem surprised - I suppose monster attacks wouldn't be, to someone a few thousand years old. It just seemed like we might get a break after everything that had happened in the past few years. When I said so, Chiron gave me a dark look.
"Annabeth," he said, "this is the life of a demigod. It is unfortunate, but it is your reality. Your burden to bear. You of all people should understand that."
I just sighed. I did understand. I guess I was just a little tired after so many years of living in constant (half?) mortal danger. I told Chiron we'd talk at dinner and left. Instead of joining my cabin with their afternoon activities, I spent the rest of the day in my cabin. Reconstruction work on Olympus had continued, with the gods having opened contact with us after defeating Gaea. In the past year, I hadn't even scratched the surface, despite the fact that I devoted every free moment I had to designing. Well, between it and spending time with Percy. But I didn't feel guilty about that in the slightest. Like John Lennon said, time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted.
My heart really wasn't into my work today. It didn't help that I was working on a new temple for Hera. Ugh, that goddess was insufferable. Unfortunately, when the gods put me in charge of the reconstruction effort, they meant the entire process. I couldn't pick and choose which deities I worked for.
I heard the dinner conch sound. As I walked towards the pavilion, I noticed a sight that was initially confusing, then caused me more anxiety than any temple designs. Blackjack flew overhead, casually stretching his dark wings with the other pegasi. Percy was nowhere to be seen. He had promised to find me as soon as he got back, and that boy didn't break promises. Not to me.
"Maybe he just sent Blackjack home early," I think to myself. That must be it. There really was no other explanation. If Percy was in trouble, Blackjack would have came looking for me or someone to help. "Everything is fine," I insist to myself. So why did I have such a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach? I resolve to talk to Chiron after dinner. He would know what to do.
As I join Malcolm at the Athena table, I say nothing to anyone. He asks if I'm ok, but I brush him off, telling him I'm just tired. I don't want to worry anyone, I'm just overreacting. Dinner passes normally. Clarisse is still seething from her encounter with the Hermes cabin but thankfully she has the patience to keep a lid on her anger. That is, at least, until she finds out who the guilty ones are. I was looking forward to that.
Today is Friday, so we receive a special treat: dessert. Typically, Chiron keeps us off anything too unhealthy, because we need proper fuel to train. But, once a week, we get any kind of sugary food we want. For me, I'm in some serious need of some Ben and Jerry's. Nothing helps the case of a missing boyfriend like comfort food. I smile to myself, asking for Blue Fundae. Stupid kid had me hooked on blue food. Because we've eaten dessert, we're sent to bed a bit later than usual.
Chiron sees that everyone has finished their meals. "Campers," he begins, but is interrupted by the blast of horn, coming from the eastern hills. As figures mount the crest of the hill, campers begin reaching for weapons, unsure of what to expect. Everyone is still nervous from the Roman siege. But then I notice one of the figures reach out and touch Thalia's tree softly, as if they are intimately connected with it. I realize why the horn sounds familiar.
"Relax everybody!" I announce with a smile. "It's Thalia and the Hunters." I rise from my table to go welcome them. Thalia is my oldest friend and is basically the older sister I never had. I haven't seen her in forever, and a reunion is in order.
My announcement doesn't exactly prompt a rousing cheer. The campers all respect the Hunters, and they've been our allies in the past, but a visit will probably mean a few friendly fistfights here and there. All fun and games, until someone gets an arrow in the eye.
As I reach Thalia I hold out my arms for a hug, but she pushes straight past me, into the pavilion. She sits at the Artemis table with the rest of the Hunters and I realize how rough they look. Several are limping, and Thalia has a large cut on her thigh, covered by a bloody, grimy bandage.
"Burger," she mutters, staring at her plate with menace, as if daring it to refuse her. Instantly a double cheeseburger appears. It's gone down her throat just as fast. She looks over at me.
"Sorry for the rough greeting," she says through the remains of the burger. "I'm hungry, and tired. Not a good combo."
I just laugh, knowing the feeling of returning from some quest or mission and just wanting to eat. "No worries girl, I get it. You guys look like you're in pretty rough shape. Monster attack?"
Thalia gives me a confused look. That's when I realize I haven't connected the dots. Percy leaving….I turn to the Poseidon table and only now notice Tyson sitting there, devouring his dinner.
"You mean you don't know?" asks a voice behind me. Nico does that thing where he seems to evaporate from the shadows. I'm overjoyed to see him, but his expression tells me I should feel otherwise. Something had happened.
"Tell me," I say quietly, looking directly at Thalia.
-LINE BREAK-
She describes the Hunter's recruitment trip, the attack from Cetus, and how Percy had attempted to draw the monster away from the ship. She tells me, tears forming in her eyes, about the new Hunter they lost - Jennifer. I've known Thalia long enough to tell she wasn't just some recruit, she clearly meant something to her. But I let Thalia continue. She describes how they got to dry land, and her argument with Percy. As she tells me what the two of them said to each other, I'm not surprised. I've known the two of them long enough to know, and their reactions are pretty much exactly how I predicted. But I'm no less angry by the time she's done.
At this point, I'm just worried about my boyfriend. What she said to him was clearly devastating. I've only ever seen him cry once... in Tartarus. When we were being attacked by arae. Thalia had, with just her words, brought him that low.
"Thalia...that was the stupidest fuc-" I stop myself and take a deep breath. For one, I don't swear. In addition, I don't want to lose control of my emotions. Clearly, Thalia was grieving, looking for someone to blame. I'd just make the whole issue worse.
"Wait, don't tell me you're going to take his side on this?" Thalia demanded. Her eyes were wide-open, and I could swear I saw lightning flash within them.
"Of course I am," I say calmly, trying to keep my voice steady. "He has nothing to answer for. He's always protected his friends, us included. We'd both probably be dead if it weren't for him," I conclude, putting some force into my words.
Thalia loses it. I don't think I've ever seen her this angry before, she's always seemed so relaxed and in control. Her rant is full of hurt, full of passion, her movements random and erratic. She screams at me, and I can hear the betrayal in her voice. Here, the cool and collected Thalia Grace, breaking down in front of me. I realize what this is about. It's got nothing to do with me, or even Percy for that matter. It's Luke. And to a lesser extent, this Jennifer girl.
"Thalia, you can't blame Percy for what's happened. I know you're upset, but-"
"Shut up, Annabeth!" she cuts in. "You don't know anything. Luke was...he was my entire fucking world before you came along! Oh sure, you pretended to care. Until perfect little Jackson took an interest. Then you...you rejected him. When he needed you the most, you rejected him."
I'm frozen by shock. I'd never seen this side of Thalia before. I knew grief does nasty things to people, but this...this was different. To say that I didn't care about Luke made no sense. For years after he'd betrayed us, I'd held out hope when everyone else gave up. Thalia's cutting words have broken my resolve.
"You...watch...your damn mouth," I growl. "You have no idea-"
"That what?" Thalia interrupts. "That you really did care about him? See, it's funny to me. We were a family, the three of us. Luke knew that. That's why he fought off Kronos, in the end. But clearly when Luke came to you for help, in San Francisco, that didn't matter to you! Family didn't matter to you." My vision blurs, turning red at the edges. I pull out my new pen, switching it into knife form.
"Oh," says Thalia sarcastically, "replace Luke's knife? Just like you replaced him, right?"
I run straight at her, and someone tries to stop me, Jason I think. He grabs me, but I spin, and punch him square in the jaw with every ounce of force I have. I see Hunters nock arrows, pointing them at me, but Thalia just sits calmly at her table, waiting. It's all happening so fast now, my adrenaline is pumping as I advance towards her. Then something enters my mind, cutting through the fog. Just a single word. Family.
If Luke couldn't hurt me on Olympus, then I have no right to attack Thalia like this. As I stand, watching her, I realize something else. Thalia was right, to an extent. I abandoned Luke when he needed me the most. I guess that's why the words stung so much. Well, I wasn't going to do that again. Thalia was hurting, badly. And I had to stop turning my back on family when they needed me.
I look straight into those powerful blue eyes of hers, and I think she sees something change in my face, telling her I don't want to fight. That I understand what's going on in her head. I wipe away my tears, and inhale deeply. "C'mon Thalia, we've got a lot to talk about it."
