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Chapter 5, Annabeth's POV:
I sat on the couch, staring down at my feet. Yesterday, I had gotten my third monster attack since I had arrived back at San Francisco. It was nothing huge, and I killed it off easily but seeing that monster had really struck something inside me. I missed Percy more than I knew, and that monster attack had reminded me off all the memories back during our quest. I missed Percy by my side.
I was sitting on the couch, honestly feeling so broken that I didn't even realize it when my dad called my name.
"Annabeth?" He repeated.
I jerked from my thoughts to see him standing in the doorway of the living room. He was carrying a pile of envelopes in his hand and my heart leaped in my chest when I realized why he had called me.
"There's a letter here for you," He informed me, confirming my thoughts. He lifted the first envelope on the top of the pile.
I usually didn't let myself go so easily, but I didn't know what had gotten into me because I let a smile slip. It was the thought of Percy writing back that truly made me feel like I wasn't alone for the first time. My dad raised an eyebrow, questioning my sudden change in mood.
I got up and snatched the letters from my father's hands before he could push up his reading glasses to see the address. Blood was pumping through my veins and I carefully searched the envelope, confirming that it was from none other than Percy.
When I looked back up at my dad, realizing where I was, I could see that he wore a confused expression.
"What?" I asked as casually as I could, lowering the letter in my hands.
He motioned toward the envelope, his voice full of curiosity. "Who's it from?"
"No one." I brushed it off, "He's just a friend from camp."
My dad looked at me, almost smirking before asking, "It wouldn't just be your boyfriend from camp, would it?" I knew he was teasing me, but I took it seriously.
"No, dad," I said annoyed. "I don't even have time for stuff like that at camp."
It came out harsher than I had meant, but this was honestly the last thing I needed. I was already confused and hurt and I didn't need anyone asking me questions.
My dad's smirk vanished once he saw my expression. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked, concern etching his words.
I tried to put on a smile, forcing out my words. "Yeah, Dad, I'm perfect."
He had come over to take a seat on the couch where I stood, and knew I wasn't getting out of this easily. I sighed taking a seat next to him. "The letter's from Percy." I told him honestly. "You remember him, right? You met him a summer ago."
My father nodded slowly, remembering. "Of course. How could I forget Percy? He's a great kid." My dad said as a matter-of-fact, pondering on his memories. "He cared about you a lot."
I glanced at him. "He cared about me a lot?" I repeated in the form of a question.
"The summer you were missing," my dad said softly. It was still a hard subject for him, but he continued, "Percy went nearly crazy worrying about you. I could tell…just the way he talked; he really wanted to find you."
My heart drowned in a way that I wasn't expecting. Hearing that Percy cared should have made me happy, but it didn't. There was a lump in my throat and I felt like I missed Percy now more than ever. I needed to see his idiotic smile again to remind me that everything would be okay.
"You alright there, Annabeth?" My dad asked, touching my shoulder and I realized that my vision was blurry.
I blinked away tears before they could show. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"You know…" My dad said, obviously unsatisfied. "If there's anything you need to talk about, Annabeth, I'm here for you." He paused, "You know that, right?"
I nodded. "I'm alright," I told him. "Seriously. You don't need to worry. "
"Did you get into a fight with Percy or something?" He pressed.
"It's nothing like that." I shook my head.
"Then, what is it?" My dad insisted.
I gave up, exhaling. I surprised myself when I spoke, "I just miss him."
"Ah, I see." My dad as if I had just given him the answer to all his questions. "So, he's just a friend?"
"Yes!" I said, louder than I meant to.
My dad held up his hands in surrender. "Alright! I'm just asking. But, just know, Annabeth, that I'm here for you when you need me. Your step mom's here to-"
He continued with his usual speech and I tried to act interested. Once he was finally finished, I stood up to leave.
I found myself stopping to look back once I was half way out of the room. "Dad?" I called.
He looked up.
"Thanks." I said.
A slow smile formed on his lips. "Anytime."
Once I was upstairs and safely locked inside my room, I focused on the letter in my hands that suddenly seemed so precious. I remembered everything I had last wrote to Percy about loving Luke like a brother and our incident on Mt. St. Helens. I could almost feel my heart beat faster as I opened up the letter.
I was holding the letter so close that it didn't surprise me that I could even smell Percy's normal scent resting on the page full of hand writing. It was the usual salt water scent that I had gotten so used to these past years when I was with him.
As I read his words, my smile seemed to get bigger without my permission after everything sentence he had said.
Dear Annabeth,
….
Alright, Annabeth, here it goes: I swear on the River Styx that I don't feel "that way" about Rachel. I'm telling you this because…I guess I just want you to know.
My eyes widened. Did Percy seriously just swear on the river styx about something like this? Had he really want me to believe him that much? My shocked expression slowly turned into a smile because for some reason I understood what Percy meant behind his oath. I believed him now more than ever, not to mention that it was pretty hard not to believe him now.
…..
The truth is…sometimes I think it'd be amazing if you were here instead of Rachel, you know? … It's fun to be with Rachel, but something's missing and I guess it's just the feeling of a long friendship that's been build for years the way it is with me and you.
My heart might have leaped in my chest, and at the moment I didn't even care to scold myself for why all of Percy's words were affected me so much. My friendship with Percy had always meant something to me, but the way I felt reading Percy's words was beginning to scare me. I tried to imagine Percy sitting in his room, writing those words and I felt like- for that second- I couldn't remember any of his flaws.
I read on, feeling like my life was depending on Percy's words. I bit my lip when Percy mentioned Luke.
Alright, so I just realized why it shocked me when I read that you can't feel Luke anymore.
Ever since Luke joined Kronos, I've hated him because he betrayed us. I guess, I've never really thought about why he joined Kronos or his side of it. You loved him, Annabeth, and I guess that just made things worse.… It's like I'm seeing him for himself, instead of the villain my best friend is in love with.
… He shouldn't have left you, Annabeth. He tried to hurt you and I can't forgive him for that. He was hurting you and you loved him. I mean, your prophecy was about him. "To lose a love to worse than death."
Reading the last line of my prophecy written out in Percy's hand writing was adding onto the pain from the last line alone. I had done my best to get past it and avoid thinking about the words from the oracle and now they lay written right in front of me. For a second, it surprised me that Percy had remembered it word from word and the more I thought about it, the heavier my heart felt. I knew the words had gotten to him as much as they had gotten to me. The words were like a bullet through my heart.
Do you really just love him like a brother? I'm sorry if this sounds weird. I just…I need to know.
My heart was pounding and it scared me more than ever. As I sat there, the silence of the room eating up at me, I tried to answer his question to myself. The truth was, that as long as I sat there- I couldn't' think about Luke. All I could imagine was Percy, and I cursed his name. I didn't know why that Seaweed Brain was invading my head, and I didn't want the answer.
I slowly brought the letters back to my face, focusing my eyes to read.
The incident…are you talking about, you know, our kiss?
I held my breath. He had said it. I couldn't believe the words written in front of me, and I was so caught up that I nearly turned blue before I quietly gasped in a breath of air.
This is the first time you've brought it up, Annabeth. Now, that we're talking about it, I just wanted to tell you…well, I wanted to say thanks.
….
After reading everything Percy had wrote about unleashing his powers and finding the strength because of my kiss, I felt nothing but tired. My heart was heavy and pounding and it felt like I had just run four consecutive miles. Thoughts were rushing through my head so fast that I was about to lose it.
I finished the entire letter, feeling like a million things were going on inside of me. I waited for my heart beat to steady before bringing myself to the pen and pencil sitting at my desk.
As I sat down, I heard Bobby and Mathew knocking on my door. It surprised me as much as them that I couldn't even find it in myself to call back something threatening in order to make them leave. I waited till their footsteps disappeared down the hall, to pick up my pen. I started to write:
Dear Percy,
Surprisingly, not a lot of monsters have decided to drop by here yet. But, I did get a not-so-pleasant visit from yesterday. It was weak and didn't need two people, but I still miss you Seaweed Brain. There's nothing like fighting with friends by your side.
I believe you. About Rachel, I mean. You swore on the River Styx to convince me, and it means more than words can tell you right now. But you're still an idiot! Don't swear on the styx for something as small as that, kelp-head! The River Styx isn't a joke.
I took a deep breath, realizing that even over letters, Percy could still work me up. I didn't realize why this feeling felt so familiar- the feeling of being annoyed at him because of all the ridiculously amazing things he could do at times. I took a deep breath, reminding myself of the promise I had made to myself somewhere along these letters: I was going to be honest. Annoyance was just a cover up to something inside me, and I knew it then better than I ever had.
"I miss you, Seaweed Brain." I wrote onto the page, surprising myself. If this was the result of being truthful, I had to watch myself. I swallowed gathering myself before continuing.
I love Luke like a brother...as just a brother, and I'm finally sure. I didn't realize it until now, but that's what my prophecy was talking about.
My feelings might be different now, but I still love him, Percy, and I don't think I'll ever stop. He took care of me and gave me someone to trust. He's family. I haven't lost hope in him just yet. I know now…I can feel him again, and I know he's out there. He wouldn't throw himself away that easily, he just can't.
I'm happy that you're giving Luke a chance. If I know anyone who could get him back, it would be you, Percy.
I read my words back, realizing how clearly I had stated that I didn't love Luke anymore as anything other than a brother. I didn't know it before, but it was all making sense now and I knew there was only truth in what I had just written. My heart was going a little bit faster, and I took a breath.
I was almost afraid to keep the words on the page, knowing that I was admitting to Percy about everything and I was afraid about what this would mean for the future. I pushed my thoughts away before putting my pen back to the paper.
About that day on Mt. St. Helens... I just want to tell you that you're welcome. I think you're giving me too much credit saying that it saved your life, but it honestly means a lot that you think that, Seaweed Brain.
You're probably asking why I did it, right? I can't explain it, Percy, but it was just like…in those few seconds when you told me to leave, there were a million things going on it my head. I was thinking about my prophecy and I thought that I would lose you. My body just moved, Seaweed Brain, and I wasn't thinking when I kissed you, alright?
After that I just kept running. I ran until I found Hephaestus, and I told him we need to help you. I don't remember anything after that, except waking up at camp and finding out that you still weren't back. It drove me crazy.
I knew you weren't dead. I just…I thought, you wouldn't come back from wherever you were. The funeral was the worst thing in the world. It hurt because thought I lost you, Percy, not because I thought you were dead. Not knowing where you were, Percy…it was the worse feeling.
So, there you go, Seaweed Brain. It's the complete truth about what happened after I left. I think it's fair for me to ask you now…where were you those two weeks? I was the truth, Percy. I promise I won't be angry or anything…just tell me. Please.
And, thanks Percy. I don't really know why I'm saying it…but just thanks. For everything you said.
Only yours,
Wise Girl
P.S. Three days? Ugh…that seems like forever! But, you're right, it's better than a week. There you go again…always making things better. Would it kill you to lower you're level of being awesome for just a second?
I reread my letter, completely surprising even myself just reading everything I had written. The thought of Percy receiving this letter and seeing everything I had wrote…my deepest thoughts and confessions about Luke, my prophecy, my thoughts. I was scared about how much this would change in the future, but with the courage I had left I decided to fold the letter.
Before I closed it all the way, my eyes fell on the words I used to end the note. "Only yours…Wise Girl." Why had I wrote that? I bit my lip telling myself that it was something friends told each other...wasn't it?
This chapter was kind of long, and I think you can see that I put a lot of thought into this, so please tell me what you think! :)
Percy will probably ask his question for his birthday present in the next chapter. So, if you haven't already, please tell me what you think Percy should ask! Thanks! Please review!
