Chapter 1

(Isn't it lovely? All alone.)

Oh, I hope someday I'll make it out of here

Even if it takes all night or a hundred years

Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near

Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear

At this point, Annabeth wanted to laugh at herself. It was downright foolish, naive of her to think that at least this one thing in her life would go the way she wanted it to. All she wanted to do was to get out of this stupid dress, wipe this fake smile off her face and just leave. She knew she deserved the promotion, hell even Diane Bloomwood knew she deserved it. But, nope, you do the right thing by reporting your douche of a boss to HR when he makes a pass at you, instead of jumping in his bed and you are never going to get the promotion because suddenly you are too stuck up for your own good. Not that Annabeth was desperate for this promotion, she was only 24 and had already established herself in the firm. But her entire week had gone horribly wrong. Tristan had called yesterday and informed her that things weren't looking good, the doctors themselves were giving up. Her little conversation with Piper did not do much to ease her worries.

"Would you look at Diane? As if she wasn't a pompous ass before! You should have gotten that promotion Annabeth, anybody in their right mind knows that." Ellie whispered, bringing Annabeth back from her gloom-ridden thoughts.

"Well, what can you do? That's life," she replied with the same fake smile. When was the last time she had genuinely smiled? Annabeth gulped down the wine in her glass.

"Yeah, but-"

"Listen, Ellie, I'm grateful that you think that. I really am. But I'm just going to head out now, it is getting pretty late. You enjoy the party." She didn't want to be rude, but she knew Ellie or anyone else in the room didn't give a hoot about merit, they all wanted some kind of gossip. Annabeth had no interest in indulging them.

With that, she all but rushed out of the building she had worked for years to get into. She knew the world of corporate America was no cakewalk, but with all the other things going on in her life she just couldn't take it anymore. Why was her life so fucking complicated? A damn soap opera.

Her parents had gotten a divorce when she was 12. Dad had fallen in love with someone else and mother was, well, mother. Nana Sophie didn't want Annabeth to get hurt in the crossfire of the blame games. So, she took her away to Belt Buckle, the town Nana Sophie grew up in. Annabeth had been ecstatic to get away from all the shouting and Nana loved her to death. She was pampered, adored, doted on, loved. The years she spent with her Nana were quite literally, the days of her life. She had experiences, met people, and formed bonds she could never forget. More so, she could never forget his stupid endearing grin, his sarcasm, his jokes, his adorably annoying personality, him .

But her life had always been a cosmic train wreck, so of course, it came to an end, all goods things did. Nana had a heart attack at the end of Annabeth's junior year and with a blink of an eye, she was whisked away to New York. Her life, uprooted, again.

Since her dad was too busy living the American dream with his wife and two kids, Athena brought her back. Athena was the opposite of Nana, to put it mildly. Annabeth often wondered if Nana had adopted Athena, Nana was generous that way.

Annabeth had always loved buildings. There was a certain fascination about the high rises, the domes, the arches that used to draw her in. Architecture for her used to be a medium onto which she could project her thoughts, emotions, ideas, and knowledge. But soon it turned into a tool through which Athena tried to mold Annabeth into her version of an ideal, perfect daughter. With all these thoughts weighing heavily on her, she wrapped her hands around herself trying to find some semblance of warmth as she reached the parking lot.

As soon as she got into her car, as if Satan himself wanted to rub salt in her wound, she heard her phone ring. She knew it could only be two people, and both were bearers of bad news. She had half a mind to just throw the phone out of the car window. Steeling herself, she picked it up.

"Do I now address you as Annabeth Chase, head architect of the downtown project?" The stern voice on the other side asked.

Annabeth scoffed. Typical .

"Good evening Mother, how are you?"

"Depends on how you answer my question, Annabeth."

Annabeth sighed, "I'm sorry to keep letting you down Mother, but I didn't get it. Wilkinson is an-"

"What else could I expect from you? Of course, you didn't get it."

"Pardon me? I worked day and night for this Athena. It's not my fault that-"

"Excuses seem to be the only thing you are good at. I had such great aspirations for you when I took you back from that town. Such wasted potential. If only you were willing to face reality and let go of that tiny strand of hope for her, you would-"

Annabeth's blood boiled at this. She had had enough. "Don't. Don't bring her into this. She is the only good thing in my life. I am done trying to reach the expectations you set for me. If you are that disappointed in me, feel free to call someone else your daughter, someone who might be deserving in your eyes. You are barely my mother."

Her eyes burned, she threw the phone in the passenger seat and drove. Athena had hit a nerve. She never wanted to leave, she had to. She could not, would not give up on Piper.

Annabeth found herself aching for the comfort and support she had got from the people in Belt Buckle.

Nana Sophie squished Annabeth's face between her fingers. "Young lady, I am not sure I know you. Are you here to steal from an old woman?"

"Nana, what?" Nana moved to sit beside Annabeth on the porch of their house.

"Well, you cannot be my beautiful Annabeth. My granddaughter wouldn't let a silly thing such as some dumb competition that no one will remember tomorrow, bring her down. So, I cannot recognize you with that frown."

Annabeth curled into herself, "I stayed up late for so many nights preparing for the debate Nana, I don't know where I went wrong."

Nana gently pried away Annabeth's hands and held them, her eyes giving Annabeth a stern look.

"Annabeth, child, you know you gave your best. That is the only thing that should matter. You cannot control every outcome of everything you do. Don't seek validation from other people, be your own person, Chérie. We humans cannot decide how things will play out. You might lose one battle but win two."

"But-", Annabeth was interrupted by two voices shouting her name. She almost laughed as she saw the boys running toward her house, shouting in the middle of the streets.

"Beth! I bought cookies and Grover bought his reed pipes, c'mon we will go to the park-"

Nana laughed silently beside her, "That boy sure has perfect timing, now chin up Chérie and enjoy your afternoon or I'll make you clean the porch by yourself. Remember what I said, this old woman is pretty wise."

Annabeth grinned, pulled her Nana into an embrace, and took off running. "Thank you, Nana, you're the best! I'll be back for dinner."

My, how things have changed.

Unlocking the door of her apartment, Annabeth stumbled into the shower. It took all her willpower to not collapse on the bathroom floor. She changed into her comfort pajamas and cocooned herself in her blankets, ready to sleep and tune out all her problems.

Annabeth was thankful to all the gods above that it was the weekend. She had visited Piper on Thursday and after the office party, she did not have any energy. All she wanted to do was eat loads of chocolate and sleep. Sleeping helped, she no longer lived in this fucked up world, she could dream about the good things in life that seemed so far out of her reach, in reality. When she went to bed on Sunday night, she hoped again, prayed again, that things would get better, as she did every night, but she should have known that hope was a bitch.

What the fuck?

Annabeth woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. What now?

Grumbling to herself, she put the phone on speaker and instantly wished she hadn't. Ignorance was bliss.

"Annabeth," the shaky voice whispered, "The doctors have - she- they said- I – uh - I think you should come Annabeth."

She didn't have to hear more to make out what those words meant. She had dreaded this moment.

Her blood ran cold. She jumped out of the bed and rushed to the place she had been going to for the last 3 months. Just like that, she knew her life would irrevocably change again. This time she didn't try to stop the tears.

A/N: This is my first fic ever and what better day to post it on Percy's birthday! It's gonna be short and sweet with weekly updates. Do let me know your thoughts by reviewing.