I know it's been forever, but I am back now and better than ever. Prepare yourselves for this because I promise it gets crazy.
Annabeth woke up the next morning more nervous than she should have been. She may have agreed to try to work things out with Percy, but that didn't mean that it was going to be easy. There was still a lot that had to be figured out, and she still wasn't sure that she completely trusted him. Percy had technically not done anything wrong, but his whole world seemed like something that she should be weary of.
True to his word, Percy had slept on the couch in the family room, which meant that Annabeth had the master all to herself. She wasn't going to deny that the bed as amazing. It was soft and large and basically everything that a girl could want. Not to mention the sheets were divine. That was what had lead Annabeth to sitting in bed for the last hour instead of going outside to face Percy. Why face a problem when she could lay in bed?
Thinking about what he had said to her the night before still made her blush, but Annabeth still wondered if he partially married her out of pity. While it was true that Annabeth had always been the one that people seemed to see right over, that statement was even more true for guys. The only ones that ever seemed interested in her were the ones that wanted to "hang out" and that was about it. Then suddenly they were with a new girl the next week. There had never been anyone that was really into her for her, and that was also part of the reason that Annabeth had decided not to date.
She told her friends that it was because she didn't want to do long distance when she went to college, but in reality she just hadn't met someone that she really thought was into her. Annabeth never saw the point in dating someone when you knew it was going nowhere, but now she was married and had no idea how to do anything that had to do with relationships. Now she was starting to understand why people dated around.
While she had one boyfriend about a year previous, it was obvious to her now that this was so much more than that. Of course Annabeth had been sure that she was in love with him, but times changed and now she wasn't so sure. He was nothing compared to Percy, and that made her more nervous than she wanted to admit.
In that moment Percy burst into the room. "Okay I know you're not asleep. You never sleep this late," Percy said from the doorway.
"I could have been naked. What if I was changing?"
"Geez it's not like we are married or anything. God forbid I see the woman I am going to spend the rest of my life with naked," Percy said rolling his eyes.
"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "What if I don't want you to see me naked?"
"Well I need to get to my stuff that we both decided that I would leave in here. Not to mention last time I checked you had the ability to change in the bathroom."
"That is an ability I will be making sure I adhere to from now on."
"You do that. Why are you still in bed? We are on a beautiful lake with a beautiful forest surrounding it and you are lazing around. Get up you lazy bum," Percy at that moment launched himself onto the bed. He landed so that he was above her, and Annabeth screamed.
"Percy! What the hell?" However, Percy was laughing and jumping around on all fours now.
"Wake up and get ready we are going for a hike!"
"Percy," Annabeth laughed trying to push him off her, "Are you sure that's a good idea? Do you even know any of these trails?"
"I mean they can't be that hard can they? It's all fenced in so we aren't going to get lost."
"I'm pretty sure we could still get lost. I'll get ready and you try to figure out an actual trail. There is no way I am going into that forest without seeing a map first," Annabeth said as she pushed him off and headed for the shower. "I swear you are actually five!" She shouted before locking the bathroom door.
"Percy, I'm pretty sure that this is not the trail," Annabeth commented after they passed what she assumed was the same tree for the fourth time.
"I'm telling you I followed all the turns on this thing. We are almost to the spot by the lake I wanted to go to. Just give me five more minutes," and that she did. And five more after that. And then about another hour.
"Percy?"
"We are FINE!" Everything is FINE!" He shouted at her. Annabeth recoiled and stared at him.
"Excuse me?" She asked crossing her arms.
"We are fine. Just leave me alone, and I'll figure it out."
"Yeah okay you do that. I'm going to start heading in the direction that I assume is back because honestly you're becoming unbearable to be around. I'll see you later," and with that she turned on her heel and started to march back.
"Annabeth wait!" Percy shouted catching up to her almost instantly. He grabbed onto her upper arm and turned her so that she was looking at him. "You can't go back by yourself. That's not safe."
"You were the one that told me that this was all fenced in. What could possibly happen to me here?"
"You could get lost and not be able to find your way back to the house."
"I'm pretty sure we are already lost Percy."
"We are not lost, and plus even if we were at least we'd be together. Power in numbers."
Annabeth huffed. "Percy my feet are tired, and I really think that a bath sounds amazing. So you can keep looking, but I'd like to head back."
Percy groaned, but consented to her wish. He stayed a few feet behind her on the walk toward what they assumed was the cabin. Annabeth couldn't help but notice that Percy was slouched and had his hands in his pockets.
"Percy you look like someone killed your puppy."
Percy didn't even lift his head, yet still mumbled "I'm fine."
"You aren't fine." She stated as she turned to look at him. When she didn't get an answer she continued. "Is this some male masculinity thing? Did getting lost hurt your ego?"
"No Annabeth," Percy bit out harsher than she had anticipated. "Getting lost did not hurt my ego."
"Then what's the problem? Obviously something is up." This time Annabeth stopped walking and got right up in his face. "Look you were the one that asked me to try this, and part of trying is that we have to communicate with each other. It seems pretty pointless to try this if we can't even make it a day as a functioning couple."
"Yeah blackmailing me about my marriage isn't a great way to start either," he answered taking a step back. Now they were in a face off, neither of them wanting to back off and look away.
"That's it then? You're not going to tell me?"
"No. I will tell you things when they concern you. Last time I checked I didn't have to tell you what I was thinking every second of the day. If so, this is going to be one very long and tedious marriage."
"Whatever," Annabeth said breaking eye contact. She was hurt, but it honestly wasn't even all his fault. She had thought that the Percy that she saw the night before was the one that was going to be around more, and now she could see how stupid that was. It was silly to believe that a mob boss was ever going to be sweet and nice all the time, and now she was paying for the thought. Mostly she was just disappointed in herself for getting her hopes up.
They did end up finding their way back, but they walked the whole way in silence. Neither of them was in the mood to deal with the other, and Annabeth was pretty sure that their marriage had ended just as quickly as it had started. What was the point of trying if they couldn't even spend the day together without being at each other's throats?
When they got to the cabin, Annabeth immediately went into the master. Percy followed her, but only to grab what we was going to need for the night. He left with a resounding slam of the door, and that was when Annabeth knew she was going to lose it. Hearing her cry would only show him that he had power over her, so instead Annabeth went into the bathroom and turned the shower on. She didn't let go until she was fully submerged.
"You were dumb," she mumbled to herself. "Thinking that this was ever going to work out. You're life isn't like that, and the fact that you thought it could be was silly. Let it go."
Annabeth probably stayed in the shower longer than what was acceptable, but she honestly didn't care. It was dinner time, but she wasn't hungry. Not to mention she didn't want to have to face Percy in the kitchen. Instead she grabbed one of the books that had been packed for her and settled onto the too big bed.
The book wasn't that well written, but it had a happy ending, and that was all Annabeth needed. She was tried to look on the bright side. This fight may mean that Percy calls the trip short and she would get to go back to her secluded room and never come out again. She had all the books she needed in that room, not to mention a cat that would cuddle her when she was sad. Honestly it seemed like the best choice.
Around eleven Annabeth decided that it was time to go to bed, so she headed back to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She must have been really spaced out because she hadn't even heard Percy enter the bedroom. That was probably why she almost had a heart attack when she saw him sitting on the bed.
"What are you doing here?" She asked still holding her hand over her racing heart.
"This is my room too you know." He bit out at her, but almost instantly the words looked like they had turned sour in his mouth. "Shit. That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?" The bitterness now seeping into her voice as well.
"I didn't come in here to fight," Percy said putting his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I just wanted to talk."
"About what?" Annabeth wasn't ready to back down yet.
"What happened today. I owe you an apology. I was being difficult."
"I'm not sure difficult is the word I would use," Annabeth bit back. He may be ready to be nice, but her feelings were still hurt.
"I already told you I'm not here to fight, so can you back down for a minute and let me explain?" Instead of answering, Annabeth made a motion for him to go ahead. "I was frustrated today, and I took that out on you and I'm sorry. It wasn't far for me to go at you like that."
"You're right it wasn't fair. I followed you around on your scavenger hunt for hours, then when I finally ask to go home you snap at me? I hadn't done anything wrong." Annabeth cursed herself for letting the hurt slip into the last sentence.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just had this vision for how the day was going to go, and when we got lost that all got blown to shit."
"What was so important that we had to do it today? We could have always gone for another hike tomorrow or the day after?" They definitely weren't going on one now, and they both knew that.
"This is the lake that my parents met on. When they got married my father bought all the land and named the lake after my mother and a wedding gift. I was hoping that I could find the spot that they met. It's right on the side of the lake, and I figured that it would be nice to show you." If Annabeth didn't think it would make him mad she would have cooed. She was also pretty sure that cooing would hurt her throat. Their screaming match earlier had been less than comfortable.
"You know you could have told me that right?"
"It was supposed to be a surprise. I was going to tell you once we got there, and then you were going to think I was so romantic and be happy to work this out with me. I fucked it up instead."
Annabeth found herself nodding. "Percy, I appreciate the gesture you were trying to make, but you can't get mad at me every time you get frustrated. That's not a marriage and it certainly isn't something that I want to be involved in."
"I didn't meant to I swear! I was upset and I snapped. I've never had to do this before, answer to someone I mean. Everyone has always just done as I've said, and now you never listen. You fight me at every turn, and I'm not sure how to handle it yet." There was a desperation in his eyes Annabeth couldn't ignore.
"Percy, I am always going to fight you. It's who I am. If you are looking for someone to bow down to you then you need to look elsewhere because that's not me."
"I know! I know that, and I feel terrible about what happened. I'm working on it, but I need you to work on it with me." Sadie must have sensed her owners apprehension because in that moment she jumped onto the bed and gave Percy a long stare. "Even your cat is mad at me. How is that even possible?"
Annabeth let out a low chuckle. "Percy I'm stuck with you no matter what, and I want this to work, but I won't let you walk all over me to do that. I'm not going to bow down to you so that we can get along."
"I understand that, and I'm not asking you to. I just want you to give me some time. Time where things don't have to be perfect. We are both going to mess this up, and I just want us to agree that is okay. We need to forgive and talk about it, even when we don't want to."
Annabeth felt like they had this conversation more often than they should. "Percy, don't you think we say that too often. We fight all the time, and everytime we come to some understanding one of us messes it up? Maybe we need to let it lie for a while." It hurt to say, but she didn't want to keep being upset.
"So that's it? You want to give up?" There was distress there, but also frustration.
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying maybe we need to figure ourselves out separately before we try to find a path that we both fit into." It felt a lot like a break up, but Annabeth wasn't sure that they were even able to break up. I mean the whole "for life" thing kinda took that option away.
"You want time alone?" Percy had stood now and was standing by the door. Annabeth nodded to confirm her request, and Percy was none too pleased. "Fine! I'll give you your time alone!" and the door slammed for the second time that day. Annabeth didn't know how serious Percy had been until the next morning when she woke up and all of his things had been removed. Somehow he had managed to grab them while she slept.
Walking into the living room, Annabeth noticed that no one was there. Panic started to fill her as she searched the rest of the small house. Finally she found a note on the counter.
Annabeth,
If you want alone time, then you got it. I left, so it is just you and Sadie here. The grocery people will restock the cabin once a week, make a list before they come so they know what you want. There is security at the gate as well as around the border, so don't think about trying to get away. Whenever you have had enough of your "alone time" give a letter to the security at the gate and they will pass it on to me.
Percy
Dun, Dun, Dunnnnnn. So they have hit their breaking point, and just when I had you convinced that they were finally going to get together! I am well aware that Percy is being an ass, but I felt like he took much shit from Annabeth early on that he has a right to be a little dicky. Anyway, the next chapter will probably be from their perspectives of them apart. Give a little insight to what Percy was thinking when he just left her there. Anyway, let me know what you thought! See you soon!
Emily