Trouble
Annabeth's POV
I walked away from the door in a trance. My gray eyes were round and wide and my mouth slightly wavered open and shut. My arms hung limply at my sides as I thought to myself, "What the fuck just happened?" Sure, I was happy for Bianca, but she was just too young, only turning 16 in a few months, to be caring for a baby. I couldn't imagine her happy. When I tried to imagine her living in a silent stone cottage with Allison in the crook of her arm, holding a book in her lap, the image was quickly replaced with a thousand things that could go wrong on her journey. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind as I walked back to my bedroom. I was quickly reminded of the last time I had been on my lap top. I had buried it under my bed and in the midst of a pile of crumpled blankets to avoid going back on to the open tab that I had just been looking at a day before. I tried to busy myself with work and reading, but the urge to open it came back.
I stood, frozen in my doorframe, silently debating whether I should go back on the computer until I lunged under the bed before I changed my mind. I hopped onto my bed and closed my eyes as I slowly opened the top. Behind my closed eyes I felt the screen light up as red spots swarmed in front of me. I opened my eyes to the familiar tab. I had searched, "Rachel Elizabeth Dare-Goode High." The black words were still burning into the back of my skull. I read the line again, it said:
RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE
RICHARD DARWIN'S INSANE ASYLUM, ADMITTED SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, ATTENDED GOODE HIGH.
I knew it the whole time. I knew Rachel wasn't gone. I knew it but I didn't do anything about it. I should've thought more into it, I never should've believed everyone, and I should've investigated the whole thing more than I did. I could've, I should've, but I didn't. I didn't and I was paying the price. I wondered how many people knew. How many people had been lying to me? I needed to leave. If Rachel got out, she would surely kill me the first chance she got. But where would I go? I couldn't leave Percy. I slid off my bed and jumped into the chair at my desk. I quickly pulled out a fresh piece of paper from the bottom drawer and whipped out a black pen. I didn't want to leave, I needed something to stop me. I wrote sloppy and fast.
This contract hereby states that Annabeth Chase cannot leave the state for purposes such as; running away, sleeping over someone else's house to escape, or anything involved in leaving from fear that Rachel Elizabeth Dare will harm her in any way, before graduation. If she does leave she will be pronounced a chicken and will live with the pain of being a wimp daily.
X_
I re-read my contract over and before changing my mind, scrawled my name at the bottom in black ink. I stared at the paper. I did it. I tacked the paper on my bulletin board across from my bed and crawled into bed, sleeping soundlessly for the first time in days.
Miranda's POV
The buff men in their white coats ruthlessly dragged me by both arms across the wooden, shiny hallway. I hadn't stopped screaming and thrashing since they took hold of me, hoping they would drop me so I could run. No luck. Their hands grasped me like metal, forever frozen in the same position. When they dropped me off in my new room the night before I didn't dare sleep, I bashed the walls with my fists and screamed the whole night before a nurse came in and gave me a shot that made me fall asleep. My piercing screams echoed throughout the empty hall. "It'll be good for you to see people your age." the man to my left stated in a deep and husky voice, "You need to socialize." I jabbed my right arm out and in and tried to trip the men. "Get the fuck off me! I don't need to do anything but go home!" I grunted as I strained to break free. "Hey, maybe you'll see someone you know." the other guy told me as he yanked me forward. "You're a funny fucker. Now let me go!" I yelled. He let out an annoyed sigh and the other one grunted in annoyance. We slowly approached a big, white, padlocked door. "Here we are. Try to make some friends and don't cause the person in charge too much trouble." The right guy demanded before shoving me through the door. The door had opened so fast, I didn't have a chance to resist being pushed in. I stumbled to the floor and heard the door close with a click. My stringy brown hair was sprawled out in front of me and draped in front of my face as I looked up. Everyone was staring at me.
I awkwardly stood and brushed myself off as I took a deep breath. "What?" I growled to the audience. The pale teenagers with dark circles under their eyes and out-of-date clothes resumed what they were doing, all but one. She didn't move, her pale blue eyes staring at me, her frizzy red hair framing her face, her mouth in an "o". She had on a ratty ACDC tee and ripped stonewashed jeans. "Miranda." she whispered as she walked up to me. "Rachel?" I whispered back, confused, "What, where? I thought you were dead. Everyone thinks you're dead. You're not dead?" I awkwardly touched her arm in reassurance. A weak smile appeared on her lips and she told me, "No. I'm not dead. The doctors told me that everyone thinks I am, though. They're almost sure that I'm never getting out of here. What happened to you?" I reluctantly told her about my addiction and how Annabeth was spying on me. At first, she looked horrified, but that look slowly twisted into a mischievous one. "That means you hate Annabeth, too." she confirmed. A hot pit of rage boiled in my stomach as I responded, "More than anything." Rachel walked in a circle around me. "Good." she chirped, "Then we both can get out of this shit hole and get revenge. But, in order to do that, we need to be good. We need to be the nicest, sweetest, most innocent people in the whole hospital. If we succeed, we will be let out and then we can both kill Annabeth Chase. Are you with me?" She stopped circling me and held out her hand, ready for an agreement shake. I evilly smiled and took her hand, giving it a big, single shake. "We have ourselves a deal."
Annabeth's POV
I woke up to the sound of my cell phone. The classic AT&T tone jingled from my dresser. I checked the screen, it was Percy. I tapped the receive button and pressed the phone to my ear. "Hello, sexy." I sang as I swung my legs off the bed. "What's up?" I glanced at my digital neon clock. It was nine o'clock at night. I had slept through the day, thank God I was home alone or I would be in trouble for sleeping so long. My dad and Kristen had taken Bobby and Matthew out to the golf course for the day and were sleeping at aunt Bullshit's. "Nothing much." Percy replied, "Just thinking about you. We haven't been together for a while." I knew what he was trying to say, even though he hadn't said it. He wanted to make out with me, that horny ass. But, that horny ass was my boyfriend, and I wanted to make out with him, too. So, I invited him over. While I waited, I put on my prettiest bra and underwear under my pajamas. Just in case. *Wink, wink* I flat-ironed my hair while I waited. When the doorbell rang, I flicked the flat iron off and slid in my socks to the door. I opened it and got hit in the face with cold air. Percy walked in. "Hey, beautiful." he droned, kissing me. I dragged him into my bedroom and we both sat on my bed. Sitting in my green bedroom with an empty house alone with Percy was too much for me to handle. From the opposite side of my small bed, I could smell his salty radiance and feel the energy coming off him. I scooted across my flowered bedspread, moving closer. Luckily, he pulled me onto his lap and pressed his lips to mine. I pressed my chest closer to his and we fell over so we were both lying on the bed. He gently ran his fingers though my straightened hair and kissed me harder. I wrapped my legs around him and pulled the covers over us. I felt his gentle hands pull my shirt off and his shirt came off shortly after. The rest was a blur of bliss.
When I woke up the next morning, I was squished against Percy, who was snoring. Sun peeked through the curtains and nearly blinded me. I shielded my face and nudged Percy awake. "Murf?" he grunted as he sat up, "Oh, hey. Good morning." I was slightly confused and my brain wasn't fully functioning yet so I blindly asked him, "Percy, did we have sex?" He thought for a minute before responding, "Nope. We came pretty close, though." I sighed with relief. Being pregnant was one of the last things I wanted to be. "Good." I stated. I pulled my shirt back over my head and he put his shirt back on too. Tying my hair in a ponytail, I led Percy into the kitchen, where we ate Lucky Charms and drank English Breakfast Tea, which I introduced to Percy. I didn't even think of my family before they walked in the front door Percy and I were talking about school in the kitchen. My dad looked shocked to see Percy. "Oh, hello Percy." he greeted. "Hello, Mr. Chase." Percy responded, like a good boyfriend, "Good morning. Annabeth and I were just hanging out. I'd better get going." he quickly shuffled out of the house. "Annabeth," Kristen cleared her throat as she entered, "Did we say you could have anyone over?" I was shocked, it was only Percy. "Um, no. But it's only Percy. It's not like I invited some stranger into the house."
"Still, we didn't say you could have friends over."
"Okay, sorry. It won't happen again."
My dad butted in, "Kristen, it's okay."
"No, it's not. You're grounded."
I was taken off guard. "Grounded? I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Kristen, we don't need to do this." My dad tried to help as I stood in shock.
"You don't know how to punish and take control. She needs to learn her lesson."
"But we never told her she couldn't have anyone over."
"Well, she should've used her common sense."
I'd had it. I stormed to my room and threw my jeans and a sweater on. I jammed my feet into my Uggs and zipped my hoodie up as I listened to my parents argue. Shoving my phone and a five dollar bill into my pocket, I opened the window and jumped onto the nearest tree branch, where I swung down and gently landed on the dewy grass. As I hopped on my bike, I planned to ride to a coffee shop in the next town over. My contract only stated that I couldn't leave town in fear of Rachel. I wasn't afraid.