Chp 12
Annabeth's POV

I sighed as I walked down the pavement from my apartment towards the park. The sky was grey, thunderstorms getting ready to roll in in a few hours. And I wasn't in a good mood.

Us dating went viral through some kind of leak that we didn't know I about. I was fine till Lauren kept bugging me and saying mean things and stuff. And it was March third. The day my mom died. I had tried so hard to not think about it.

It was five years today. Five years. My mother died five years ago, leaving me to survive with my dad's apologies and Helen trying to be a good mom. But she wasn't mine. I wanted my mom, not my dad's wife that payed attention to their two kids so much and made me feel uncomfortable and unwanted despite how she tried to convince me she could be my new mom.

So I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. I didn't want to talk with my friends, despite them inviting me to dinner at the pizza parlor down the road. I just needed me time. I finally got to the park and walked down the path. Not many people were out due to the weather, so I was left alone to my own thoughts as I looked down at the ground.

That's when I walked into someone. I looked up, apologizing, when I shut up. I gaped at the auburn haired, green eyed girl in front of me. "Annabeth." The name escaped her lips. I unfroze from my shock and asked, "What are you doing here?"

She frowned. "I'm down for my aunts wedding. I was actually hoping I might be able to bump into you so we could talk." She said. I shook my head and was going to walk past her when she stopped me and said, "Please."

I shook my head. "I have nothing to say to you." I said. She sighed and fiddled with her sling bag. I avoided my eyes, tried not to look at her.

"Um, a family adopted the baby." She said. Something inside me triggered and I looked her in the eyes. She bit her lip, worried of what I would say. She put her baby up for adoption?

"What is that? I can't believe you!" I said. "You know I wouldn't have been able to raise the baby at my age." She protested. I moved my hands around in front of me angrily as I thought of what to say.

"Well that's why you don't sleep with you're best friends boyfriend of two freaking years!" I said, and she pulled back, looking hurt. "Because you sleep with someone and you think you're gonna be fine but you fall pregnant and he leaves and you're best friend hates you for it. Because you are only supposed to sleep with someone if you love them and are married and want kids, not to fool around and have a baby you don't want!" I said, raising my voice slightly.

"Because that was you? The girl who was born because her parents slept together in a motel and found out they were having you but didn't want to get married?" She retorted. I pulled back.

"Oh, that's cold. I'm sorry I couldn't be like you who's parents are perfect and you have a brother studying medicine and another serving for the army. And you so don't see that because you are too interested in my boyfriend when I dreamed to have a family like yours that you didn't want!" I shouted.

She looked at me and I looked back, showing my hurt. I pushed past her but she said, "Don't just do that. Walk away from everything because two people messed it up. You walked away from your home. Now you're walking away from your past because you're too much of a coward to face it."

I stopped and turned back to her. I felt the tears prick at my eyes, but I ignored them. "I didn't know till three weeks after when you're symptoms started. And he had touched me and I thought it felt good. But every night I pictured his hands on you and I wondered how I could ever have looked him in the eyes and told him I loved him in those three weeks."

"All because he was drunk and looking for someone who actually was willing to do something inappropriate. And it turned out to be the person I thought I could trust with my life." I said. She faltered and I saw the guilt coming back in her eyes.

"And I could never drive to the Mall on the other side of town because I was so scared of experiencing what happened with my mom. And I trusted you when I told you about it and you were the only person who didn't see me weird because my parent was dead. And she's dead because someone was under the influence. And I was left an emotional wreck because of my boyfriend under the influence and my friend who stayed disloyal to me."

"And I'm trying so hard to get back to who I was. I even have a new boyfriend, completely different from Luke. And they don't know any of this because I'm afraid they will see me different and I'll be left exactly how I was when I left home. So yes, I'm a coward." I said, the tears silently falling down my cheeks.

I turned my head to the left when I noticed people sitting on a bench there. I felt a really big shock to my system as I saw Percy and my other friends there. Percy was on his feet, his eyebrows furrowed. I wiped at my eyes and he opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. "Annabeth-" Rachael tried but I put my hand up, walking backwards. "Don't, you said enough thank you." I turned around and started walking, avoiding the whole situation. I wanted so bad to get swallowed by a hole.

That's when I heard someone coming and heard Percy calling my name. I stopped and turned to him. I thought he might be angry so I said, "I know I should have told you. But I can't do this right now. I'm so sorry."

He tried to put a hand out to touch my arm but I said, "Please don't, I just need to be on my own right now." And I turned away from him and walked.

Percy's POV

I started piecing it together. As I watched her walk away, I felt my heart break for her. I turned back and walked towards the scene. The girl she had been talking to had started to cry and sat on the bench we had been on. She stood when I came back.

"Who are you?" Piper asked. "I'm Annabeth's old friend, Rachael." She said, then wiped at her eyes, still crying. "Are you her boyfriend?" She asked, turning to me. I opened my mouth but I still hadn't found my voice yet so nodded.

"I need you to tell her I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt her, but I wanted the affection so bad that I broke my best friends trust. And I regret it so much. Please, I know she might seem mixed up right now but you can't leave her side. She needs help and I wish I had been there more for her when she needed it. Promise me you won't leave her the way she is." She said.

I nodded, my eyebrows still furrowed. She nodded and said, "Thank you." She then walked away. I stood there, not knowing what to do. "Ann." Hazel said, her voice breaking.

~ Line Break ~
Sunday

I knocked on Annabeth's door and she opened it, standing with the door half closed and her in the open slot. She sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing them. "Percy, I can't-" she started, but I said, "Annabeth. I'm here for you. You can talk to me about it. I just want to help."

She was quiet for a moment then opened the door wider, letting me in. I took my shoes off at the front and we sat on her double couch. I sat, waiting, prepared to wait as long as it could till she wanted to talk.

"About the ex." She said. I took her hand in mine and gave it an encouraging squeeze, telling her I was there to listen to her. "How do you tell someone to their face you love them when you just slept with their best friend?" She asked.

She let out a breath. "I tried telling myself so many times that it didn't happen, that it was all just a dream and I would wake up any minute. But I stood their, looking at them both as they told me what happened. And listened to him tell me it was better than anything we had ever experienced together and she hadn't said anything."

She rested her head on my shoulder and I felt the wetness from her cheeks seep through my shirt. "I wasn't good enough. I never was. And he used to tell me things he didn't mean. And I knew when he did mean things. When he said I was boring because I wanted to study instead of going to his place. Saying I was all used when he suggested the next step and I turned him down. And when I had asked him about our relationship on that last day, he had said I was only fun for a while. Then I became the toy that was overused."

I pulled her to my chest as she silently cried. I thought about it, letting it sink in and also knowing things I wish weren't true but knew they were. We were quiet for a while before she was ready to speak of her family.

"I remembering drifting in and out of consciousness. And I saw her, lifeless next to me. And I called her name and she didn't say anything. And I couldn't feel my left arm for a while after that. And I remembered as they put me on a stretcher to put me in the ambulance, the sound of them cutting her out the car as the whole left side was smashed in." She said.

I felt my throat go sore, thinking of what she said. "And the drunk guy had a few cuts and scrapes, survived. Yet my mom died." She said. She took a shaky breath. "People hear you're dyslexic, and they stare. You're mom dies, and they stare. You're boyfriend cheats on you, and they stare. Of course all Hill could say about it was how she had to spend senior year with the freak around."

I clenched my jaw, wishing I could hurt all the people that had hurt her. "And when I told my dad and Helen I wanted to move, my dad had said that Helen was my new mom so I must stop pushing her away because my mom was dead. He said it just like that, to my face. And it hurt so bad." She said.

I rubbed my thumb over her knuckles, thinking of all she had told me. "Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked, making her just shake her head in my side.

"I was afraid you might be no different to the people back in Frisco." She said. I pulled her close and stayed quiet. She let out a chuckle and wiped her eyes. "I must sound so pathetic, I'm sorry." She said, rubbing her eyes and standing.

I stood and took her hands in mine. "I'm here for you. And you're not pathetic." I said. She shook her head and took her hands out of mine. She looked up into my eyes and took a step back. I furrowed my eyebrows, not sure why she was resisting my help.

"I think it's better if we separate for a while. I need to get my head wrapped around some thing's." She said. I felt my heart break a little. "What? I can help you. We, uh, I could-" but she shook her head and rested her hand on my arm.

"Everyone has tried to help. But I need to do this on my own." She said. I looked down. Ouch. "Okay." I said. I walked to the front and put on my shoes. She came and put her hand on my arm. "Percy, don't take this the wrong way. Please." She said.

I looked down at her. "I should go. But thank you, for trusting me enough to let me listen." I said. I opened the door and closed it behind me, took a deep breath and walked down the hall.

Dramatic chappie! Please review and tell me what you think ;)

-Sammy