because, it's not the shattering that causes something to be unfixable. it's that one small piece that disappears into the shadows, and nothing can be fixed if it's not whole.
annabeth chase breathes in quick, sharp breaths, her eyes fluttering open every now and then and closing immediately at the harsh light.
she's broken.
physically, of course, she's almost healed. the gash across her chest is almost closed up; her broken ankle is ready to be stood on; the bruises across her arm are healing. she's clean after god knows how long, and she's finally warm.
but the body is only a case, only an intricate box hiding the soul, and annabeth's soul is as far from healed as percy from her.
it comes back in glimpses, the slashes of her sword despite her bleeding body and aching limbs. she can see her friends fighting as hard as they possibly can around her, the monsters relentless.
but, always, the images tunnel in on percy, slashing with riptide as if he didn't just spend months in hell. they aren't near each other, but she makes sure to keep an eye on him because he's all she's had for god knows how long and she needs him more than she lets on.
and then, faster than she can react, he's moving back into tartarus and pushing the doors and she's trying to fight her way through to him but there's too many monsters and she thinks that if she can just get there she can stop him and he's mouthing i love you and she finds herself doing the same and then, with a rueful smile, he's gone.
for the past few months, she had been a glass vase, sitting precariously on the edge of the table, but in that moment, she fell, shattering on the ground.
now, she knows that jason and piper and leo and frank and hazel and nico are trying to pick up the small pieces and tape them back together. she loves them for trying, but it's a lost cause.
one of the pieces of her soul, the one she treasured more than any other, the one that was the biggest, is lost.
because, she'll never really be whole without percy. he's become a part of her now, a constant just like the sound of her own heartbeat.
she allows herself to think that, maybe, one day, someone will find the missing piece in a dusty corner and bring it back to her and she'll be okay again, but then she tells herself to snap out of it because percy's gone.
percy's gone, and without him, she'll never be whole.
so... uh... this is what happens at 12 in the morning. i know it's kind of depressing so sorry about that but... yeah. i also posted this on my tumblr by the way, the username is bibliophileing, so check that out.
please review!
~ThatSarcasticOne