Annabeth POV
She sat at the beach letting the ocean wet her toes. This place held so many memories, all of them precious and good.
But then she destroyed that in a day. Like the ocean waves, she pushed those precious memories of him into the deepest abyss of the sea where it will never surface again. So only the bad ones remained.
It had been twenty years since his death. The death of the Bane of Kronos, Percy Jackson, her lover.
If there was anything she learned during those times it was that immortality wasn't it was all cracked up to be.
As a matter of fact it was a curse. Sure she still maintained her age and beauty, but it only added to her misery every time she looked into the mirror.
All she could see was a cheater and a stupid careless girl. Everything reminded her of Percy, but it was the ocean that made her feel closer to him.
The ocean was a constant reminder of Percy. Its color reflect his gorgeous eyes that could quickly turn into a raging tide if someone hurt his loved ones, something she always saw when a monster laid its filthy claw on her or any of his friends.
The salty breeze even smelt like him.
Despite the pain flashing through her mind she stayed listening to the waves of the ocean and the cries of the birds circling over the broad horizon. She let the tears freely wall down her pink cheeks into the salty water.
What would he say if he saw her now?
Knowing him, he would probably try to comfort her despite all the pain she inflicted on him. He would give her his goofy grin and hold her tightly against his chest as he recounted when they first met and kissed. He would push down all his misery and smile, just so that she would smile back.
She missed him so much that her heart hurt. It didn't help that every weekend she and her friends would gather around the campfire and talk about Percy. It was the only time they would laugh as they recounted silly mistakes and things only Percy could do.
They would tell stories honoring him, but never once did they talk about their betrayal or the events leading up to his death.
The pain was still as fresh as it was twenty years ago. The Stolls stopped their pranks and many could see Travis comforting Katie every night. Thalia would overwhelm herself in the hunt taking out her anger on any monsters she could lay her hands on.
Clarisse stilled acted the same, but everyone could see in her eyes how broken she was. And if anyone talked doubted Percy's abilities or loyalty they wouldn't leave without a mark or two.
It also didn't help that Nico would grimaced and avoid them. Grover barely talked to them and when he did, it would always end awkwardly with him glaring at them. He would then excuse himself to go back to Juniper or continue his duties as the new God of the Wilds.
The camp almost felt dull like it was missing something. There was barely any fun or laughter and Chiron would always appear gloomy, especially when he looked up to the skies with longing. As if Percy could be hidden there. He still blamed himself even though he didn't even hurt Percy. He blamed himself for not noticing or doing anything.
Without Percy nothing was the same...