Chapter 5
Author's Note: Yo yo yo, Simple's back with another bangin' chapter. Hope you enjoy it. I just wanted to say that I'm extremely sorry that I haven't updated in months. I got sidetracked with this confusing thing we call life but I'm back now, hopefully for good. I'm hoping to post again this weekend so stay tuned for the next chapter. Anywho, let's get to it…
Annabeth POV
What the hell just happened? I wondered as I sped away from Starbucks and Percy. My life was getting more confusing by the minute. I had a feeling that someone knew that Luke had hit me in the past but the fact that Rachel, the Queen of Drama knew was really, really bad. Then again it happened at the fight yesterday. I'm sure the entire school saw that.
And now Percy knew. Jeez, why was I allowing for all this crap to happen?
I made it to a red light and rested my head against the steering wheel as I pondered the events of the last 20 minutes.
Not only did Percy know but I also had pushed him away, one of the last few people I have felt a connection with as of late. My words repeated in my head: there isn't and never will be an us. I cursed silently at my stupidity. I cared about him, yet here I was, isolating myself from him. Hell, it might have just been a face that I was trying to keep in front of Rachel in that moment. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe Percy was right, maybe I was just being irrational because of how flustered Rachel had me.
Then I remembered that he watched as Rachel humiliated me in front of the entire coffee shop and then his lame excuse thereafter. I can't control Rachel, she's her own person. Those words alone spurned my anger into hyperdrive and I hit the gas hard as the light turned green. I needed to let off some steam and driving fast seemed to be the perfect solution.
So I decided right then and there that I wouldn't be forgiving Percy anytime soon. He didn't deserve it. If he truly cared about me he wouldn't have let Rachel verbally abuse me.
I raced home in my sleek Porsche and parked in our huge driveway upon arrival. I guess you could say my house is ostentatious. Designed by my beautiful mother, the famous architect Athena Chase. I wanted to be exactly like her and was already in the process of fulfilling that dream. I'd taken multiple internships at her workplace over the course of a few summers and had done extremely well.
Back to the house, it was sprawling. It covered a lot of land and everything was beautifully setup. We had a water fountain in the center of the pathway leading up to the door and trimmed hedges lining the sides. The house was ornate, designed to look Greek, with hand crafted pillars lining the walls of the building, supporting the roof. The window frames held regal glasswork, meant to stop you dead in your tracks. As I said, ostentatious, but then again, that is Mom for you.
I made my way up the path to the door. I unlocked it and entered my home. The inside, unlike the outside was much more modern, with shining hardwood floors and a fantastic chandelier. There was a circular stairwell in the entrance room that led up to the second floor. The kitchen was on your left as you entered our home and the dining and living rooms on the right.
I heard a chopping sound and a humming sound coming from the kitchen. I recognized the voice as my mother's.
We live alone. Just her and I against the world. It's not a bad life but when we aren't getting along it can be lonely. I wish sometimes that Dad didn't live in San Francisco with his new wife but you can't change the past. Sometimes, you just gotta move on.
I wiped the tears from my eyes and entered the kitchen.
"Hey mom," I said upon making my entrance. "What are you up to?"
"Not much," She responded, not looking at my face as she continued chopping some celery. "Just preparing some things for dinner."
"Oh, cool."
"Where have you been this morning? I was up and saw that you had already left." She questioned.
"Went to meet a frie… someone. It's not important." And it wasn't. At least I tried to tell myself it wasn't.
My mother looked up at my face for the first time and noticed instantaneously that I had a rough morning. She put her knife down and looked at me with a sincere expression. "What happened Annabeth?"
My lower lip started to quiver and I felt like a little girl all over again. Mom made her way over to me and wrapped me in her warm embrace. Tears continued to flow from my eyes uncontested. My mom pulled out of our embrace and wiped the tears from under my eyes.
She looked into my eyes and asked "What happened sweetheart?"
The truth of the events of the last 48 hours poured out of me like rainwater rushing out of a gutter. I told her everything, to the smallest detail, though I did leave out the portion of info about Luke abusing me. She nodded at the right times and held me close to her when I couldn't continue. I eventually got all of it out and she looked at me seriously.
"What do you plan on doing about this boy Percy, Annabeth? Personally, I'd cut ties and avoid him. He doesn't seem like a great guy and besides, you already have Luke. And in case you forgot he did just beat up Luke." She concluded.
Internally I knew that cutting ties with Percy didn't seem like the correct decision but what else was there to do? He'd betrayed my trust. At least that was the reason I kept telling myself.
And mom was right; I did have Luke for now even though he all but hated me. I showed up at his bedside last night in the hospital and the conversation went something like this…
Me: "Hey baby, how are you feeling?"
Luke: "The fuck are you doing here Annabeth?"
Me: "I came to see you, obviously."
Luke: "Who ever said I wanted to see you?"
Yeah, he could be a real douche at times, injured or not. I wonder why he acts like a tough guy all the time but I guess he's just trying to save face, as we all do at times. But he comes off as an arrogant prick consistently. I just feel he should be more authentic around me. I mean, we are dating after all.
I left him right after the conclusion of our conversation. I hopped into my car and drove home and went straight to sleep, no dinner or anything. I had decided to avoid the unfolding events until the next morning when I texted Percy bright and early that I wanted to meet at Starbucks. You know the rest.
"I don't know about Luke anymore Mom." I stated honestly. "Things aren't exactly working between us..."
"Well, why aren't they? He's a good guy Annabeth. You just need to give him a chance."
And that statement all but summed up Mom's thoughts and our recent arguments. I would tell her that I wasn't thinking things were working between Luke and I and she'd tell me I was being stupid. Luke's a good guy she'd say. And then she'd tell me my thoughts were irrational.
Why in the hell does everyone think I'm irrational? I'm not. I have a brain you know. Common sense and all that jazz. People just need to see me for what I am, an intelligent teenage girl with emotions, just like everyone else. It was starting to piss me off. Back to the matter at hand…
"I have been giving him a chance mom. I just don't think things are going to workout between us." I responded.
"Well why wouldn't they Annabeth?" She asked. And she had me there. I could either be honest with her and tell her that Luke has been abusing me or I could continue to lie through my teeth as I have been doing.
I chose the latter.
"Because we're always arguing mom, always. About the stupidest things and he's never willing to see my point of view."
She smiled and said "My love, that happens in all young relationships. Sometimes you just need to let it blow off your shoulders and realize that there is a reason your with him. The relationship I had with your father was the same in college after we had met." Thinking about it now, I didn't really see what reason I could possibly want to stay with Luke when he's always acting like an ass and hitting me, or better yet, using me for that quote 'one thing I'm good for'. And I highly doubt mom understood the feeling of being used by anyone. She was too strong-willed.
"Mom, after he recovers I'm breaking up with him." I stated matter-of-factly.
She stiffened, seeing that I wouldn't be following her advice. "Well what will you be doing about this boy Percy Annabeth? Don't boy hop Annabeth Chase. I mean it when I say I won't be having people calling my daughter a slut."
To say I was shocked would be a tremendous understatement for the feelings I had for what my mother had just said. Anger, shock, and an intense sadness poured out of me all at once. I'm not entirely sure how it showed on my face but I stormed out of the room a moment later. Mom called my name but I was out the door in a flash and in my car, crying all over again. I decided I needed someone to talk with and I knew just the girl who could help.
