That night, Annabeth slept fitfully. She would wake up at odd hours in the night, unsure of where she was, what she was doing, anything. She would wake up flailing and gasping for breath, snatching at the air, like if she tried hard enough, she could find a lifeline in it, something to keep her tethered to to this world. A few times she found herself lying dazed on the floor, where she would stumble drunkenly back onto the bed before falling into the swirling vortex of muddled dreams again. A few times, she thought she saw a shape appear at the door, but before she could be sure, she would lose herself to her slumber. While asleep, she tried to grasp out, to stay on one thought, but the visions swirled through her mind like steam, lingering for just a moment before fading out, leaving Annabeth panicked, lost and confused.
When a voice called out from above her, she almost sliced through the vaporous mist of the Iris-message with one badly aimed, flailing arm. The voice called again and she shot upwards, eyes wild and large, hair a tangled mess from the twists and turns of the night. Gazing at the message with clouded, unseeing eyes, she was unsure if she was still dreaming. Then her eyes focused on the face hovering above her and she sighed, before rubbing her eyes and falling back onto her elbows. "Percy," she breathed. Looking at her boyfriend, he was almost as bad as she was. Large, scared eyes peered back at her, searching hungrily for the comfort she could provide. His hair was a rumpled mess, as if he, too, had had his fair shares of hard floor in the past few hours. Tear tracks stained his gaunt cheekbones, and sweat beaded his forehead, sliding down his temples. And although she couldn't look any better, the sight of her Seaweed Brain in this broken state shattered her heart.
"Couldn't sleep?" She asked him. He shook his head forlornly. Those eyes looked so full of pain, so devoid of hope, that Annabeth had to resist the temptation to reach through the message and wipe those tears herself, to prove that she was always here, as he was for her, and to remind him that there would always, always, be hope. But she couldn't, or the message would dissolve, and take with it the lost, broken face of her boyfriend. Instead, she glanced down at her clasped hands and whispered bitterly "Yeah. Me neither." Suddenly cold, she grabbed the tangled sheets and pulled them around herself, desperate for some semblance of warmth. She pulled her limbs in tight, hoping to cage the heat leaving her body, but to no avail. Despite the warmth of the night, she couldn't stop from shivering, almost as if the sight of Percy this broken had slowed her heart, freezing the blood that should be flowing through her.
"Is it bad that I already miss you Percy?" She demanded of him, gazing into his hopeless expression. He stared back at her, pensitive despite the sorrow displayed on his face. He looked deep into her eyes, green into grey.
"Nah," He whispered. "I miss you too, Wise Girl." Those words twisted in Annabeth's heart and embedded themselves there. It was beautiful, she supposed, the idea that somebody could love her that much, that she could provide so much to a person. But the words also came with another meaning, a reminder of all that they had lost in the past few years, what each of their experiences had led to- that now the absence of the other was an unfixable emptiness. The duality of the words left Annabeth feeling conflicted and agitated.
"I told my family about Tartarus," Annabeth finally said, wanting to break the silence that had formed between them. Glancing up, Percy's expression had morphed into something else. There was shock there, surprise, mixed with an avid curiosity.
"What did they say?" Percy's tone was gentle, aware that they were both toying with a subject that should be left alone. The conversation could easily result in an onslaught of nightmares and memories if they weren't careful.
"They were pretty ok, comforting. Maybe a bit shocked at first, but I did the right thing."
"Even your stepmother?" The mention of her stepmother made Annabeth feel a bit guilty. She had begun to realise that maybe the woman really had been worried about her stepdaughter after all. Perhaps Annabeth had been slightly blinded by resentment, a resentment which may have slightly altered her perception of her dad's wife.
"Yeah, she was fine. I think they both get it now." The words felt foreign in Annabeth's mouth, but true all the same. Spilling it all out had helped in ways that she couldn't quite identify. The nightmares still plagued her, she would still wake up in cold sweat, with an image of hell imprinted on her eyelids, but it still felt as if a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
They stayed like that for most of the night. Idle conversation, words of comfort, anything to distract each other from the nightmares that lingered at the back of the mind, nightmares that were ready to leap up and take over as soon as they had a chance. Even when the conversation dulled down and ceased to an end, and they drifted into sleep, the Iris-message hovered above them, keeping the monsters at bay.
The next morning, in that hour before school, passed in the same boring blur, but it became somehow enjoyable. She made conversation over the breakfast table with her dad, chatted to her stepmother as she gathered up school books and resources, and helped her brothers build a structure out lego blocks. And although she overheard part of a whispered conversation between her dad and his wife concerning Annabeth, what she understood of it were speculations as to how much happier she was looking today than she in ages. Annabeth was inclined to agree. It was a miracle what a shared burden and good nights sleep could do for a person. By the time she had donned her bag and shut the front door behind her, she was starting to think that maybe she did fit in with the rest of them after all.
As the bus crawled through Manhattan traffic, it began to rain. Large, translucent raindrops lashing down from the heavens and crashing down on the bustling streets. They beat down on the bus, a deafening symphony that would never end, roaring in Annabeth's ears, shaking her spirit. Gazing at the tears of the sky from the safety of the bus, she was reminded of the similar sanctuary that Camp Half-Blood often provided, where she could stand, dry, on the hilltop, yet watch the rain that would fall just feet from where she was, running down the sloped sides to the mortal farms beyond. With a start, she realised it was the first time in a while since she had really thought of camp. Sure, it had crossed her mind a few times, been casually dropped into a conversation, but it had never lingered on her mind long enough to be examined. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Maybe should pay it a visit one of these days.
In her reverie, she almost missed her stop, and only realised she should get off when another kid she recognised from school almost tripped over her. Fantastic. sighing, she shouldered her bag and stepped out into the violent rain. It chilled her as it fell on her bare arms. If only she had Percy's power. She could do with staying dry right about now. With such trivial ideas occupying her mind, and the crashing of the rain, she failed to notice the soft steps that came up behind her, or the gentle growling, until something was upon her.
Annabeth kicked backwards and rolled sideways into an empty alley before wheeling to face her opponent. Before her, sliding along on slippery fins, mouth drooling, was one of the ugliest Telkhines that she had ever had the misfortune to look upon. Annbeth grimaced. She could take on this creature easily. The unfortunate mixture of canine and sea animal hardly posed a threat- it was nothing more than an inconvenience. But an inconvenience was an inconvenience nonetheless. For one, she wasn't particularly anxious to be late to class. Secondly, she was sopping wet and freezing her arse off in this rain. The sooner she arrived at the school, the sooner she could dry off in the warm library. That was, apparently, not the viable option. Sighing, she kicked her boot up, snatching up the knife hidden in the sole. Spinning it, bored, in her hand, she smiled at the monster. "Want to play?" She asked it.
The fight was over before it had truly started. For a while, she teased it. She didn't retaliate to its attacks at first. She dodged, rolled, jumped, but never made contact with the creature. After it had begun to tire, she fought back. Each time the Celestial Bronze blade touched the Telkhine, it leaped back and growled at her, spittle flying from a fanged mouth. Gut curling in disgust, she wiped monster drool from her face, but kept her eyes on her attacker. It was anxious now, clearly afraid. Fear sparked in its cold, heartless eyes, and it held back, unwilling to strike her. What a dumb monster. Most took every opportunity to take demigod blood. So with a final, almost bored blow, her blade struck true. The monster glared at her, hatred burning through its every pore, as it folded into darkness and its essence was drawn back to the pits of the abyss.
Drawn back into reality after the glorifying adrenaline of the fight, she glanced at her watch and cursed. She was meant to have been in class ten minutes ago. There was not going to be a nice conversation with the teacher ahead of her. With a sigh, she hoisted up her bag and slipped her knife back into her boot. She only hoped Percy wouldn't be too worried.