"Annabeth," Percy said.

Annabeth blinked and raised her eyes to his face. He had a very serious face on, his eyebrows furrowed and his jaw set.

"Am I…a vegetable?"

"No," Annabeth replied, her eyes shooting quickly to his head that a card was stuck on. In bold black letters, it said BEETLE. Annabeth adjusted her own headband and touched the card that was secured in it.

"Oh, come on! I need a hint. This is impossible," Percy complained, frowning.

"Lilly got hers on the first try!" Annabeth said, looking over at Lilly who was staring at them, waiting for them to find out what was on their cards.

"Hers was cheese! That's her answer to everything!"

"She still beat you," Annabeth retorted. When Percy opened his mouth to protest, Annabeth cut him off. "It's my turn. Am I a ghost?"

Percy threw down his card. "Are you kidding me?! How do you even guess that? This was rigged."

Annabeth laughed and pulled down her own card. Percy had already said she didn't walk, she didn't eat food, and she was white. What else could she possibly be?

"A beetle?!" Percy cried as he read his card. "How am I supposed to know I'm a beetle?!"

"Stop whining," Annabeth said, pushing against his chest. He fell easily, landing on his back and refusing to move.

"I quit."

"You lost."

"Whatever," Percy grumbled.

Lilly giggled just as the timer on the oven went off.

After Percy tucked Lilly into bed and read her a story, Annabeth helped him with cleaning the kitchen and doing the dishes. They had grilled chicken salads for dinner, except neither of them knew how to grill (they didn't even have a grill for that matter), so they ended up baking the chicken instead.

Percy picked a piece of ranch-soaked lettuce out of the sink and tossed it at Annabeth. Not expecting an attack, she didn't dodge it, and it landed in her hair.

"Percy!" she hissed, pulling the food out and tossing back at him. He expected this though and smacked it away. It landed back in the sink. "My hair is going to smell like Ranch Dressing now," Annabeth complained. She grabbed a paper towel and tried to get out as much ranch out as she could.

"You suck," Percy said. "You totally could have dodged that."

"Well excuse me, but I was busy doing the dishes."

"Excuses, excuses," he chided.

She reached over to push him, but he jokingly lashed out and caught her wrist. She could see the scar on the inside of her wrist and immediately tried to pull away, afraid he would notice. Her struggle only made him look down and he saw it. He let her go.

"What's that?" he asked.

She turned from him and began washing dishes again. "Nothing," she said, attempting to keep the panic out of her voice.

Percy reached over and gently took her wrist again. He turned it to face him and gently brushed his fingers over the pink skin. She had forgotten about that scar.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice soft.

"Oh, I just…." She couldn't think of a lie fast enough and Percy caught her. No one had ever asked about that scar, so she never had to make up a false story of how she got it.

"Did you…did you cut yourself?"

Annabeth's eyes widen, horrified, and she jerked her arm back towards her. "No!" she said quickly. She never saw the point of inflicting pain on herself when she already received it from someone else. "No, I never…it was an accident."

Percy's eyes narrow and she turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest protectively. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him everything, but she shoved that feeling down and bit the inside of her cheek. "Don't worry about it," she said after a moment, but Percy was way too interested now to give up.

"Annabeth…."

She could feel him behind her, hear his breathing and smell that strange salty smell he had. Her heartbeat was erratic and she wanted to leave. I need to go home, she told herself, but she remained firmly in the same spot.

Percy's hands very gently touched her elbows, and she had to choke back a sob. Don't cry, she scolded herself. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. Stop being so emotional. At the sound Annabeth made, Percy wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly against him.

"It's okay," he whispered, and even though he had no idea what Annabeth was even upset about, the fact that he was comforting her made her want to stay with him forever.

"You can tell me anything, Annabeth, I swear."

And then she broke. It was as if something inside her had snapped, and a bubble of anger and sadness burst. She wiggled free of his arms and told him everything. She told him how she started her first job at sixteen years old at a restaurant and met her husband. She told him how she fell in love and how he proposed when she was eighteen and how she thought he was most perfect man. That is, until he hit her for the first time. He had been drinking, as usual, and she accidentally dropped one of his mother's glass bowls she gave him and he swung at her. She had a black eye, and refused to sleep in the bed with him; she chose the couch instead. But when she woke up, there were flowers and chocolates and a giant teddy bear. So she forgave him. Then he hit her again, over something so simple she couldn't even remember. And then he told her he loved her, but she had to act right or she would be punished. After the third time, Annabeth knew she didn't love him anymore. He was not the man she fell in love with. She didn't know where that man went, but she never saw him again.

But she couldn't stop there. It was like a dam had broken, and she couldn't stop the words from tumbling from her mouth. She told him how many times he cheated on her and how many times she'd caught him in their own bed with another woman, but he always blamed her. He told her if she didn't close her legs as much as she did, he wouldn't have to cheat on her.

She told him of all the times he hit her and cut her and dragged her around. She didn't realize she was crying until Percy gently brushed her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. Annabeth finally came to a shuddering stop and took a deep breath. Percy's expression was unreadable. Did he not like her anymore? She shouldn't have said anything.

"Annabeth…I am so sorry," Percy finally said, his voice ragged.

"That's why I ignored you," she blurted. "I was afraid if he came here, he would hurt you, or I would have to leave and I didn't to do that to you. I had to distance myself."

Percy nodded. She could tell he didn't know what to say. He cupped her face and stared into her eyes. She felt unbelievably vulnerable now that he knew her biggest secret.

"I swear he will never touch you again," Percy said, his voice hard. Annabeth leaned into his touch and almost felt like crying again. In her chest, she was sure something had been lifted away. She no longer felt like someone was sitting on her chest.

"You won't get mad, will you?" Percy asked. He brushed his thumb over her chin. She shook her head. She didn't know why she would get mad at him. Then he leaned down and kissed her. It was soft and nice and Annabeth let herself enjoy it. Her mind went blank and she only focused on Percy and his lips and his fingers pressed against her spine. Her own fingers curled against his chest and his arms went around her waist.

"Daddy?"

Annabeth and Percy jumped apart to see Lilly standing in the doorway, giggling.