A/N: Hello there, readers. I'm updating a week earlier than usual . . . Well, I have nothing much to say, so let's get on with it. :D
myfabulousity:The answer to your question is in this chapter. :D
captaindauntless: Thank you for pointing that out. I was thinking a lot of things while I was writing that. :D
DeathGuardian24:I hope the wall is okay. :D
CimFan:I'm not going to argue about that. :D Anyway, you can go out of hiding. Here it is. :D
pjofanforever:Thank you so much for appreciating my story. Your words mean a lot to me, so thank you so much for reading my story. :D
GeekyGreekForEver:Congratulations! Now you can also write your stories. :D
And because I just looove to torture you, guys *cue evil laugh*, I'm going to post the titles of the future chapters.
8 -LET ME LOVE YOU
9 -21 GUNS
10 - CALM BEFORE THE STORM
11 -AVALANCHE
12 -BAD DAY
13 -POWERLESS
14 -STAND BY ME
15 -BEHIND THESE DARK EYES
16 -YOU WON'T FEEL A THING
17 -I'LL STAND BY YOU
18 -EASIER TO RUN
19 -THE RAGER
20 -IN THE MIDST OF DARKNESS
21 -ON MY WAY
22 -WINGS
23 -WHEN THEY COME FOR ME
24 -BROKEN ANGEL
25 -LOST IN THE ECHO
26 -LOSING YOUR MEMORY
27 -THE MESSENGER
28 -SHADOW OF THE DAY
29 -BEFORE SUNSET
30 -NEVER LET ME GO
31 -IRIDESCENT
32 -LEAVE OUT ALL THE REST
33 -BLACKBIRDS
34 -THE LITTLE THINGS GIVE YOU AWAY
35 -FIND ME
There, what do you guys think? Which of the future chapters are you most looking forward to? Let me know!
DON'T JUST READ, LEAVE A REVIEW! :D
NEVER LET ME GO
Chapter 7: WHITE HORSE
ANNABETH
His hand descended and made contact with the left side of my face. His force knocked me backwards, throwing me off balance. I fell to back on the floor, clutching my throbbing cheek. I looked up at him in fear. He was hovering above me, his shadow casting dark figures over me. He raised his hand and I flinched.
"No!"
I sat upright, my heart hammering in my chest. Sweat dripped down my face as I tried to calm down my breathing. I clutched my chest and tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the tears from falling down. I buried my face on my hands and pushed away the memory. The memory of Josiah hitting me. Josiah Hudson, whom I'd always seen as someone gentle and kind.
He had reason to be furious at me, yes, but I didn't think he would do such thing.
"How are you feeling?" a voice asked somewhere from my right. I nearly jumped off of my skin in surprise, thinking that it was Josiah. I looked up in fear, expecting to see him with anger in his eyes. However, the pair of eyes that met mien weren't laced with hate, but with gentleness and concern.
"Percy?"
He nodded, not taking his gaze off of me. After five years of not having the chance to stare into those sea green eyes of his, I found myself looking down, uneasy. "Who did this to you?" he asked. His voice might be soft and comforting, but I could hear a note of threat in it, like he was prepared to make the responsible one pay. I tried to cling into that hopeful feeling, into that feeling that maybe – just maybe – Percy was starting to forgive me, that maybe he wanted to protect me, but I didn't let that get into my head.
Percy hated me. It's something I had to face.
I shook my head. "It's nothing," I lied. "I accidentally tripped."
He just looked at me. I wasn't able to meet his eyes, because we both knew I wasn't telling the truth. Percy knew me too much to believe me. He stood up and sat beside me on the bed, took a deep breath, and say, "Paul found you drunk, hammering my apartment's door. I know you, Annabeth, and you seriously think that I'll believe you got yourself drunk just because you tripped?" I didn't meet his eyes, which, I knew, in Percy's head, meant that he was right and that I was actually lying to him. "Look, I'm not trying to be a probing a-hole here, but you're with me for the time being, which means you're my responsibility as of the moment, and I won't be able to help unless you tell me who did this."
I shook my head once again, not trusting myself to answer. I waited Percy to say something, to get mad at me for keeping it from him. But he stayed quiet, only giving a loud sigh of resignation. He stood up and disappeared to a door somewhere to my right.
I buried my face in my arms and tried to recall what happened, how I ended up banging on Percy's door. All I could remember, however, was what happened in my apartment: Josiah hitting me, us having an argument and me running out of the apartment. I could still remember wandering around the city, having no idea where I should go. It was almost one full day that I went around in circles in New York, wanting so bad to see Thalia, or even Percy, but having not enough courage to do so.
I heard the sound of feet coming to where I was. I didn't bother to lift my head. The pressure on the mattress told me Percy went back to his earlier position. He placed a hand on my shoulder and lifted my chin, exposing my face. Percy pressed an ice bag to my bruised cheek softly. "At least let me do this," he said quietly, brushing away the face from my hair. I looked up and stared into his eyes, those eyes that were always so gentle whenever he looked at me.
Percy cleared his throat and handed me the ice bag. I reluctantly received it from him. He stood up and leaned against the wall, looking out of the window. "Where are we?" I asked him. "I don't think this is your apartment."
"My Dad's resort," he answered. "He, uh, he invited us here."
I nodded. "Why did you come?" Percy looked at me questioningly. "I mean, I can still remember how much you hated visiting your Dad's resort. You used to say that if you ever find a way to burn the place down, you're going to do it without a second thought."
I was surprised when I heard Percy chuckle. "Yeah. The impatience of the youth."
"So I take it that your relationship with your Dad has been fixed?" I assumed. Percy gave me a look instead of answering. I was then reminded that being in the same room as him without having him trying to rip my throat out didn't mean that we were back to where we were used to be. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."
Percy just shrugged. He then seemed to decide onto something and said, "What exactly are you doing banging on my apartment? What exactly did you want?"
I didn't know where I got my answer. I just opened my mouth without thinking and said, "Because I could remember a promise. A few years ago someone made a promise to me. I can still remember it clearly. My family – they were horrible to me back then and I felt like I had no one. And then . . . this person, this friend I had, he – he promised me that he would always be with me. He told me that he would always protect me." I wasn't aware when I started crying again. Reminiscing those moments with Percy, those times that we were together, felt like throwing acid to blisters. I looked up and saw Percy looking back at me. "Where were you, Percy?" I asked.
"I was here," he answered. "I was always here, Annabeth. You were the one who got lost. I waited for you, but you never came back." He sighed. "And you're not exactly letting me help you so don't expect for that promise to be upheld." He was being harsh, we both knew it. Percy exhaled loudly, and in a softer voice, said, "I would've done what I promised, but then again, I wasn't the one who went away."
I nodded, just accepting what he said because I knew better than to argue with him. I could remember back then, when we were younger and still together, we would always argue about trivial, simple things. They were all friendly arguments and I could remember how hard Percy would try to beat me, but he never had the chance. I guess I was the one who trained him into being better in arguments.
I reminisced the days we spent in the library, or the lawn of our school during our free time, how we would just lie on the grass and talk about random things that came across our minds. I recalled the days we would spend in his apartment fighting over the remote control of the television; the times we spent at our summer camp, the time we got lost in the woods. I wanted all of them back.
"What happened to us, Percy?" I asked in a quiet voice.
Percy stared at me for a moment, those sea-green eyes of his making me extremely uneasy. Just when I thought that he wasn't going to answer, he said quietly, "We grew up." He took a deep breath before continuing. "It's a little fact of life, Annabeth. Nothing stays the same. Not you, not me, not our friends back in high school. The only thing certain in this world we live in is that everything changes."
I don't know why his reply made me chuckle; maybe because I wasn't used into hearing Percy say those kinds of speeches. One look from him, however, was enough to silence me. Then, as if compelled by the desire to keep our conversation going, I said, "But that doesn't mean that everything has to change. We can choose to let things stay the way they are."
Percy shook his head. "There are times that we have to let things fall apart so better ones can grow out of them."
"I believe I read that somewhere," I said.
"The point is, Annabeth, we might have fallen apart, and for a moment I thought that my life was over, that it will be impossible for me to find happiness again, but look at my life now. I'm more than contented. I have Noah and Reyna. I mean, I never would've met Reyna if you didn't leave." Percy looked at me and I had to look away to hide the tears that were starting to fall down my cheeks. It hurt to hear him say those words. Every single word stung like a slap in the face.
Percy cleared his throat. "I don't understand why you're reacting like that."
Of all the stupid things he had ever said, that one snatched the number one rank. I looked up at him, suddenly furious. "Are you really that stupid, Percy?" I asked. His lack of response ticked me off more. "Why do you think I'm reacting that way? Why do you think I started crying when you mentioned Reyna, huh? Why do you think, Percy?"
He just stared at me for almost a full minute, not saying anything. I stared back at him this time, determined not to make him think that he still had the effect he had on me back when we were still in high school, but the truth is, it was there, stronger than ever.
"I'm not as stupid as you think," he replied coolly. "I had an idea why you reacted that way; I just didn't want it to come from me." He stood up and turned his back on me. "And also, I didn't want to think about it because it's unforgivable."
He was about to walk away, but I stopped him. "What, loving you is unforgivable? When did loving someone become a sin?" I challenged him.
Percy turned around. "Loving someone and being loved by someone isn't a problem; it's everyone's right to feel that emotion. But loving someone and having that someone love you and yet, throwing away all the love that is given to you like it meant nothing – now that's unforgivable."
With that, Percy left the room, leaving me feeling worse than before.
PERCY
I was starting to freak out.
It had been three hours since the last time she was seen and I had been trying non-stop to contact her but with no success. I'd checked everywhere – our school, her room, my room (I know, highly unlikely, but Annabeth once hid under my bed when she and her Dad had a fight) – but I didn't see her. Mom wanted to call the police but Annabeth's Dad said that someone had to be missing for twenty-four hours before that person can be considered missing. Honestly, I didn't get why Frederick Chase was so calm when I was going out of my mind with worry.
I stared across the street, hoping that my best friend passed by. I was sitting at an ice cream parlor, having ordered two scoops of Double Dutch just so I would be allowed to sit on one of their chairs. My feet hurt and I was tired, but I knew I couldn't stop, not unless I found Annabeth.
After licking the remaining contents of my cone, I stood up and started walking again, this time headed to the library. Annabeth had taken me there once in an attempt to interest me in reading books. It was disastrous. Being surrounded by all those books made me nauseous. Luckily, I remembered where it was and how to get there.
I went inside and looked for her. The library was huge, and looking for her blindly would take me lots of time. Fortunately I knew my best friend well. I asked the attendant where the wing for Architectural books is and went straight there.
Sitting at the farthest corner, huddled over a thick book, was my best friend Annabeth Chase. I exhaled in relief when I saw that she was okay. I went over to her and sat down facing her. She didn't look up but I knew she knew I was there. I wanted to get mad at her for worrying me, I wanted to scream at her that she could've just called me and told me where she was, thereby sparing me the worries, but I couldn't. I knew how upset she was and the last thing she needed was my scolding her.
"Did you know that the Chrysler Building is one of the architectural styles that popularized the use of synthetic building material like glass, plastic and steel?" she asked.
I couldn't help but laugh as I hugged her. "I was so worried," I whispered in her ear, squeezing her. Annabeth squirmed and tried to wiggle her way out of my arms but I didn't let her. I was so worried that something bad happened to her that the moment I saw she was okay, only then did I realize how much I care for her.
"Seriously, Seaweed Brain, get off," she said impatiently, pushing me away. This time I let her, feeling a bit embarrassed. Annabeth saw my reaction and smiled. She then dropped her book, reached across me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She sat back on her corner and grinned at me.
I, on the other hand, reached up and touched the spot she had kissed. I wasn't even going to deny it. I'd always have a crush on my best friend, but I didn't give it that much thought. We were twelve! It wasn't like it was something serious. (I kept telling that to myself, but I didn't think I convinced me.)
"I'm sorry for worrying you," Annabeth finally said. "I didn't mean to just disappear, but I can't take it anymore, Seaweed Brain. My Dad, he – he doesn't believe me. He always accuses me of lying and always sides with her." She said the last word like it was poisonous and might kill her. "And she's just plain evil. She's the manifestation of all cruel step-mothers in fairy tales." I couldn't help but laugh, despite of the situation. Annabeth glared at me and I quickly fixed my expression. She sighed and looked out the window. "It's been like this since Mom left. I feel like my Dad's punishing me because she left – "
"That's not true," I said, cutting her off. "Every parent loves their child. Don't think like that, Annabeth."
She looked at me as though she was questioning my sanity. "Like you will say the same thing about your Dad." I backed away and I knew Annabeth sensed she had gone too far. She blinked and stammered. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." She took a deep breath. "But you know what, Seaweed Brain, I believe you're right. I think that every single parent loves their children unconditionally, only some of them don't know how to express it."
I shrugged. I wanted to get into the heart of the matter and know what really happened to her, so I asked, "Did he hit you?"
Annabeth didn't respond, and for some time I thought she wasn't going to. She then leaned forward and turned her face sideways, exposing the other side that was blocked from my vision. My eyes widened. On the right side of her cheek was a bruise the size of an apple. I knew Annabeth and her Dad didn't really get along well, but enough for him to do this? To hurt his own daughter?
"Oh, Wise Girl," I whispered. My nickname for her seemed to have unhinged Annabeth as she broke down and cried. I knelt and draw her into a hug. Annabeth clung to me tightly, crying into my chest. Her tears soaked into my shirt but I didn't mind. All I wanted was to comfort her. "Why did he do this?" I asked.
Annabeth broke our hug and sat up, sniffling. "I called his wife a witch," she said, wiping her eyes dry. I don't know why that made me laugh. I just burst out cackling. Looking back at it, I was surprised I didn't get kicked out. Annabeth glared at me for a while and then she joined me in laughing. We laughed for so long I felt myself getting flatulence. Tears were running down my cheeks and I was clutching my stomach.
Annabeth was no better. She was literally rolling on the floor, laughing her head off. This went on for some time. Every time we tried to stop, we would just look at each other and would start laughing again. When we finally stop, I could feel a deep ache in my stomach, but that didn't matter. All I cared about was that I managed to make my best friend cry.
When I saw her bruise again, however, I felts ad and angry at the same time. I reached across and touched her cheekbone. Annabeth smiled and leaned into my touch. I looked into her eyes as I said the following words. "Listen, Wise Girl, even when your Dad seems to be so faraway from you, I want you to know that I'm here, okay? And I promise you, as long as I'm here, you will always be happy. I will never let anybody hurt you."
Annabeth smiled at me once more. "I'm going to hold you onto that promise," she said, like she was threatening me.
"Please do," I said as I hugged her once again.
I stared across the beach onto this island my Dad said he had bought some time five years ago. I couldn't help but think how lonely it is to be an island, having only the water surrounding you, having no company. You just drift and wait for someone to accidentally stumble onto you. I couldn't begin to imagine living a life like that.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and I looked up. Wearing her two-piece bathing suit was Reyna, standing over me, looking at me in sympathy. I wondered what that was for. She sat down beside me and took my hand without saying anything.
Reyna placed her head on my shoulder and asked, "How is she?"
I exhaled. "Not sure. Not good, I guess."
Reyna lifted her head up. "Then why aren't you there comforting her?"
"Because she doesn't deserve to."
Reyna exhaled. "Perce, how long are you going to punish her and yourself? Everyone can see how much this is hurting both of you." She took my hand once again. "Look, Perce, you said once that it is in people's nature to make mistakes – that's something we can't avoid. And it's up to us to make up to those mistakes and that's where we should look, not with the faults they made along the way And from what I can see, Percy, Annabeth has been trying to correct what she did. She's been reaching out to you and I think it's time you reach back to her. She needs you now."
I shook my head. Reyna scoffed and took my face in her hands. "Perce," she said, looking into my eyes. "Annabeth needs her Seaweed Brain."
I felt myself frowning. Reyna didn't know about my nickname for Annabeth. "How did you know about that?"
She shrugged. "You talk when you're sleeping." I could feel my face getting hot. Why was I saying her nickname? What does that suppose to mean? Reyna chuckled. "It's okay. I mean I don't think I can erase the kind of friendship you two have. It will always be there, and I know you will always protect her."
"That was before," I argued. "Not anymore."
"You keep telling that to yourself, but I don't think you actually mean it. I can just tell that you still care about her. Don't deny it, okay? I can tell just by looking at you."
"You know, I find it kind of odd that my girlfriend is actually making me spend time with my ex who also happens to be the mother of my son. Should I be offended that you're not getting jealous?" I teased her, because I didn't know what else to say.
Reyna chuckled. "I have complete trust in you," she said. "I know I said once that I'm scared because of her return, but I've done some thinking and I realized I have nothing to be afraid of. I have complete faith in what we have. And I don't want to be the one standing your way into doing what you really want to do." She exhaled. "I love you, Perce, and I trust you. I want you to be happy and I have a very strong feeling that it will start here, by forgiving Annabeth."
"I'm happy because of you and Noah."
"I know," she said. "But I'm also talking about peace of mind, Perce. I can see how much this is bothering you inside. And I just want to help. I know this is the first step you need to take." She smiled and placed a kiss on my lips. "Go now, Seaweed Brain; Wise Girl needs you."
Maybe it was some invisible force, or maybe it was Reyna herself, but I found myself standing up and heading back to where Annabeth was.