PART VII

Two and a Half Years Later

Annabeth

I sigh as I look at the plans before me. Ever since Malcolm and I graduated from college, we've been working on starting our company, and we've been working our way up from smaller projects to slightly less small projects, But the first major project we're being offered is in Manhattan, and I never planned on going back there other than visiting Mt. Olympus. I never want to chance running into him again.

I haven't spoken to Percy in over three years. I don't let any of my friends talk to me about him. The less I know about the cheating bastard, the better. The only satisfaction I get is knowing since he broke his vow on the Styx, he's paying for it plenty in one way or another.

But I can't pass up this project. It's our first Big one. Multi-Million dollar big. It's the break our company has needed. But I'll need to be there to work on it, and it'll take anywhere from eight to twelve months. So I'm moving back. Malcolm and I had always planned on being roommates when we did all this, but he ended up getting married not long after the second Giant war to Maryanne Fielding, a mortal girl from his hometown in Kentucky. They started having kids not long after, Max and Ella Claire who are now 3 and 2. So instead, he found me a new apartment building that is absolutely beautiful in a part of the city I've never lived in. That means new coffee shops, new pizza places, new everything and less chances I'll ever run into Percy if I just stay away from his part of town. Manhattan is huge. How hard can it be to avoid one person?

"Annabeth, all packed up?" My dad asks as he comes downstairs.

"Yes Sir!" I call back. He enters the room and smiles.

"I'm going to miss you, Darling." He says and gives me a hug. "But I'm so proud of you for starting this company. Your mother is too, I'm sure." He reaches into his back pocket for something. "I also wanted to show you this." He pulls out two magazines, and I gasp as I see the covers. Malcolm and I are on the cover of both Entrepreneur and Bloomberg businessweek! "The articles talk about how you started the business from scratch when you graduated early at 20, and how you've already worked your way up to a major project in New York. It's very positive."
"That's amazing!" I say and jump up to hug him.

"Annabeth, I'm so very excited for you, but while it may not have been because of the best of circumstances, I'm very glad you stayed with us the last two years." He says softly.

"Me too, Daddy."

"So…New York. Tomorrow! You haven't been there in a long time."
"Dad." I warn, sitting down. I know where he's going with this. He sighs.

"Annabeth, why won't you let anyone talk about him?"

"Because I'd like nothing more than to forget everything about him. I'd take a dive in the River Lethe if it weren't for the fact I'd forget everything else in life too."

"Annabeth, he's still your husband. Or did you finally file for divorce?"
"No, I haven't. But that doesn't mean I'll ever speak to him again. And you know what? I'm fine with that. I have my work now, It'll more than fill my days."

"And what about making you happy?"
"What, Dad, you think that Percy could ever make me happy again? He cheated on me! How does no one see that? Getting drunk doesn't give him a pass."

"Annabeth there's more to it you don't know!"

"I know all I need to know! I don't want to talk about Percy, Dad. Drop it." I snap. He lets out a resigned sigh.

"Very well, Darling. Are you sure you want to fly commercial tomorrow? I'd be more than happy to take you on my plane." He offers. I suppress a small smile.
"Tempting. But my ticket is first class, it's a little more comfortable than a biplane."

"Then I'll be happy to drop you at the airport. You're sure you don't need anything else?"
"The apartment comes fully furnished. So All I need are my clothes."

"Get some good sleep then. Long flight tomorrow." He says and kisses my forehead. "As much as they may try to deny it, your brothers are going to miss you very much. Your stepmother will as well."

"Aww, that's sweet. I'll miss them too. Just not them somehow figuring out how to switch my shaving cream with whipped cream."
"They are ingenious." He laughs. "Goodnight, darling." He kisses my forehead again, and walks out the door. I sit on my bed and fight back an urge that's like an addiction. Desperate, and very bad for me. But after a minute I give in, going to the bottom of my suitcase and pulling out an oversized Camp Half Blood T shirt that Piper grabbed by mistake when she got my things. I keep it hidden, away, and in a ziplock bag, and every now and then I can't resist the urge to sleep in it. It still has Percy's scent.

I turn off the lights and curl up on my bed, breathing in the shirt and start to cry. This is why I don't like to talk about Percy. Because 3 years later, I'm still furious with him, but I still miss him and I still love him. But I'm not sure I can ever forgive him, so I'm trying to forget instead. And most of the time I can pretend it never happened. But there are nights like these where I'd give anything to go back to him, so I sleep in his still unwashed shirt, trying to remember the last time I felt safe.

"God please just help me to forget him." I cry.