Chapter 6

When the time for sleep came, my physical and inner self was as turbulent as the storm raging on outside. I tossed and turned in my bed trying in vain to get some rest.

The heavy raindrops pounded against the walls of the cabin. The loud thuds echoed throughout the interior, making it seem as if I was at a shooting range. Lightning would occasionally strike, briefly illuminating the room, and casting long shadows across the walls before everything would return to darkness. When the room was momentarily lit up from the lightning, I would glance over at the water fountain where I had just recently talked with Annabeth. That too would fade to darkness, and I found myself impatiently waiting for the next lightning strike to illuminate it once more. Between each flash I was caught in reflective memories of Annabeth and me.

"That doesn't go in there, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth told me jokingly as I put in some blue food dye into the cookie dough we were making.

"Do you want them Percy Jackson style or not?" I joked back.

We were in my mom's apartment doing something as simple as making cookies. The kitchen window was cracked open, inviting a cool autumn breeze into the home. The bright sun shone throughout the interior. A unique and welcoming feeling of peace was as present as the midday light. There were no monsters, no evil titans to stop anymore. It was just us.

Annabeth was wearing a maroon sweater peppered in flour that complemented her beautiful grey eyes. Her sleeves were rolled up and her hands had cookie dough on them. She was giving me her smile that she does when I do something she thinks is silly but at the same time really cute.

"I never thought I would be making blue chocolate chip cookies." She said. She was still smiling. She had been smiling ever since she came inside.

"You better get used to it." I said. "You have a whole lifetime of them coming your way."

Annabeth couldn't help but turn as red as the fall leaves outside. "I guess that's not so bad." She wiped her hands off before walking up to me and giving me a warm hug.

The sound of thunder and the bright flash of lightning tore me from the memory. Before I could focus in on reality, the flash was over, and the water fountain had already become dark again. My mind tried to retrace my thoughts in a desperate attempt to recreate the warm, vivid image. But it was no use. The steady pounding on the roof brought me back to the present every time I began to get a glimpse of that bright autumn day.

I turned around and stared at the front wall that was adjacent to my bed. The pounding of the rain hadn't stopped. It seemed like it was getting louder. It sounded like a million coins had been dropped all at once on some metal that was right next to my ear. The sound of the violent gusts of wind and the pounding of the rain became overwhelming. I desperately tried to hide under the pillow and escape the deafening sound, but it was no use. My heart began racing. My breathing became quicker. I couldn't escape it.

"I told you I just can't do this anymore!" Annabeth snapped.

We were on some street in Manhattan, surrounded by large skyscrapers that towered over us. Dark grey clouds hung low over the city, cutting some of the buildings in half. Streetlights were just now starting to turn on. The sound of New York traffic bounced off the melancholy buildings, and continued with an obtrusive indifference to the heated conversation that was occurring within a sea of people walking to and from their destinations.

Annabeth was looking at me with watery eyes. Her eyebrows were furrowed down. She was bundled up in a large winter coat. "I thought we could make it work, Percy, I really did. I . . . I need time. Time away." Her voice cracked. As she spoke, she slowly shook her head as if she couldn't stop what was coming. Her eyes peered into mine with desperation as she tried to find anything to alter her impending actions.

"What about everything?" I pleaded. "All our promises? All our plans? Our future?"

"We're just kids, Percy! We don't know what we're doing." Tears began to slowly run down her cheek. "I'm sorry. I just . . . it's over Percy."

Another thunderous boom transported me back to my bed. I quickly sat up in my bed. Water filled my eyes like how Annabeth's were when we had that fateful conversation. I swung both feet over the edge. The cold air wrapped around my exposed skin. I cautiously put my right foot on the ground. The cold of the floor shot up through my body and made me shudder. I followed with my left foot and began walking towards my desk near the corner of the cabin.

My desk was as disorganized as Annabeth's desk on Olympus was. But instead of documents and drawings, things like food wrappers and battle equipment were strewn about. I carefully picked up a heavy, metal shield that covered a large portion of the table. Underneath it, amongst various other things, was a bent and folded picture of Annabeth and me.

We were both standing on the shore of the canoe lake. The water behind us shimmered from the bright sun. That place had become really special to us ever since we were thrown in by the campers and had the best underwater kiss. Annabeth was holding out her camera with her right hand, and my right hand was behind Annabeth's head giving her bunny ears. We were smiling ear to ear as happy as could be.

Chills ran down my spine causing me to accidentally and carelessly drop the picture. It floated callously to the ground, twirling and spinning in every direction until it landed face down on the cold, dark floor.

It really is over, I thought. Annabeth wasn't coming back. She never would come back. The simple times where we would get together and do trivial things like make cookies or go on a walk would never happen again between us.

Then why did I still feel like I couldn't move on?

It was my fatal flaw. What Athena had told me on Olympus after I had traveled across the country and saved Annabeth. Loyalty. Does loyalty to someone you love ever really end? Even with my personal connection with Annabeth severed, I still felt like I had betrayed her by kissing Thalia. There was still a part of my heart, and perhaps there would always be a part of my heart, that would forever remain open in the event that Annabeth were to come back into my life. Keeping that part of me open is who I am. I don't think I could ever completely shut Annabeth out.

But what about Thalia?

Sure, we hadn't been on nearly as many life-threatening quests together or had spent as much time together, but the connection I had been feeling with her since she arrived was unlike anything I had ever experienced with Annabeth.

I thought back to our heartfelt conversation. It's always been you. Her trembling voice echoed in my ear. Her eyes looking into mine as if she had just divulged my deepest secret to the world and was asking for forgiveness.

This, coming from the stoic girl who fearlessly led her elite Hunters into any battle, regardless of how slim their chances of coming out on top were. The girl who was more afraid of appearing weak to those around her than of any physical adversity she might face.

Yet weak and vulnerable was exactly how she appeared to me. She must really mean it. I reflected on how I reacted when she confessed her feelings to me. I didn't shut her down or run away in shock. I stayed there. Hugged her. Kissed her. Our mutual vulnerability allowed the two most stubborn and headstrong demigods to tear down their walls and open up to one another

I felt like needed her strength and her determination. I needed her warm blue eyes and cute little smile. Annabeth wasn't here anymore. Even though a part of me would always wait for her, I couldn't remain stagnant in time waiting. I didn't want to become like Thalia when she became a pine.

The storm's wrath stopped rather suddenly for how strong it was. The pounding rain turned into gentle drizzles. And then, it was silent. The newfound silence was like a sweet lullaby in leu of the tumultuous sound of the storm. It wasn't long after that I drifted to sleep, with the night's events still weighing on me.