Come Back to Me[Sequel to YME and Crossing Paths]

Chapter Fifteen: Sleepy Mornings and Sorrowful Afternoons

Chapter Fourteen: Sleepy Mornings and Sorrowful Afternoons

Part One

Percy

That morning, I woke up to the lovely view of tangled golden hair. I smiled to myself, remembering that Annabeth was laying next to me. I planted a soft kiss on the crown of her head before carefully getting out of bed so I wouldn't wake her up. I changed into a sweatshirt and jeans, then went downstairs to make myself a cup of coffee.

I got out one of my many blue coffee mugs and set it in the Keurig, waiting for the cup to fill with steaming coffee.

"Morning, Dad!" Annie skipped into the kitchen.

"Morning, Annie. Did you sleep well?"

She nodded happily. "I went to sleep at nine and woke up at seven. That's ten hours!" I laughed.

"That's great, sweetie. What do you think about going to a cafe or something for breakfast?"

"Sounds great. Is Annabeth still here?" Annie asked.

"Yeah. She's still sleeping. I bet she's still getting used to the time zone change."

"Probably," Annie said, getting a dish of blueberries out of the fridge and popping the lid open. "Did you know that North Korea and Cuba are the only places you can't buy Coca-Cola?"

"I did not. Did you know that ¼ of your bones are in your feet?"

"I did know that. A few days ago I was bored so I googled a bunch of random stuff."

I chuckled. "Google can be the solution to boredom." Annie giggled.

A pair of arms wrapped around my waist and hair brushed my neck.

"You left me," Annabeth whined sleepily.

"You're fine, Wise Girl. I had to drink coffee."

"Can I have some?" she asked, burying her face in my shoulder.

"I suppose so." I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

"Annabeth, did you know that Lobsters pee out of their heads, and when they mate, lobsters squirt pee at each other."

"That...is disgusting," Annabeth said slowly.

"I've watched lobsters mate...it's actually really cool. The female lobster has this pheromone in her pee that calms the male when she pees on him, that way the male doesn't get angry."

"That's what you spend your time doing when I'm at school? Watching lobsters pee on each other and fall in love?" Annie asked.

"Yes. I spend my days watching lobsters pee out of their heads." I rolled my eyes and handed Annabeth a cup of coffee, which she then took a sip of.

"Thanks," she said.

We sat in the kitchen, talking and laughing together.

•••

"What is today's date?" Annabeth asked me a while later.

I checked my phone. "The 26th, why?" I asked curiously. Her face fell, and she went from smiling to looking like she was about to burst into tears.

"I should get going. Thanks for letting me stay the night." she kissed me hurriedly before pulling on her coat and running out the door.

"What was that about?" Annie asked.

"I don-" I stopped. Today was the 26th, the day that Rosalie had died. "Rosalie died today, one year ago."

"O-Oh, Yeah."

•••

Part Two

Annabeth

After I left Percy's house, I drove to the New York Marble Cemetery. After pulling into the parking lot, I got out of my car and trudged through the snow, looking for the stone that marked my daughter's grave.

I wiped a few stray tears from under my eyes. I still remember this day last year as clear as day.

"Annabeth?! Annabeth wake up!" my eyes snapped open and I shot up. Magnus's voice was urgent, and his expression impossible to read.

"Magnus? Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Doctor Griffin needs to see you, Sally, and me in his office. It's about Rosie." I stood up so fast my vision blurred, but I didn't care. The three of us walked down the hall to Doctor Griffin's office.

Magnus knocked, and the grim, but strong voice of Doctor Griffin said, "Come in." We walked in and took a seat on the couch across from his desk.

"Well? Is she going to be okay?" I asked, leaning forward. He was quiet, looking through his papers, before clearing his throat.

"Miss Chase..." I was silent. "Your daughter's body couldn't recover its body temperature. She's passed away." my body went rigid. No. She couldn't be. It was impossible. "Her body is in the mortuary room."

"Annabeth?" asked Sally, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"No...NO," I murmured as I broke down. Nothing mattered anymore. My baby was gone. Dead. And I'd failed to save her in time.

I fell to my knees, unable to bear the pain of the memories. I felt guilty, even after a year, that I'd left her alone. If I'd taken her into the gas station with me, she would still be here. If I could have been a better mother, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't be here, standing over my dead daughter's grave.

"I figured I'd find you here." said a male voice above me. I looked up to see the solemn face of my cousin, Magnus.

"H-Hey," I said shakily. He opened his arms for a warm embrace. I let him hold me.

Magnus and I had always had more of a sibling relationship rather than a cousin relationship. He was more of a brother to me than Bobby and Matthew. That was why I let him hold me.

"I'm glad you're here," I said, pulling away from the hug.

"I'm glad you're back in the U.S," Magnus said, smiling softly. "I was afraid you wouldn't come back after that asshole K-" I held a finger to his lips.

"Shut up. I don't want to talk about him."

"Okay. Then talk about Rosalie,"

I glared at him, saying, "That's the last thing I want to do."

"Then tell me why you are clearly wearing one of Percy's sweatshirts." I blushed furiously.

"I was at his place last night. I surprised everyone yesterday, showing up at Hazel and Frank's."

Magnus smiled teasingly, "And you couldn't think to come to visit me as well?"

"I just got back. I was going to visit you for New Years', but it looks like I don't have to since you came to me."

"Sure,"

I turned away from my cousin and ran my fingers along the grooves in Rosalie's gravestone. My voice was hardly audible as I said, "I miss her, Magnus."

He wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me from behind. "I know you do, Beth, but it's been a year. Don't you think it's time to move on?"

"I'll move on someday," I paused, wondering if that was true. "But I will never forgive Luke for what he did to her."

•••

Hola. Bonjour. Dia dhuit. Hallå. Ciao. Hej. Kumusta. Ahoj. Halo. Salve.

Hello in eleven different languages; Spanish, French, Irish, Swedish, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Cebuano, Slovak, Swahili, Latin, and English.

Adiós. Au Revoir. Slán. Adjö. Addio. Farvel. Vaarwel. Panamilit. Zbohom. Kwaheri. Vale.

Goodbye in eleven different languages; Spanish, French, Irish, Swedish, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Cebuano, Slovak, Swahili, Latin, and English.

~Kenzie <3