The Swap

Chapter 18: You Say

Percy POV (in Annabeth's body)

"Annabeth, stop walking away. Tell me what's going on," Frederick expressed.

I was making Annabeth storm back to the house, and Annabeth's dad was following me. Helen had stayed behind with the boys. It was later in the evening/night.

I didn't listen as I entered Annabeth's house again. The door slammed shut behind me, but not before opening again in no time.

"Annabeth, stop," Frederick ordered.

I finally stopped in the living room and turned around. Frederick was standing in front of me desperately trying to catch his breath.

"Honey, you're my daughter. You can share anything with me. Is something going on at school?" he asked softly.

"Even if there was, you wouldn't know," I snapped.

"Annabeth, you can talk to me," Frederick said.

"Yeah, when, Dad? When can I ever talk to you? You're never here. Do you know how hard that is? You show up for a day every month (sometimes it's even longer)," I explained angrily.

"Honey, my work is very important-"

"So is your family," I interrupted.

We simply stared at each other in silence. My eyes were burning with lost emotions. I never broke down like this in front of others. My identity was rooted in being strong and reliable by others. I wasn't the one that fell apart.

Yet, all of this was too much to handle.

My life, my actual life, was hard, and I struggled every day. I just couldn't hold it in any longer.

"You don't know anything that's going on in my life. You don't know all of the stress and pressure and pain that I live in," I paused to catch my breath. "I try so hard to not disappoint, yet I'm not getting anything from it."

Frederick came forward and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Annabeth-"

"I'm older, and I'm used to it. But, your sons need you," I snapped. I pulled away from him. "Work is important but so is balancing it with your personal life."

Sometimes, I felt the same way about Coach and my school. Pressure and expectations were important but not to the level of suffocating a student (ie me).

"Why did you never say this before?" Annabeth's dad asked softly.

"How could I?" I asked rhetorically. "You're happy in the way you are."

I didn't have the liberty to fall apart like this. I, Percy, was expected to be the superstar athlete, who was gonna put my school on the map. The Coach and my school were happy with me being successful and hard-working. Of course, no one knew of the hardships that came with that kind of popularity and expectations.

Furthermore, people were always around me for my fame and status. They didn't know me and my past. Almost no one knew that I had scars from my past.

I broke down the other day, and it felt so relieving. Today, I was standing up and expressing everything, which was also good.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry," Frederick expressed calmly.

"You should be sorry to your whole family," I said.

"Honey, where are you going?"

"I need to breathe, and you need to think," I commented. Annabeth's feet took me out of her house and towards my own.