His Return

23. The Golden Blade

Chapter 23: The Golden Blade

NYC, DARIEN, U.S.A
20 minutes later
Sally Jackson's Abode

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Annabeth had thought of a variety of things that could go wrong when Percy showed up— he could shout at her. He could curse at her. He could've even hit her, and maybe that might've hurt less than the reality of the situation she was now faced with.

Death had always been something that Annabeth was weary of, but right now, in this moment, she would much rather have all the life leave her body than deal with the thought of having her two beautiful babies being taken away from her.

She'd always been fond of challenges— ever since she was a little girl, but this... it was just too much to wrap her head around. It hurt more than she could ever imagine; more than any injury she'd ever gotten while fighting for her life, and it wasn't something that she liked at all. It felt like she was being ripped to shreds from inside out, and she was almost certain that her grip on her mental state was being dwindled.

Annabeth sat on the floor in a corner of the living room, her knees held to her chest as she rocked slightly back and forth. She whispered almost incoherent words that sounded something along the lines of  "you can't take them," but Perseus didn't know who she was trying to convince.

She would look over at him occasionally and her cheeks would become a burning shade of pink before she placed her chin on her thighs again. She just looked sad and feeble, and very much defeated.

"Percy..."

Annabeth spoke so quietly that even Perseus's trained ears almost missed the sound of his name being called. Nonetheless, he pivoted his neck and focused his attention onto her, only to see that she was staring directly at him like a distressed puppy.

"What?"

She stood up and walked over to him in a brisk manner. Annabeth took his hands in hers and pulled Percy close to her, completely disregarding the fact that he was married and she was crossing a line. After everything had been said and done, she didn't care about the consequences of her actions. Her feelings had already been hurt beyond repair, but she didn't want to just stand by when there might actually be a chance that she could persuade Percy to let her keep her children.

"Please..."

Percy looked down at her, and she suddenly felt a chill run up her spine. She had to resist the pleading urge to look away from his churning bright red eyes that she would never get used to, though reluctantly, she held his gaze.

"Just... can we please... just work something out?" She could only hope that there was a part of him that still loved her enough to let her keep the people that were nearest and dearest to her. Even if she didn't see them every day, Annabeth still needed to be a part of their life. "We can do split custody." She tried. "We can find a way. Just please... don't do this to me."

Percy just looked at her blankly and wordless until he finally cracked, the corners lips turning up to form a smile. At some point he'd began laughing.

"What's funny?" Annabeth asked him, becoming aggravated with him and his actions.

"You are." He said it like it was supposed to be obvious. "I said what I said, and I stand by that. Unless you intend on living in Tartarus with them, it's not gonna happen. Understand?"

Annabeth sneered at Percy and pushed him away. She knew it wasn't the most sensible thing to do, but she brought her hand back and swung it with force, her aim being to slap him square in the face.