νεκρός || Annabeth Chase x Fem!OC

Vol. 4-14: babe you dont look so good

ANNABETH

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"Hey," Malcolm said, standing on alert now that I'd woken up. "How do you feel?"

I felt like severing my arm off, but he didn't need to worry about that. "F-fine." I cleared my throat and sat up with Malcolm's help. "Where's Tempest?"

His face paled.

"Malcolm?" I felt blood rushing to my head. "Malcolm, what-"

"No, no," he said, shaking his head. "She's fine. She's still here, and stuff. Just..."

I realized instantly what he meant. "Her corpse."

He nodded and looked down. "Sorry. It's just- it's really hard to see, Annabeth."

I looked away. "It isn't her fault she's dead-"

"No." He put his hand over my good one. "It's... I've already talked about it with some of the others. It's tragic. It's so hard to look at her and actually see that she's dead, how she was killed. Looking at her makes you feel so much- so much pain and loss." He swiped his hand over his eyes. I pretended I didn't see it. "It's really upsetting, Annabeth. I think maybe you should-"

I heard the door swing open. Malcolm's jaw clamped shut and he looked behind me. "Hello."

"Hey," said Tempest. "Is she awake?"

"I'm awake," I told her.

She didn't come around to greet me. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine."

She knew I lied. "Malcolm, can we have a minute alone?"

He hesitated.

"Malcolm," I said. "We'll be fine."

He nodded slowly. "I'll just be down the hall." He got up and ran out of the room. I heard the door shut, and felt Tempest's presence come closer.

"I won't bite," I said jokingly.

She didn't laugh. "I didn't really want you to see this. I thought it'd go away by the time you woke up." She paused. "I'm stretching myself kinda thin, though."

"Come around," I said quietly. "I'm gonna see you later anyway."

She did. She rounded the edge of the deck chair I was on. The first thing I saw was a bloody, mangled hand. Then I saw her shattered knee. Then I saw the glass in her body. And then I saw the gap in her cheek and the knife in her eye, which moved slightly every time she walked.

She pulled up a small chair and sat on it, her legs too long for her own good. Her eye was the same color as the blood covering her body. She had longer hair, I realized. I guess this is why she always kept it short. Maybe it reminded her of her death to have it long. Her nose bridge was crooked and she had some strange scars on her body, just like when she was alive.

She did not smile. "Are you scared?"

I shook my head. "Interestingly... no." Something about seeing what she really looked like almost made me feel closer to her. Maybe because I understood her death better than anyone else- better than even she understood it.