Beyond Tartarus (A Percabeth Fanfiction)

Chapter 32- Moving In

Percy

 "Is that the last of them?" I asked as I unloaded another stack of labeled boxes, placing them in our new dining room. "Are you kidding me?! We're not even close to unloading all the boxes, you know, I honestly think you should've thrown away some of this stuff...it is one of the reasons why we're taking so long to move in." Annabeth grunted as she came in with some more boxes. The moving truck guys were helping us unload, well, if you consider throwing all the boxes on our porch and leaving them for us to pick up, then yes, they were helping us unload. Our new house was extraordinary. It was just outside the heart of Manhattan, which meant it wasn't a condo or an apartment. In fact, it was a large, detached house that was surrounded by the bay and a little forest. It was stunning, since the only home I'd ever lived in was a tiny smelly apartment. The smelly part was special thanks to my ex-stepdad Gabe. But this, this was totally different. Our nearest neighbour was probably half a kilometre from here. Amazing, right? I never knew there were little places like this in Manhattan...but hey, the city can surprise you. The whole area was simply perfect, almost too perfect. It was so convenient that I was curious if my dad and Athena had actually created it. But by then I knew I was overthinking it and I needed to just bask in the glory of this beautiful location.

 "Well, that's the last of them." Annabeth said, heaving a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods, that was exhausting. I think I might actually need to get rid of some of this stuff." I took a box that I had labeled as 'Percy's Mementos' and opened the lid, taking out some tacky stuff I needed to get rid of. Annnabeth and I sat on the floor as we looked through a few boxes with little knick knacks that I probably should've chucked in the garbage when I left my mother's apartment. Annabeth said I should give some of it to my mom, but I knew she wasn't much of a pack rat and probably wouldn't keep the stuff for more than a day. As I looked through the boxes, I used a plastic bag to trash some unnecessary objects. I threw out some old posters, some baseball cards (I never cared much for baseball, but Gabe had given them to me, the one gift I'd ever received from him), as well as some other dinky things. "Hey look," Annabeth said, pointing to what looked to be a photo book. Annabeth smiled, "These are pictures of your mom, I think this was her when she was younger, there are even some of you as a baby, see?" Annabeth flipped through the pages of the book and I chuckled at the pictures of me and my mom. A tear escaped my eye and I smiled. Looking back on stuff like this made me emotional, for some reason. I don't know what it is but it just affects me and I'm overflowing with so many emotions. I could tell Annabeth was watching me as I was fighting my tears, I didn't want to cry but I did any way. I let out a small sob and Annabeth immediately had her hand in mine, stroking my hair as I let the tears fall. It was almost like a cleanse, it was all the emotion that had been building up inside of me all these years had just been let out. It probably had nothing to do with the pictures, but all the feelings I had endured, all the struggles that made me feel guilt, hate, sadness. All the mistakes, regret, they were washing away, they were disappearing, moving their way to the back of my brain, to remain hidden for a long period of time. This was a new beginning, a new chapter of my life. Sure, there would still be monsters lurking around, and sure I was going to have to endure some seriously stressful stuff. But hey, I had Annabeth, I had my friends, my family, they were here, alive, healthy, just their whole existence made me feel like I hadn't lost as much as I thought I had. And that felt good.

 Annabeth shook my shoulder, "Percy, are you okay?" I wiped my eyes and nodded, a smile appearing on my face. I brushed her hair out of her face, "Yeah, I'm fine. I love you Annabeth, I'm glad I've got you." She smiled, kissing me affectionately on the lips. I took her by the waist as she sat on my lap, her hands in my hair as we continued to kiss. We eventually stopped, as Annabeth stood up and said, "Let's continue unpacking."

Author's Note

So I'm really bummed because the submissions for the Watty awards are due this week but I'm not finished my story even though when I had started I thought I'd be ready for the Watty awards. So, I'm definitely going to enter "Beyond Tartarus" for the next Watty awards but I don't want my submission to go to waste. So I'd like to know, would you guys share this book and vote for virtually every chapter (if you enjoyed it) when the next Watty awards come around? Please comment! Watty award or not, I love all you readers so much and I hope I can submit my stories for the next Watty awards :)

-Elisa Marie