You're Not Getting Away From Me

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Blueprints

Annabeth's POV

"Piper!" I called out to her as I saw her walking ahead of me near the volleyball nets.

"Hey!"

"What were you going to ask me right before Capture the Flag?"

"Oh, um.... Oh yeah, when are you guys getting married?

I just stared at her with a stupid look on my face. "Married?"

"Yes, that thing people do when they love each other-"

"I know what being married is!" I snapped. "I don't know. Why did you ask?"

She shrugged. "I just figured now that you were out of college, you'd get married. It's for sure going to happen sometime."

I guess she was right. We definitely were getting married sometime... I think. I couldn't ever imagine us not, but I never talked to Percy about it. I just always assumed it would happen. But just because I'd never said anything out loud doesn't mean I hadn't thought about it. Because I thought about it all the time. I'd been thinking about it since Percy and I started dating, but especially this summer. Piper nailed it, we were out of college and I'd been thinking it's time. But Percy might think differently.

I distractedly told Piper bye and ran towards my cabin. I sat down on my bed- the bed that was so hard to sleep in because Percy was never in it. We had both grew accustomed to being able to comfort each other when we had nightmares or flashbacks in our shared apartment in New Rome. It was pretty hard to go back to waking up in terror without him. He'd said pretty much that to me already this summer. He said he would wake up and wouldn't be able to go back to sleep without me. I suggested we talk to Chiron about it and see if I could stay in Cabin 3. But we hadn't because we didn't know how that would go over.

Anyway, I pulled out my blueprints. My favorite blueprints. The ones I have been working on in my free time for a few years. The ones that hold Percy and I's dream house. Of course, Percy hasn't seen them and don't know they exist, so basically they were my dream house plans for both of us to live in.

The house was definitely something. It was two stories tall with a small space in between the top ceiling and roof. The front door was up a few steps and entered into the dining room. It wasn't small but not large either; enough room for a cabinet or two and a nice, big table. That room led off into the kitchen and living room. The living room was a more circular shape and was big enough to accommodate plenty of furniture. It led into a small room that held the side door, for coats and boots (and maybe kids' toys someday). The screened in porch was connected to all of this. It could fit some chairs and the right sized table. The kitchen was modern, with a bar connected to the counter and then room for a table. It had a half bathroom, too. All of the rooms downstairs had big, beautiful, windows (some of them had the wide ledges for seats). The steps were in the kitchen. The upstairs contained a long hallway with the master bedroom and bathroom on one end, and on the other side were three slightly smaller bedrooms with another bathroom that wasn't quite as big as the master.

I reviewed all of the blueprints, made some finishing touches, and decided I was finally done after years. I'd drive myself crazy trying to make everything absolutely perfect. I'd have to show them to Percy when it was time to build (and I was convinced there absolutely would be a day) but for now I wanted them to remain a secret.

I was just getting to safely putting away the blueprints when my half-brother, Malcolm, bust through the door.

"We need your help at the training arena."

"Okay, let's go," I say, accidentally leaving the folder on my bed.