Awakened Memories

I Need A Hand

I Need A Hand

Annabeth

"I'm just gonna leave." Tammy said and made her escape out the door.

Thalia tried to follow her. "I'll go with you."

"Not so fast, Thalia." Percy stopped her.

She winced and turned to face him. "I knew that was coming."

"You've spent enough time there. Come back. I've been busy covering for you but everyone wants to know where you are. If they find out you're on Earth they'll want to come too. Return. Now." Percy ordered.

"Fine, fine. Well, I'm glad I got to see you, Annabeth. Hopefully we'll see each other soon." Thalia gave me a hug and then disappeared. I was still frozen in shock.

There was a silence for a few minutes. Percy was the first to break it. "Hi, Annabeth."

"Two years. I haven't heard from you in two years and all you say is 'hi?' It was twelve for you and all you say is 'hi!'"

"Yeah, um, sorry?" His response came out as a question.

I picked up the note he had given me yesterday. "You can't find time to write notes every once in a while, but you can Iris Message me once in two years?"

"Okay, I screwed up, I admit it. Sorry."

"Percy . . . do you even know how much I've missed you? For the past two years, I haven't been the same. I've barely led the Amazons. I almost killed my lieutenant while training. I have flashbacks of all the times we've been together, good or bad. Like when I took that knife for you, when Hylla died, when I thought you were missing, when the campers dumped us into the lake, and when you gave me Riptide and I gave you my dad's ring." I held Riptide in my hands and Percy's fingers traveled to his neck, where he fingered the ring. "Only just today, I got back in the swing of things."

"I--"

"Don't! I'm not finished. Chiron got here a few days ago. He said that life at Camp Half-Blood has changed too. The Stolls barely play any pranks and Clarisse is pretty much back to her old mean and annoying self. Nothing has been the same since you left, and I can't deal with that anymore!"

"I'm sorry. But I have suffered too." He looked into my eyes. "Everyday, I wake up and think, 'gods, I wish I were back on Earth. I wish Pontus had never taken out his anger for my father on me. I wish I were next to Annabeth.' Everyday, the hole in my heart grows bigger. Bianca, Zoë, Thalia, and Nico always try to cheer me up, or distract me, but it never works for longer than thirty minutes of my time, which is only six minutes for you.

"I want to see you in person. I want to touch you and hold you, I want to kiss you, I want to be there next to you. I have missed you so, so much."

"You think I don't want those things too? You think I don't have a giant hole in my heart? I do! I barely sleep, if you couldn't tell from the circles under my eyes. When I do sleep, I have nightmares of never seeing you again."

"Are you even looking at me?" I looked closer at Percy and my eyes widened. He looked terrible. His hair looked greasy and his eyes were filled with sadness. Like me, he looked exhausted. "I can't sleep. At all. Even if I wanted to, I can't. Chaos. Never. Sleeps."

Percy and I were both silent. "I miss you, Percy." I said softly.

"I miss you, too. I love you, Annabeth."

"I love you." That was the first time both of us had said those three words out loud in two years. "Well, um, how is everyone?"

The mood of our conversation changed quickly. "They're good. Nico still complains about being the only other male, but he's okay. Zoë and Bianca are as thick as thieves. They scare me sometimes." I laughed at that. "What about there, with the Amazons?"