Shattered to Pieces |Percabeth Story |

14

Annabeth

Early Morning

Day 1

When I awake after drifting off to sleep beside Percy about six hours ago, I silently beat myself up for falling asleep. What if someone had came storming into the house? What if it were the police? I should have stayed on watch. I put Percy and myself in danger.

My fears intensify when I realize Percy isn't beside me.

I push myself up, my elbows leaning against the mattress, holding my weight. I look around the room, scanning for Percy. He isn't here. I listen carefully. I can't hear a thing. A lump forms in my throat and tears blur my sight. I clench my teeth together to stop the painful growl from shooting out of my mouth as I somehow leap to my feet.

Once I'm standing, I have to wait a few seconds to catch my breath and stop the room from spinning. I swallow hard, blinking until I can see properly, and then I storm out of the room as quick as I can.

"P-Percy?" I stutter, my dry throat stopping me from yelling loud.

I reach the stairs and start walking down them. Every step I take another image of Percy in a horrible situation flashes behind my eyes: him lying in a pool of his blood, hanging from the ceiling. The worst image my brain comes up with is Percy not being here at all, which may actually be the case.

"Percy!" I call again, louder this time. I walk into the kitchen, the living room, back upstairs, the bathroom, the other rooms on the floor, back downstairs.

I stop.

I hear stamping and then the door to the basement flies open and there's Percy, standing there.

I fling myself at him and wrap my arms around his neck.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" I shriek.

"What did I do?" Percy asks, obviously confused.

"You weren't there. I called and you didn't answer. I thought you'd been killed or ran away or something. Never do that again," I sob.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine. I'm here. I'm not going to leave you. I love you too much to leave you alone."

"You scared me," I cry, not loosening the grip around him. "You scared me."

"Shh," Percy whispers. He pulls my arms off of him and holds them at my sides. "Let's get you back upstairs and I'll see if your bandages need changing."

I drag my feet alongside him as we climb up the stairs and walk into the bedroom. He helps me back onto the bed and he starts removing my bandages.

It's then that I realize I'm not wearing a t-shirt or a bra. I feel vulnerable for a few seconds before I realize how stupid I'm being. My back has been sliced and battered and here I am worrying about my modesty.

"I'm going to get some water and clean the wounds before applying fresh bandages. I'll give you a pill to help with the pain and then I'll find us something to eat," Percy says a small while later. He stands to leave and my eyes widen.

"Don't-" I start.

He cuts me off. "I'll be right back. I promise. Trust me."

I bite my lip and watch him leave the room with a bowl. He's back in less than a minute and he immediately starts cleaning my back after he gives me a pill. I wince as the cloth touches my back and makes my wounds burn and sting.

"I'm sorry," he whispers as I flinch and hiss in agony.

"Don't be sorry. It isn't your fault."

Day 2

"I'm bored," I complain.

"I know but just remember we only have three days left," Percy replies.

"I'm not counting down the days, I'm counting down the hours. This is our second day. I'm going to go crazy if I don't do something. I have too much time to think. It's making me remember things that I don't want to remember."

"I don't know what I can do to help," Percy says hopelessly. The sadness in his eyes at not being able to please me makes me upset and I try not to complain for a while.

I watch him. He's sitting on a chair beside the bed, his right hand holding my left. His eyes rest on my face for about a minute before his eyes slowly move to look at the rest of my body. He then slowly looks from my feet to my face before starting the whole process again.

His eyes suddenly widen and he jumps to his feet. "I have an idea," he says, his eyes shining in hope. "I'll be back in a few."

He jogs out of the room and I hear him run downstairs. I wait a while for him to come back and I'm about to go start searching for him when I hear him come back upstairs, slower this time. He comes into the bedroom with a TV in his hands. "I remembered there was a TV in the living room. Let's see if it works."

He plugs the TV into the socket and then plays around with a few of the buttons on the side of the television before the screen comes to life. The image on the screen flickers for a few seconds and Percy wiggles a few wires before the screen is clear. He then manages to turn the volume louder and we find ourselves watching an old movie from the 1950's.

"Where's the button to change channels," Percy mutters, to himself, or me, I don't know. He presses a few more buttons until the image changes again. This time, we find ourselves watching the news. "This is more like it. Let's see if we've missed anything special," he says.

"Welcome to the Afternoon News. I'm Bethany Adams, reporting from the studio. Today we have breaking news. This morning, Benjamin Chase, a local officer, was found dead at his home. A colleague of his, William Dare, found his friends body after realising he hadn't turned up to work. Police have questioned Mr. Dare and we've been informed that there were no weapons on the scene but it's been confirmed that Mr. Chase was stabbed with a knife.

"His niece, Annabeth Chase, and Percy Jackson, a teenager living with his mother next door, have not been seen since. Police are on the search to find the two teenagers and they are believed to be the only two suspects. We have been told that Benjamin has been dead for over twenty-four hours. We'll have an update on the case tomorrow morning..."

Percy and I stare at the screen, our eyes wide, mouths hanging open. "They found him already," I whisper.

"Everyone's going to be on the look out for us now," Percy replies.

"We have to leave!"

"No. Not yet. Few people saw us on our way here. No one will know we are hiding here. We'll stay until the five days are over and then we'll leave," Percy says.

"Rachel's dad found him. They said they found no weapons but we left the belt there. Surely they'd say that's a weapon?"

"Maybe," Percy replies, his brow furrowing. "What if Rachel's dad hid the belt and any other evidence that suggested Ben hurt you? He was Ben's friend after all. Would he do something like that?"

"Yes, he would. Oh no," I whisper. "If the police do catch us-"

"They won't," Percy insists.

"But if they do. I'll go to jail for sure. With no evidence there to show I was defending myself it looks like I murdered him," I cry.

"It'll look like we both played a part. And if that does happen, we say I did it. You found me standing over his dead body with a knife and I threatened you into coming on the run with me. That's our story – if we get caught. Hopefully, that isn't going to happen."

"I'm not going to let you take the blame," I say. "I killed him!"

"I'd rather go to jail than watch you go!" Percy snaps.

"And I'd rather go to jail than watch you go for something you didn't even do. You've done so much already. If we get caught, let me take the blame. I am the one who killed him, after all."