Shattered to Pieces |Percabeth Story |

22

One Month Later

Part 1

Annabeth

Today is it.

The day it is decided whether I'll be spending most of my life in a cell... or if I will be able to live my life as a free person.

To say I am nervous is an understatement. I am terrified. I just want this all to be over now.

I barely slept last night, my mind running so much that I couldn't relax. I feel exhausted. The wounds on my back are itchy but they are healing and I know if I scratch they will open and become infected once again.

A prison officer opens my cell and slides a tray of food across the floor. Normally, the officer wouldn't speak to me but this time the man says, "Detective Susan Walker will be here to speak to you shortly."

I nod in reply and he leaves. I pick up the tray of food and rest it on my lap. The sight of the food makes my stomach turn and I gag loudly as I place the tray back on the ground. I take a deep breath and pull my knees up against my chest.

"It's not long now, Annabeth," I whisper to myself. "It'll all be over soon."

I close my eyes and will myself to fall asleep, just for a little while, until someone comes to collect me. However, before I can fall into a light sleep, I hear footsteps along the concrete floor outside of my cell.

I know instantly that it is Detective Walker.

I open my eyes as she jingles the keys to my cell. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and I rest my hands against the hard mattress. Her eyes meet mine immediately but she doesn't greet me. In her hands she carries a pile of clothes.

"I got you these. It's nothing fancy; just jeans and a t-shirt but it's better than the orange jumpsuit," she says and hands them over to me.

"Thank you," I reply. I stand and move to change. The Detective turns away to give me some privacy.

"How are you feeling?" she asks.

"Nervous," is all I say.

"That's understandable. You know what to do; tell the truth, answer any questions you can, don't get angry."

"Will you be there?" I ask.

"Yes," she replies and for some reason I am relieved. I finish getting changed in silence and then turn around once I am ready. "There you go. You look fine. They fit you quite well. Now, are you going to eat any of that food?"

"I don't feel like eating," I reply.

"It's going to be a long day, Annabeth. You should eat something, even if it's only a few bites. We haven't got long, about ten more minutes before we need to get you in the van. Please, eat something."

I give in with a sigh. I pick up the tray again and I manage to eat some of the watery food. I shovel it down quickly, not giving myself time to actually taste the food.

"There we go. Wasn't so hard, was it? Now, it's time to go. I'm going to have to cuff you," she says.

"Of course you are," I mutter and hold my hands behind my back. She quickly cuffs me and then leads me out of the cell.

We walk along the corridor and then up a few flights of stairs. "You're going to have to exit the back way to get into the van."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because there will probably be press trying to get a picture of you out the front. There may be some out back but we can't really avoid them. Everyone wants to know what is going on with your case," Susan explains.