Forgotten Paradise by Average Canadian

Chapter 10: Odd Window Washers

The grey sheeted bed beneath him was soft. Downy and cushioned to the finest as he kept his sea green eyes level to the ceiling. It helped him think. Which was good considering his mind was going so fast it would've won a few rounds of drag racing by now.

Annabeth was occupying his mind like a twirling kaleidoscope.

He didn't tell her. He couldn't tell her. If she had listened he probably could've given her a decent biography of the seven unknown years of her life.

Today and yesterday alike, all he had been able to do was look at her.

She looked like Annabeth, she talked like Annabeth, she acted like Annabeth. And yet it was almost as if she wasn't. He couldn't look at her and say 'hey, remember that time when we were seven'. Because she wouldn't remember.

The friendship they had when they were kids didn't exist anymore. And Somehow that hurt deeper than the time Percy was shot in the shoulder.

So why didn't Percy tell her? Bring back all the memories and try and spruce her mind back? Well, it wasn't that simple.

Percy reached sullenly into his pocket and gently pulled out the jagged shell. Achingly, he held it up, then puffed on it softly and watched it sway. It was still as beautiful as ever. But what was just as beautiful was the oath tied to it.

They promised to never tell anyone about each other. 'They' meaning the Annabeth and the him in the past. Not the him and the Annabeth of the present.

Annabeth wasn't the same.

That was a fact.

The 'they' part had dissolved.

Annabeth wasn't the same, she was a different person. And if he promised 10 years ago to the little Annabeth that he wasn't going to tell anyone about her, then he'd keep that promise. Even if that meant not telling Annabeth about herself.

Percy sighed again and rubbed his temples while he slipped the necklace back into his pocket safely.

Everything seemed to be going against him telling Annabeth anything. Besides the whole oath thing he had told Annabeth about his training. Thank heavens she couldn't remember otherwise she probably would've connected the dots.

Stupid seven year old him spilling his biggest secret like maple syrup onto pancakes.

Exhaling slowly through his nose he sat up. He needed to forget about Annabeth for awhile. He needed to focus on protecting Rachel. His job.

Besides it's not like he could ever talk to Annabeth after his assignment was complete It would be better for Annabeth if she just didn't find out. She didn't need to know.

But who is to say I can't enjoy her company while I still have it?

Plus it gave him peace of mind that she wasn't dead or kidnapped right now. She was safe. And somehow that mattered more than his job.

Percy hit the stairs and easily spotted Rachel sitting on the sofa across the spacious room. She was a red pile in contrast to modern greys and whites. Her feet were up on the coffee table while she had a sketchbook splayed out on her lap. The setting sun pierced through the window and made her glow as she rummaged through a pencil case.

Never should anyone ever go through Percy's pencil case. He knew how it was organized and only he should ever be the one to use it.

So when Percy strolled down the stairs his eyes automatically latched onto his blue Target pencil case in Rachel Elizabeth Dare's hands. In slow mode she picked up a pen and gently looked at it.