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24.

24.
Hurt
—•—

The morning had been extremely stressful for Piper McLean. From searching for Jason to the fight between Annabeth and that ignorant police officer, it was very obvious that the day was not going good for her. She had been lying on her couch, her cheeks stained with tears, her head pounding when she got a call from Percy Jackson.

She picked her phone up in an exhausted and feeble way, and put it up to her ear. "Hello?" she mumbled, as she rubbed her eyes, trying to make her voice sound less nasally.

"Annabeth," came Percy's voice from the other end. He said her name in a rushed manner, as if he was nervous—or anxious.

"What happened?" Piper asked, sitting up and straightening herself against the couch. "Tell me everything...and stay calm."

"Well..." Percy began. "After she dropped you, she never came back home."

Piper's eyes widened. "W-what?!" She spluttered. "What do you mean, Percy?"

"She's still not here," he continued. "I don't know where she is...and I don't even know what to do."

"Maybe..." Piper closed her eyes as she tried to come up with a helpful idea. An idea struck her and she opened her eyes immediately. "Maybe we should file a complaint at the police station!" She exclaimed.

"But," Percy started. "You said that they didn't take a complaint for Jason. How will they take it now?"

"They might take it more seriously if two people are missing," Piper replied, putting forth her logical reason.

"That is true..." Percy considered. "I don't know what is happening at this point, Piper, everything is just a confused blur for me. I miss her...I miss her a lot. I need to know where she is."

Piper sighed. Percy was feeling the same emotions she was going through for the last five hours. "Don't worry, Perce," she said, trying to comfort and calm him down. "We'll find her. We'll find Annabeth."

"We'll find Jason too."

Piper nodded, as she held the phone a little closer to her ear. "Can you come here, so we can head towards the police station?"

"Yeah." Percy's voice answered from the other end. "I'm coming now."

"Okay...I'll be waiting near the front of the building."

"Yeah."

Piper got up as she cut the call, placing her phone down on a couch and then walked towards her room. There was a picture of Jason and Piper set on a table, which was taken during the time he proposed to her. Then she thought of her best friend, Annabeth, and Piper felt like falling down and crying all over again. But she stopped herself from doing that.

No, she thought. I shouldn't. Me and Percy will find both of them. I shouldn't cry, I need to stay strong.

She tied her hair in a ponytail, then pulled a black hoodie over her shirt. She looked at her reflection in mirror. A disastrous sight stared back at her. Messy hair, bloodshot eyes and dark bags under her eyes. She sighed as she walked back to the living room once again, picked up her phone and left her home, closing the door and locking it.