Troubled

59

chapter fifty-nine
percy

"Have I showed you the closet space yet?"

"For a matter of fact you have. Nearly ten times."

I laughed as I peered at the girl sat on my bed in my brand new room. After begrudgingly accepting the college money from Poseidon, my mother had enough money for us to move.

Our new apartment was huge, at least in my standards. For the first time my room wasn't tiny or cramped. It was huge with fresh paint, enough space for all of my furniture, a window with a nice view, and a giant closet.

The girl sitting on my bed was Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who I had texted one day out of boredom. She had responded at lighting speed and we, surprisingly, hit it off.

Despite Rachel's flirtatious attitude and her being conventionally attractive, I had no intent to date her or anybody for that matter. At least not for a while.

Although hanging out with Rachel on my free time was fun, it was truly just distracting me from my pain and loss of Annabeth.

I'd lost all hope of ever seeing her again when my letter remained unanswered months later. I knew going in it most likely wouldn't get to her, and even if it did it's not like she could reply.

But each day I checked the mail, my heart skipping a beat whenever my eyes saw a letter addressed to me. I would rip it open as fast as possible, not caring about anything else but the hope of seeing Annabeth again.

Of course it was never a letter from her. Why would it be?

"When am I going to get to see your house, huh?" I taunted Rachel as I landed down on the bed right next to her.

She rolled her eyes as she moved away from me to make room on the bed. "Never. At least not when my parents are home."

I frowned. "What, are you embarrassed of me?"

"Quite the opposite. Who know how my insane parents would act if I brought someone who didn't have a trust fund home," Rachel replied with a hesitant laugh. "Maybe you can come over when they're on one of their many vacations without me."

"Deal," I replied. "I don't do well with the rich, anyways."

Rachel shrugged as she readjusted herself on the bed. "You did fine with me."

"Yeah, but you're....different," I informed her. She promptly raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I don't mean it like that. You're just so carefree, I admire you for that. You don't act all stuffy like normal rich people do."

"I have no clue what you mean, but only," Rachel responded with a slight smile. "You're insane. I love that."

I rolled my eyes as I sat up straight. "Thanks for that compliment. So, if I can't go to your house can I go for a ride on one of your many yachts?"

"Not all rich people have yachts, Purse," Rachel taunted as she picked up some random magazine from an open moving box in my room. She snorted as she read the title. "Oh, I didn't know you read Better Homes and Gardens! So does my grandma!"

I snatched the magazine out of her hand, only for her to steal it back. "First off, it's Percy, and I read it for the articles! Hey, stop judging me, I'm kidding. It's my mom's, dumbass."

Rachel shrugged and cackle evilly as she flipped through the pages. "Awww, look, you can make your own bird house, I'm sure all the pigeons outside would love this."

"Yeah, whatever. You suck," I teased.

Then her phone went off and she groaned as she read the message. "Ugh, I've gotta go. Wish me luck explaining where I was and why I'm so late. Anyways, have fun at your new apartment. And tell Sally bye for me."

"You'll probably get to see her on your way out," I told Rachel as I picked up the magazine she'd discarded and started flipping through it.

Rachel groaned. "Man, I still haven't recovered from her last hug. She's gonna break my bones all over again, the strength that woman has!"

I laughed as Rachel left. And as I flipped through the magazine and reflected upon my time with Rachel, one thing was certain:

Rachel wasn't Annabeth.