Lost

24

When we arrived in Rome we checked into some cheap hotel Chiron had set up for us and all went to our rooms.

We had all agreed to give everyone four hours of free time for sleeping, eating, or thinking before regrouping in the check in area.

Most people went to their rooms to sleep, but I knew that would only bring me nightmares, so I headed towards the doors, planning to start my search for Annabeth.

I didn't need four hours to focus and sleep. All I needed was to find her.

"Percy, where are you going?"

I turned to see Piper, who was talking to the lady at the front desk. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"I was going to go sightseeing," I lied, but Piper could see through that. "Please don't use your charmspeak on me."

She sighed. "Fine, but I guess I'll go with you. I slept on the plane and I'm not hungry. Practically everyone else is already passed out."

I groaned but allowed Piper to walk with me as we headed out of the crappy hotel and got in a cab.

"Where to?" the cabbie asked.

Piper peered at me. "Where do you want to go first? The Parthenon, the—?"

I interrupted Piper and gave the cabbie the address of the only place I wanted to go right now. He nodded and drove us there.

"I thought you said you weren't hungry," Piper commented as I paid the cabbie and we got out of the cab, which was in front of a tiny restaurant.

"I'm not," I replied honestly as I started walking inside, Piper trailing behind me.

She sighed as we walked inside, the tiny bell on the door ringing as we rushed in. "Then what are we doing here? Are you trying to shake me off? Because I'm not going to let you. I know you'll just leave us all and look for her yourself."

I sat down at a tiny table near the bathrooms. Piper reluctantly sat across from me. "I was going to do that, Pipes. You figured it out. But I'm not anymore."

"So you went here, why?" she asked as she scanned the place. "Percy, we're in Rome. Wouldn't you rather, I dunno, eat somewhere better than here?"

A waitress glared at Piper rudely before rushing off to the back.

"I think she heard you," I said. Piper turned light pink. "And no, Piper, I wanna be here."

Piper stared at me, clearly confused. "Why? Did you just pick some random place since I foiled your plan of running off without us? Or are you still planning that?"

"It doesn't matter—"

"Yes, it does!" she declared. "Are you going to leave the second I look away? Are you waiting for me to just go to the bathroom or something? Because that's not gonna happen, and I doubt this crappy place even has a bathroom!"

The waitress rushed over to our table, her face red with anger. When she spoke she spoke with a thick Italian accent. "Out! Both of you!"

"I'm sorry I got us kicked out," Piper murmured as we stood in front of the restaurant, the waitress peering at us through the windows. "I just got worked up. But I'm guessing you still won't tell me why we came here in the first place."

"This...this is where I took Annabeth before she left to find the Athena Parthenos," I admitted as I peered down at the ground. "I thought that maybe if I came here, something would click. Or I would get a sign. Some god and goddess were here last time, so maybe they could help....I just feel stupid now."

Piper frowned. "Gods, Percy, I'm such a jerk. Do you want me to go charmspeak that waitress? She'd probably let us in then, and you're not stupid—"

"It's fine, Piper," I replied. "We're not going to find anything here, anyways. Let's just go back to the hotel and maybe get a few extra hours of sleep in."

"Okay," Piper whispered as she hailed a cab. "Are you sure—?"

I nodded. "I'm sure, Piper."

She nodded as we crawled into the cab and waited to get back to the hotel, being silent the whole way back.

When we arrived Piper paid the cabbie as I ran into the hotel. She sighed before rushing in after me.

"Percy, wait!" she cried as she grabbed my arm. "We're going to find her, okay? And I'm sorry for being such a jerk."

I didn't know if it was Piper's charmspeak or what, but I somewhat believed her.