After her mother, Athena passed away,
Annabeth had to run her mother's bookstore all by herself. But with no support from her family, can she manage to do it on her own? What happens when she meets Percy, her childhood best friend?
Will they turn th...
Truth Time! I...I may have avoided her for the week. And I intended to do so now as well. Until I could get out of my engagement at least.
He rolled his eyes, "Annabeth, Percy will do the test of the tour."
With that being said, the blonde betrayer sprinted off to his next class, not giving me a chance to protest. I could have sworn I saw a grin on that smug idiots face.
Now that left me...to awkwardly initiate conversation.
"So...how have you been?" I asked, scratching the back of my neck. What was I supposed to ask?!!!
Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Just get on with the tour seaweed brain," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
I did. It was awkward at first, me stumbling around the school and pointing at random things like chairs and trees. However, we both fell into sync naturally, laughing at all the stupid menu items in the cafeteria.
"And that's it I guess," I concluded, feeling proud that I could drag this tour on to miss at least two periods.
"That was some excruciating detail," Annabeth grinned. She raised her hands above her hair to tighten her sagging ponytail.
And that's even I noticed the dark splotches on her skin as her sleeves shifted.
"What's that, Annabeth?" I asked her, all the awkwardness dissipating. The light jovial mood had immediately disappeared, refilled by rage.
I could tell they were burn marks.
Smelly Gabe used to find it amusing to use me as his personal ashtray.
She froze. Like literally froze. She brought her hands down to tug her sleeved, her movements alarmingly fast. She kept her head down as if trying to will me to disappear.
"Nothing," she mumbled, bringing her dark eyes to meet mine, "I have a rash"
I rolled my eyes. The bell rang and students were stepping out to go to their classes. I grabbed Annabeth's forearm gently and dragged her into the closest storage room.
It was painfully small and we were packed in there. She stood extremely close to me. It made my heart beat so fast I worried she could hear it. We were practically pressed against each other, shelves filled with cleaning supplies all wound us. The only light in the room emanated from a small dirty window. It illuminated Annabeth's face.
I could see her sweeping dark eyelashes, the bags underneath her eyes, her calculating stare. Her embarrassment once she realized our close proximity.
I moved a strand of hair from her face, levelling her chin so she could look me in the eyes, "That is not a rash. I can recognize a burn mark, Annabeth. I'm not stupid"
She bit her bottom lip. The simple gesture made a wave of emotions go through me, the same emotions I've been pushing down for weeks. I tried suppressing it again, but it only came back tenfold.
"Not like you care," she said, staring at me hard, "You've been avoiding me like the plague. Go back to doing that Percy, it's the best for both of us". She took a step away from me, crashing into the shelf behind her. She threw her hands up in exasperation.
And she stepped out of the closet in a graceful motion and slammed the door behind me.
That was the exact moment I felt my heartbreak. A palpable crack.
The door locked itself with a snap like fate decided to punish me further. Fuck the stupid fates of Greece. I tried the handle, but it broke.
Just my amazing luck
I was finally let out of the closet by a confused freshman. The only memory which played on my mind for the rest of the school day was the look of pure disappointment on Annabeth's face.
Oh, fuck it!
When the bell rang, I walked straight out the school gates before my next class, to the only place I hoped I could think peacefully. I got in my car and drove. The burn marks on Annabeth's arm was a picture that was burnt into my mind.
