BLOODSHOT . . . piper mclean

01.

Annabeth chewed her ambrosia. "Well, I think I found a lead on Percy. Hera told me in a dream."

"Why would you listen to anything she'd say?" Eden asked harshly.

"Because of Percy," Annabeth said, and that was basically her whole reasoning for everything these past couple months. "She told me to go to the Grand Canyon, and find the guy with one shoe."

"Do you hear how stupid you sound?" Eden scoffed, finishing up Annabeth with an ice pack. Why she'd done it? Because they all needed Percy here. He had a niceness to him that neither Eden or Annabeth didn't have when leading. He was the backbone, he pulled everyone together with morale. Annabeth didn't have that skill up quite yet, and Eden, well . . .

She wasn't in the shape to do such things.

And so Eden had fixed Annabeth up because they needed Percy, and she was going looking for him, because he'd been missing for the past three days.

"You're doing something for her?" Eden continued, leaning back on her hands and looking up at Annabeth. "She almost killed you. She sent cows after you. She almost killed herself over a grudge on you. And you're taking her advice?"

"I love Percy too much," Annabeth gritted her teeth. "I'd kill for him. I'd die for him. I need him. Even if it means listening to her."

Eden nodded. Too damn bent on love. Considering all the shit they'd done in the past four years, it was plausible, but still disgusting. Straight couples, man. "Good for you. Off you go."

Annabeth didn't move. "Oh, wait, you want me to go. Why?"

"You haven't gotten sleep," Annabeth said. "And you've been in this cabin for forever. You should go out."

"I've been sleeping on the days that you've been looking for your fucking boyfriend," Eden narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "And I've been out enough, you just haven't noticed." Going to McDonald's with Travis and Connor in the middle of the day and shoplifting counted, right? "Besides, I don't take orders from Hera and I don't like my brother. So there's that."

Annabeth sighed. "Eden, I need you. In case something goes wrong."

Eden snorted. "When does things not go wrong?" The pride bit her in the ass. She was going because she was too prideful. Damn, Annabeth did know her kind of well. "Fine. Just so I can say I told you so. And because you won't rat me out whenever I go out next."

Annabeth sighed again. "Deal."

* * *

"Can I go home now?" Eden asked Annabeth as she put on her makeup on the chariot. She always carried around her mini backpack that she'd stolen from some rich kid because the weight was nice, and she needed the shit in there. Makeup, emergency coffee, and a range of weapons that she didn't have on her person.

"Eden, we're almost there," Annabeth said tiredly. She was staying up almost as much as Eden did.

Course, Eden didn't stay up for the past three days. There was a girl in her dreams. Not nightmares — well, she was.

The girl was definitely Native American. Short, choppy hair. Braids running down the sides as if she was a reminder. A reminder of Eden's last love. And the eyes, it reminded Eden so much of Silena, who changed her eye color every year. This girl couldn't control it, so it changed to blue to purple to brown to green, and gods, Eden could fall into those eyes for eternity. Her voice, every time it spoke, it was laced with charmspeak. Soothing her with words, with reassurances, with oaths.

The girl had pulled her out of multiple nightmares. Her hands were soft, so soft, so different from Eden's calloused hands from gripping weapons. Her voice had calmed her right down, and Eden had slept peacefully. It looked as if she hadn't been dealing with PTSD for the past four and a half months.