BLURRED | Annabeth Chase

X • πανικός

πανικός

panic

• • •

There was no hesitation inside of her as Annabeth stormed into the kitchen early the next morning, a knife clutched too tightly in her scarred hand. Drew, Clarisse, Chris, and Cameron were all seated around the table, bowls full of cereal laying in front of them.

In a single movement that she had rehearsed several times in her room only minutes prior, Annabeth slammed a knife that she had stolen from dinner the night before into the wooden table. The blade dug deep into the wood, as if the table were made of something far more malleable than wood.

Chris dropped his spoon in surprise, and it clattered noisily to the ground. Clarisse stood up, a dagger in her hand, while Cameron winced. Drew, however, continued shoveling spoonfuls of cereal into her mouth, not giving Annabeth a second glance.

"I've made up my mind," Annabeth announced, fighting off the discomfort of so many people staring at her. The scars on her skin felt more visible than ever. "I want to train to fight."

A stunned pause of silence followed. Annabeth looked down at the ground, feeling the embarrassing weight of a blush settle over her face.

"I didn't know you were even debating something like this," said Cameron finally.

Annabeth raised her head, straightened her spine, and stared Cameron in his dark eyes. "I have. You all have been telling stories of all the things the old Annabeth has done, how she fought monsters and gods. At the very least, I want to be able to protect myself."

Dark memories of being trapped in the cellar rose up in Annabeth's mind, distant echoes of her own screams ringing in her ears. She forced them out before she could get drowned in them.

"I'll train her," Drew said through a mouthful of cereal. Clarisse gave her an exasperated look.

"You were half-dead yesterday, Tanaka," she said gruffly. "You're not allowed to so much as touch a knife until you're fully healed."

Drew shrugged her bandaged shoulders. "It'll take more than that to kill me."

"An empousa attempted to murder you," Cameron said harshly, "and she came very close to succeeding. You shouldn't even be out of bed, let alone train someone."

Drew rolled her eyes and ate another bite of cereal with the arm that wasn't wrapped in a sling. "Y'all need to stop worrying so much. I'm alive, aren't I?"

"If Chris hadn't have shown up when he had," interjected Clarisse, "you wouldn't be. So quit being cocky and start being smart."

Annabeth slammed her hand down on the table. The bowls rattled with the impact, and four pairs of eyes looked at her once more. A part of her liked this, liked the attention and small traces of fear that were poorly hidden in the eyes that were looking up at her.

"I don't care who trains me!" Annabeth said too-loudly, her voice close to a shout. "But I want to learn how to fight and I want to get out of this house!"

Annabeth felt as surprised as everyone else looked. She hadn't known that the latter part of her exclamation would come out. But now that she had said it, it felt right. Annabeth had already lost track of how long she had been saved by Drew and taken here.