Beyond All Expectation (Percabeth)

Chapter 36: Something Unexpected

Percy POV:

Monday morning, beginning of April. I went to an early morning swimming session to get my mind off of things.

Annabeth had broken up with me just under a week ago and I hadn't heard from her since. She came to school the following Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and I knew that those days would be the last I ever saw of her. I had watched her as much as I could - in every class, during lunch and all through the school corridors. I had hoped that she would see me and change my mind. But she didn't. 

The worst thing had been knowing that she still loved me. Right person wrong time, she had said, and I didn't know what I could say to make her change her mind. 

She looked tired and depressed. Without me around she didn't need to put up a pretense of happiness anymore. She showed her true self and the pain she was going through, and it broke me. During the final lesson on the Friday I planned on speaking to her after - knowing that it was her last day, hoping that maybe I could convince her to stay - but she fell asleep and I was forced to leave her alone. 

I made the mistake of not telling my family about it. They all loved Annabeth endlessly, and I knew that it would break them almost as much as it broke me to hear that she was gone. Part of me also believed that if I didn't tell them the truth then it wouldn't be real. I didn't want to accept that she had left me. 

As I swam, I kept on replaying the last few months over and over in my head, hating myself for not seeing the signs. The way she had pushed away every time our kisses turned into something more... how had I been so naive to think that she wouldn't be haunted by her experience with Luke? And I remembered that awful moment when we fought and I had grabbed her too tight... she had said "don't be like him"... I hated myself for it. I had done the one thing I had promised not to do - hurt her. I swam faster. 

I should have done more. I should have asked her more. I should have talked to her about it. I was too stupid, believing that handing her a gift or learning a language for her would be enough to make her happy. Why was it that when she avoided any conversation about her family I hadn't asked more? Why was it that when she left Piper's to return to her abusive Stepmom I hadn't seen this as bad? Why had I been so fucking blind? I swam faster. 

She had broken my heart and I was nothing without her, and now she had even left the school and there was no chance I would ever see her again. I growled in the water and kicked harder, wanting to swim until my muscles gave up and my lungs breathed in water. But it was no use. Coach Hedge blew his whistle to signal that school was starting in 15 minutes and I got out of the pool, getting ready as quick as I could. 

I walked through the school hallway as the bell rang. My hair was still wet and it drooped over my eyes. 

"Hey Percy," a girl smiled at me. 

"Looking good, Jackson," a boy waved. 

"Can't wait to see you at the tournament next week, P," another boy grinned. I barely acknowledged any of them.

I joined Will by my locker. I didn't want to open it, knowing that I had hung up a photo of Annabeth and I inside. He frowned at me. 

"You look even worse than you did on Friday, and that's saying something because you looked awful," Will looked me up and down. "Did you get any sleep over the weekend?"

"No," I muttered. I had spent every second of every night thinking of Annabeth, staring at the phone, hoping she would call, wondering if I should call her, wondering if I should knock on every door in Manhattan until I found her in her Mother's house. "How're you and Nico?"