A Game of Promises

Chapter 39: Safe

Annabeth's POV

After I shower, my grogginess seems to disappear. It all seems surreal, like I'll wake up any second and find myself back in the arena. But I don't. I stay in my hotel room with Percy.

"Feeling better?" he asks while tossing me a bag of chips. "I know that I am."

"It's amazing what a hot shower can do," I reply, ripping open the flimsy plastic and munching on salty heaven. It's all I can do not to release a pathetic whimper. "How are you feeling about all of this?"

"Confused. Why go through all of the trouble just to take us out at the end? That doesn't make any sense."

"It makes some sense. Maybe Gaea wasn't fully asleep, and this was the only way to ensure that she wouldn't rise anytime soon. The games might have been their way of putting her out of sight and mind."

Percy scowls angrily at his granola bar. "I hate how they're called games. It didn't feel like a game, did it?"

"Of course not. I hate it, too," I assure him. "I also hate how we lost our memories while we were in the arena. That was beyond cruel: it was purely barbaric."

"I'm pretty sure that 'purely' and 'barbaric' aren't supposed to be in the same sentence," Percy muses. I make a face at him before leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Anything, ah, kinky going on in there?" a voice asks from beyond the door. "Because I don't want to lose my innocence. Or what's left of it."

"Shut up, Valdez," Piper says. "Can we come in, guys?"

I stand up to open the door, but Percy gets there before me. Standing on the other side is all the demigods in the building. They scurry in, as if running for their lives. Hard to break a habit, I suppose.

"What do we do now?" Clarisse grumbles. "I swear, if we have to talk about our feelings, I will pitch myself headfirst out the window."

Leo rubs his hands together eagerly. "Guys, I have an idea. Let's talk about our feelings!"

"There's something I need to talk about," Hazel says, stepping forward. "Why were we the ones chosen for this?"

"There was a reaping," Jason tells her. "It was purely coincidental."

"Was it?" Frank questions. "How was it that out of the dozens of demigods per god, it was us. We've all fought together, so how did that happen?"

"Hank's got a point," Thalia pipes in.

"It's Frank, actually," he says.

"Whatever. How did we get together? And when did we lose our memories? Because I have a Hunt to run, and I doubt these games is a good enough excuse for the other Hunters."

"I have a camp to run," Reyna says as well. "Did everything just continue to happen while we were trapped in the arena?"

"I don't see why everything wouldn't. I'm sure that the gods made a plausible excuse for everyone, unless they told the truth," I try to assure everyone.

Percy smiles across the room at me. "They must of had to make a lot of good stories, since they most definitely didn't tell the truth." Thunder sounds, but he only sticks his tongue at the window. I bite back the urge to laugh.

"I need to get back to camp," Leo says, his hands fidgeting nervously. "I need to . . . check on something."

It dawns on me suddenly. He has Calypso at camp, just like how Clarisse has Chris. I feel sympathetic towards both of them.

"We'll go back as soon as possible," I promise. "But right now, we need to get some rest and food before we return. Don't go too heavy on food, or else you'll throw it all back up. Your system isn't used to all of it quite yet, so go slow."

"Yes, mother," Leo says, rolling his eyes. Everyone laughs, but I'm glad that he's no longer worried about seeing Calypso.

"What do we do now?" Piper asks. "Sleep forever?"

"That sounds about right," Percy replies with a laugh. "Seriously, though, everyone needs to get some rest and food. We'll return to camp tomorrow."

Slowly, the entire group leaves our room. I wait until everyone is gone to go to Percy's side. His arm goes around my shoulders and I feel safe for the first time in a while.

"What do you think will happen when we return to camp?" he whispers into my hair.

"I don't know," I respond truthfully. "All I know is that no matter what, I'm staying with you."

"As if you could leave me, Wise Girl," he teases, apparently not realizing that was exactly what I did in the arena. He stops smiling at the same time the thought crosses my mind.

"I'm sorry I did what I did," I tell him. "I just didn't want you to get hurt because of me. I thought that by leaving, I would die and you would become the victor. My main goal was for you to become the sole survivor."

"That's what I was trying to do for you. There was no way that I could live with myself if you died," he says, his sea green eyes flickering at me.

"Why?" I ask him. "At some point, you would forget about me and find someone else."

"For someone so smart," he starts, "You can be so incredibly dense. I love you, Annabeth. When Hera took my memories away, the only thing I remembered was your name. In the arena, I didn't remember you, but my heart did. That's why I tried to protect you all that time. I love you, Annabeth Chase, and nothing could every change that."

I lean forward and kiss him on the lips. Percy responds immediately and soon, his hands are in my hair and my arms are around him.

Bad things will definitely continue to happen to us, but I know that as long as I'm with Percy, I'll always be safe.