Hold Me Close

Ch. 32

Annabeth

Percy and I hung around the hotel room for a while; kissing, teasing, and watching TV while we waited for Leo. Honestly, I was so caught up at the moment that I didn't even realize that Leo could be in danger. He always wandered off, he lost track of time a lot, so my worrying wouldn't have done much good.

But then I remembered how he'd gotten himself taken hostage at the last hotel and started worrying anyway.

"What if they've found him?" I asked Percy, who was trying to calm me down, "What if they're here?"

"Annabeth, it'll be okay." Percy promised, taking out his phone, "Here, I'll call him."

Percy held the phone to his ear, giving me an encouraging smile and squeezing my shoulder, but the smile turned forced after he tried calling again and again just to go to voicemail.

"Maybe his phone is on silent?" Percy tried but I was already up and slipping on my shoes. I didn't care that I was in a tank top of athletic shorts or that my hair was damp, I was going to find my friend.

Percy ran after me, slipping something in his pocket. Probably his phone.

We searched the hotel. Percy looked in the men's restroom, I looked in the breakfast area. He asked the manager to look at the security cameras and I walked around the perimeter of the hotel.

"C'mon," Percy said, taking my arm as he returned from the back room where the manager let him search on the security cameras, "He went out the front door."

()()()

Percy and I almost got into the car but decided it would be better to walk since there was barely anything here.

We headed to the gas station first, it being the closest, and walked through the doors. It smelled awful, like gasoline and beef jerky, but I was too focused on finding Leo that I didn't care. My hands were shaking.

"Annabeth," Percy stopped me with a hand on my shoulder, "Calm down, it's okay."

"How can you say that?" I asked, irritated, "Leo is gone!"

"We'll find him." Percy promised. His hand was just making me shake harder so I pulled out from under it, trying not to meet his eyes.

"Then let me look for him." I said, ignoring his frown.

"Okay, go." Percy said, "I'll look outside."

He turned, not trying to meet my eyes either, and left. I still felt irritated at him for stopping me in my search so many times but it didn't overshadow the slight guilt. He's only trying to help I told myself. He didn't know Leo as well as I did, he didn't see the danger that was so apparent to me. He was new. He didn't know that every second counted.

I walked down the aisles, checked the booths, then sighed and made my way to the cash register. The cashier, his back to me, was flipping through the security cameras. I saw the screen show me, standing right in front of the counter, and he paused.

"How can I help you?" He asked, his voice rough. He turned around, revealing a man with icy blue eyes and messy grey and brown hair. His face was kind but tired. He tried to smile.

"I'm looking for someone. A teenaged boy with curly black hair. Wearing a white tee shirt?" I asked. The man squinted his eyes as if trying to remember and leaned on the counter.