Colors [Percabeth]

Packed// Chapter 23

Annabeth

"If you're reading this, it's too late."

I glanced up from my book and blinked. "What?"

Leo looked up from where he was positioned on the couch opposite from mine as he wrote something. "It's the will I'm leaving for when I don't make it out alive. One of you will have to read it at my funeral."

Piper snorted from her spot on the floor and replied, "Oh please. Your funeral will start with, 'We are gathered here today because some shit hole just couldn't stay alive.'"

We had all been cuddled up in Thalia's living room as we waited for her to get back with the supplies. In less than half an hour, we were supposed to be heading out to the safe house in the lower area of Manhattan. It was quite the drive considering it was near Washington Square Park. I had woken up this morning with a sense of dread. It had never sunken in how surreal this whole situation was until I arose to the sun rising and the horrifying thought occurred that it could be my last sunrise again.

Shaking out of my thoughts I said, "You won't need to write a will. First of all, you won't die. Second, your will would literally consist of Calypso the car and some video games. Who would want that?" I asked with a roll of my eyes. A slam of the front door cut our conversation off and we all looked up the find a disheveled Thalia.

"Van's ready," is all she muttered before going upstairs to her room.

My heart sank at the sight of her. Thalia has been my best friend since I was young and seeing her like this made this situation a whole lot more unbearable. For the past week, she's been doing nothing but lounging in her room, refusing to eat her meals, and muttering nonsense about how it's all her fault. When I ask her how it could possibly be her fault, she pushes me out and brings her walls back up. Getting her to talk is simply not an option.

Piper's been off too. Her smile seems less genuine, the bags under her eyes are heavy, and there's a heaviness in her laugh too. Jason's disappearance impacted all of us too. I've caught Leo glancing over at the passenger side of the car one too many times.

"We'll find him," is all I managed to say before going back to my book.

Piper nodded, her choppy hair swayed in a gloomy way. Even her hair has seemed to have gotten the blues. "Yeah. For now, let's just focus on getting everyone to safety without trying to rip each other's limbs out in the car."

"I'll try but no promises," a voice called out. My head whipped to the front door to find a tall, pale teenage boy standing there. He folded his arms in front of his chest and stared at us with the permanent frown that seemed to be forever glued to his lips. Though he looked serious, a small twinkle in his eyes showed he was ready for the mischief and work that laid ahead of us. "Nico!" I grinned. He dragged his feet over to a spot next to Leo. "You have no idea how hard it was to convince Will to let me come."

Nico and his sister Bianca had gotten involved with us a few years back when money was low and their mother had recently passed away. They were good assets, but unfortunately, Bianca had died at the hands of our enemies. Nico, however, continued to fight and constantly pushed himself. A recent battle had almost cost him his life and he had been ordered to lay off for a while by our paramedic, Will. Will was strict when it came to our safety, especially his boyfriend's. It surprises that he had even let the poor kid come within a ten-meter distance.

"But you have to remember not to push yourself!" The blonde male poked his head in and chided his boyfriend. We all laughed, except for Nico who simply rolled his eyes and sighed. Will walked in with his signature grin. "The medical supplies are loaded into the back of the van. I'm good to go." He didn't hesitate to flop down on the last spot on the couch and prop his feet up onto the raven haired male. Nico simply let out a small huff but made no effort to move the other's feet.

Piper let out another sigh. "Okay, all we're missing is-"

"Me?" Another voice interrupted. This time, a female walked into the room. "Can't forget about me." She shuffled over to the fridge and made herself right at home.

I laughed and shook my head. "We could never do that, Reyna."

She grinned at me. "Great. We've got everything and everyone we need to get this show on the road."

Looking around the room as everyone conversed, I felt another pang in my heart at how normal we all looked. For a second, it almost felt like we were regular teenagers about to go on a road trip to look at colleges because we were certain we would live that long. Instead, we were all a bunch of troublemakers who've had poor life situations that have caused us to be in the mess we were in now. Somehow though, this was our normal. It almost amused me how a bunch of broken teenagers who were about to risk their lives were currently sitting around the living room of a missing boy and laughing with each other. For a split second, the pang in my chest disappeared and instead was replaced with a warm feeling in my chest. These people were my family and I'd be damned if they don't make it out alive.

***

After getting everyone in a comfortable seating arrangement so they wouldn't annoy the living hell out of each other, we were just about ready to go.

"Wait, I need a minute." The request had suddenly come out of nowhere, and just when I was about to get in the car too, but something felt off. Piper stepped out of the car and nodded over at the phone that had been resting itself in the palm of my right hand. "Call him, Annie."

Leo spoke up from inside the car, "But hurry up. It looks like it's going to rain soon." Glancing up, I noticed the usually dark sky seemed even cloudier today. A loud boom came along with a flash of lightning and I knew we'd have to get moving soon.

My mouth was dry as I nodded and unlocked the phone. This whole time I had been avoiding saying goodbye to him because I was just not sure how I was going to say it. How can those words even form themselves out of my mouth? 'Hey, I'm leaving to put an end to this gang war once and for all. I might not make it. By the way, I'm in love with you'? My fingers hovered over the screen as I stared at his contact. The sound of the honking car jerked me out of my thoughts and forced me to press on it. As much as I wish I did, I didn't have all day to stand around and wonder what I was going to tell Percy.

The lump began to form in my throat at the sound of the first ring. Not too long after, a voice occupied the other end of the phone. "Annabeth, so glad you called."

My voice got caught in my throat. "L-Luke?!"

Piper's head jerked up and gave me an alarmed look.

A malicious chuckle was suppressed. "Missed me, sweetheart?"

"Why the hell do you have Percy's phone?" I demanded. Though I did my best to sound threatening, my voice wavered. So many questions were going through my head right now, I was certain my brain had hit overdrive.

"Wrong question. What you should be asking is what I'm doing to your boyfriend right now."

My entire body began to tremble and I could barely comprehend what was going on; the sound of my heartbeat in my head occupied any chance of me understanding the situation. Eventually I managed to get out, "Y-you're lying. Y-y-you can't.."

Luke's laughter taunted me. "I can't what, Annie? I can't possibly have Percy here with me?" He commanded someone on the other end of the line to speak. When the person remained silent, he seemed to have hit them violently, causing them to gasp out in pain.

My heart sank into my stomach. "Don't hurt him!" I cried out.

He smirked. "How dare you accuse me of wanting to hurt my own family? But you better hurry, both him and Jason are testing my patience. And you know how short that is."

Slamming my thumb to end the call, I grabbed Piper's hand and dragged her into the car. "Leo, floor it. We have some boys to save."

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A/N: I actually can't remember the last time I updated this book and I'm seriously sorry for it. I keep putting it off, I'm not sure why? Anyway, I'm glad inspiration struck today and I was able to write everything out. My brain just decided to give me an early birthday present by letting me finish writing this chapter. On that note, your girl turns another year old in a few hours (10/15/17) so yay me for living this long.

-Alexa