The Library Book

#31 - Three Words, Eight Letters

Chapter 31 - Three Words, Eight Letters
published: Wednesday, 20 May 2020

Annabeth laughed as she bodysurfed the wave that came by.

Her head plunged underwater, sand scraping her cheeks and the sound of rushing bubbles plummeting past her ears.

The muted sounds of cheering suddenly burst into deafening shouts as Annabeth resurfaced with a splutter, kneeling on the shallow sea floor as she burst up triumphantly.

"I think I ate about half of the beach," Jason groaned, having done the same thing as her.

Annabeth gently tried to pick out the pieces of hair plastered to her temple. Her hair was up in a ponytail — which would be a nightmare to untangle later — but some of it had come loose.

"Need help?" a voice chuckled. It was Percy, wading up to her. Absently, he brushed her hair behind her ear and tucked it there.

Annabeth smiled in response. The past few says with their friends had been incredibly, but stolen moments with Percy were few and infrequent.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Leo yelled from the shore.

Annabeth turned around, making sure to step away from Percy.

"Barbecue's almost ready!" came Leo's shout.

Annabeth shot Percy a wary look. "Really? Leo manning the grill?" Leo had a thing for fire, which often caused some dangerous accidents.

"Yeah." Percy frowned. "That probably wasn't a smart idea." He couldn't help the grin that broke across his face as Annabeth brushed off the dried salt from her arms and pulled a face as she spat out salty water.

"Hey, do you want to..." Percy jerked his head in the direction of the woods next to the cabin.

"Murder woods?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"It's nice," Percy promised. "I know this place like the back of my hand." He leaned in. "There's a small watering hole nearby that I want to show you."

Annabeth smiled slyly. She threw a glance over her shoulder to see their friends running inside the house to towel themselves dry and make sure Leo didn't burn the place down. "We can spare a few minutes," she relented, grabbing his hand and running through the water.

Percy stumbled as she dragged him along, laughing as the water erupted in massive walls everywhere they stepped. The ocean had always been Percy's happy place. Ever since he was a kid, Montauk had been the one place Gabe couldn't touch.

The two of them sprinted through the woods, not even stopping for the rest of their clothes, Annabeth having to stifle her laughs as they tried to be as discreet as possible.

When they were out of earshot of the house, Percy took the lead, directing her through the turns that would bring them to the watering hole

"Oh, it's beautiful," Annabeth gasped as they came to a stop beside a deep, small pond-like feature.

Percy released her hand, giving her an excited grin. "It gets better." Knowing just which sharp pebbles to avoid, Percy scaled the boulder standing to the side of the watering hole, about seven feet above the water.

"Is that safe?" Annabeth asked incredulously.

Percy shrugged. "Well, if it isn't, it's a bit late now." His mum had introduced him to this place the first time they came to Montauk — when he was 6.

Mentally bracing himself, Percy leaped off the rock, the running start sending him flying into freefall as he whooped, plunging into the water with a large splash.