What Happened After Happily Ever After

#4 - Not So Perfect After All

Chapter 4 - Not So Perfect After All
published: Wednesday, 30 December 2020

Annabeth wished she could say that the active shooter situation had solved all her problems — a weird, sort of tone-deaf sentence that made her loathe her conceitedness.

But that sentence would be true in a movie. A single moment, basking in each other's presence, would be enough to heal a rift that had formed over years. 

Sadly, it didn't work that way in real life.

It had been good, sure. For about 5 minutes. Percy hadn't let her go, keeping his hand in hers even as he told her about everything that had happened. The weight of his gaze hurt, but Annabeth didn't care because he was alive and that was all that mattered.

But then he stepped aside to make a call and that was it. The distance between them exploded into a million miles. He returned from the call pale and was absent for the remainder of their drive home, answering her questions with monosyllabic answers.

By the time they got home, Annabeth stormed upstairs, not bothering to say a word to him.

A week passed before something else unsettling occurred.

Annabeth took the train today. Usually, she drove to work, but Percy needed the car today for whatever reason, so she was taking the train in his place.

She really didn't like taking the train.

There were the men who eyed her in a way that made her shift uncomfortably, the gum-stained floor of the station and the stuffy, claustrophobic, hotness of the train carriage.

For a second, Annabeth forgave Percy for being such a massive dick all the time — it was probably because of the train.

She put her earbuds in, but unlike her car where she could sing or hum as she drove, she had to sit rigidly and stare at the train map.

The time between each station felt like an hour. She fidgeted, tapping her fingers against the side of her thigh impatiently. A pair of heels were in her bag for her to change into when she got to work, but right now she was wearing comfortable shoes and Annabeth took a moment to appreciate that.

Then the lights flickered off.

Between blinks, Annabeth and the entire train carriage was plunged in darkness. She turned to her right, seeing similar confusion on the other passengers' faces.

There was a horrid screeching noise as the train came to a halt, the sudden jolt almost stopping some people.

Annabeth swivelled her head left and right. What was going on? Some kind of power malfunction?

Whispers filled the carriage as people or students who knew each other started to talk.

Annabeth wished she had someone else with her right now. Train malfunctions weren't that scary, but it wasn't very nice sitting alone in the dark, not knowing what was happening.

She stared at her hands. Annabeth tried not to use her phone in the train, not wanting to be labelled a target by pickpockets. But if she was going to be here in the dark for a while...

"Please stay calm," the conductor's voice crackled through the speakers. "The carriage in front of you is experiencing a problem. We are investigating now."

"Investigating?" Annabeth murmured. What?

Chatter arose all around her, and the noise was deafening as voices rocketed from hushed whispers to a deafening hubbub as people began to do the exact opposite of staying calm.