72

                                    

                                          
chapter seventy-two
Annabeth
                          
There it was. 
                          
Lying in the box was my phone, which looked untouched. I smiled as I carefully lifted it out of the box and opened it. 
                          
There were serval messages on my phone, nearly all of them from Percy and Thalia. Several from some of my old friends like Piper, and even one from Luke. 
                          
The messages from Percy were sweet. The initial ones were frantic, then sad, then sweet. He had even texted me on my birthday, wishing me a happy eighteenth. 
                          
The last message from him was from October, telling me he missed me and hoped my punishment wasn't too harsh. It made my heart skip a beat. 
                          
The texts from Thalia were similar as they were frantic and filled with panic. 
                          
Then I read the texts from Luke, which made me want to barf. The first one was from the day after graduation. He'd written me a long rant full of basic grammar mistakes and told me he never loved me, had cheated on me all the time, and thought nothing of me. 
                          
A text from a few days later he apologized, told me he wanted to see me again. Then more texts of love, gross, and a final text from a few weeks ago calling me names and saying he was kidding with the previous texts. 
                          
I rolled my eyes as I placed my phone down on the counter. I made my way to my room and placed all of my bags down. 
                          
Then I heard the flip phone ringing and I answered. 
                          
"Annabeth, I'm here and freezing in your hallway!" she said as she cursed under her breath. "God, why is New York so cold?"
                          
"I thought you'd be used to it by now as you've lived here for years," I commented as I made my way towards the door. 
                          
"Yeah, whatever," she murmured. "Just open then door." 
                          
She hung up as I opened the door. Standing in the hall was a shivering Thalia only dressed in a leather jacket. 
                          
I rolled my eyes as I pulled her inside. "Of course you'll freeze if you only wear this! You need a winter coat." 
                          
Thalia shook her head. "N-nope! Not ruining my aesthetic for the s-stupid weather!" 
                          
"Well, fine, but when you die of the flu or hypothermia I'll tell you I told you so," I snapped as I closed the door behind her. 
                          
"God, this place is huge," she commented as she peered around. "Has Percy seen it yet?" 
                          
I shook my head awkwardly. "Well, no...so, how was your Thanksgiving?" 
                          
Thalia frowned as she turned to face me, ending her ogling at the apartment. "Why do you keep changing the subject? What happened between you and Percy the other day?" 
                          
"It's....complicated," I whispered, barely being able to get the words out as it felt as if my throat was closing. 
                          
Thalia sighed. "Could you not get to him? Is it your mom again? Because if so, I have a plan." 
                          
"Oh, great," I murmured. "If it involves arson try again." 
                          
Thalia rolled her eyes. "No, this plan doesn't include arson. It was one time and you won't let it go!" 
                          
I smiled at Thalia and sat down next to her at my counter. "So, what's this totally legal plan of yours?" 
                          
She grinned wildly at me. "Well, as a sort of early Christmas gift to you, I am going to get your letter to Percy. But you have to tell me what happened first." 
                          
"Thalia...." 
                          
"Annabeth, please." 
                          
I closed my eyes and nodded. "Fine. It's....it's just he was home when I went to visit him." 
                          
Thalia crossed her arms in confusion. "Why is that a bad thing? Did he break your heart? If so, I legally have to break his ribs—"
                          
I half heartedly laughed and shook my head. "No, Thalia, don't do that. It's...it's my fault. I shouldn't have showed up at his house unannounced, and I should've assumed we'd broken up." 
                          
"Why?" Thalia asked forcefully. "Annabeth, what happened?" 
                          
"He was kissing someone else."
                          
Thalia blinked and then stood up and rushed towards my door, her fists clenched in anger. "I'm gonna go punch that idiot!" 
                          
"No!" I cried as I grabbed her by the waist, desperately trying to pull her back towards me. "Thalia, please...."
                          
Thalia sighed as she sat back down and placed her head in her hands. "God, he sucks. He's just like Luke..."
                          
I shook my head. "No, don't say that. Percy...he's different. I'm the wrong who assumed we're still together. I...I get it. He's moved on, Thalia, and so should I." 
                          
"I still hate him," Thalia admitted. "And I'm still willing to break his ribs if you'd like." 
                          
A laugh escaped my lips as I rolled my eyes. "Well, at least I have you."
                          
After a few more hours of talking and catching up with Thalia, I reluctantly walked her out of my apartment and into the streets of New York. 
                          
My bedroom was empty again as it usually was, disappointment settling on me. I sighed, my loneliness overpowering me. 
                          
I was sick of being alone. Visiting with Thalia was great, and so was having my phone back, but that didn't fill the void enough. Athena was constantly gone, and even though I'd make my peace with not seeing Percy, part of me still missed him. 
                          
God I need to move on, I thought as I stretched and moved towards my closet. This means I can't have this thing around....
                          
In the mess of moving in and out of Percy's apartment so quickly I'd somehow ended up with one of his sweatshirts. 
                          
It was an old one. Blue, as expected, with big white letters printed on it that spelled AHS Swim Team. I had assumed AHS was the name of his old high school, but I never knew he was on a swim team. 
                          
I grabbed the sweatshirt, tempted to pull it closer to me to get anything that reminded me of Percy, but I fought the temptation and quickly stuffed the thing under my bed. 
                          
I have to move on.