Archive of Our Own

Annabeth hadn’t expected she’d become so attached to Sally. Sure, she’d always liked her a lot, but after Percy had disappeared, they’d grown closer and closer together. Now, she was like an older sister or a mother or... Annabeth didn’t know well how to put it in words. She just knew Sally was now someone necessary for her sanity to be kept. She was sure she wouldn’t be dealing with Percy’s disappearance if it wasn’t for her. She knew she wouldn’t have the strength to carry on. She just knew they helped each other survive, and that was enough.

That’s why, the day after she met her mother on the subway, she just knew maybe seeing Sally would help her feel better.

It had been a crappy week. It had been some crappy weeks, actually. But now, with that burning drachma on her pocket and that whole bunch of nonsense about revenge and the Mark of Athena in her head... It was just too much. She felt like crying and screaming and punching someone all at once. She needed comfort. She needed Percy.

So, she didn’t think much about it before showing up at Sally Jackson’s apartment. She didn’t think about the abnormal number of monsters she’d found and fought on her way there, or the bruises they’d left her with. She didn’t register the environment around her before walking in and hugging her, and then being led to a comfortable sit at her couch. She wasn’t surprised when she found herself crying and trembling and holding a cup of tea while spilling out her feelings.

They talked about what happened. They tried to figure it out. They talked about Percy. They cried and they held each other together. And soon (or maybe long hours after) Annabeth felt like there were no more tears inside her to be shed. She felt cleaner and less overwhelmed, but at the same time, she felt strengthless, like all the energy she had in her body had been drained. So she just sat there and stared at the ground.

“I’m sorry,” she said, suddenly, which made Sally raise her eyebrows.

“What for?”

“I- For everything. For not being able to keep him safe. For not keeping it together. For showing up like that without notice,” she stared at the window and watched the sun go down, unable to look inside Sally’s red eyes.

“Hey,” a hand on her shoulder made Annabeth reestablish eye contact. “Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry about. None of that is your fault. And I don’t mind you showing up. You’re not alone, and you being here reminds me that I’m not, either.”

She could only nod and pull her into a hug that she wasn’t sure how long lasted.

“I hope we can find him,” she whispered.

“We will,” Sally muttered back. “We have to believe it.”

When they broke apart, Sally looked at the clock and got up suddenly. “Oh gods,” she looked down at Annabeth, apologetically. “Honey, I have to go. I promised Paul I would go to the grocery store before picking him up at school, so I really have to leave now.”

Annabeth started to get up, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder again. “Why don’t you stay here?”

“What?”

Sally bit her lip. “Stay for dinner, at least. You can wait here and we can all have dinner together when I’m back with Paul. I’ll make some pasta or we can order pizza. We can drive you back if it’s too late.”

Annabeth wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but she suddenly felt the urge for some traditional family time, and shook her head. “Okay. That sounds good.”

When Sally smiled to her, she thought maybe it was the first time she’d seen it in a long, long time. “Good. And Annabeth, maybe you can take a shower and try to calm down while I’m out, honey. I think it’ll make you feel better.”

“Oh. I don’t-“

“I’ve got some clothes on the bathroom cabinet, you can borrow them.”

“O-okay.”

It wasn’t long before Sally left and Annabeth caught herself sitting there staring at the sky again, loosing herself in the burning feeling of the silver drachma near her skin. Then she took a moment to feel the pain on her body and noticed the dirt and bruises she’d been left with, from her short travel to the apartment. So she decided a shower might not be a bad idea, after all.

The hot water helped comfort her, and even though she had to keep the same underwear, the feeling of clean clothes on her body made her feel her head clearer, her thoughts and feelings lighter, somehow. Still, the cotton shorts and shirt she’d found on the cabinet made her feel chilly, so she grabbed a light robe that she saw hanging behind the door.

She was on her way back to the couch when she passed through the door to Percy’s room, that was slightly open. She stopped, considering. And then took a deep breath before walking in.

Everything inside screamed Percy Jackson. The poorly done bed, the dark blue sheets and the posters and drawings on the walls. The opened bag with school books left hanging on the wall and the old skateboard leaning besides the wardrobe.

It all brought back to her the memory of him, the way his hair was never properly on place and he didn’t seem to mind. The way his eyes lightened up when he talked about something he liked and darkened whenever he was worried or they were in danger... Whenever he looked at her hoping he hadn’t said or done anything wrong.

Also, the smell. Somehow, the place still smelled salty, like the ocean was just around the corner.

Finally, the photographs. The picture of him besides his mom in Montauk when he was a kid. The one were he and Grover stood on the strawberry fields, and the one where he and Tyson held their skateboards, arms around each other, childish grins on their 13-years-old faces. And then... The one where he had his arms around her, wrapping her in a hug from behind, huge smiles on their faces as they looked to the camera in Central Park.

She could almost feel his arms on her body, the safeness in it. Like he had vanished just two seconds ago, instead of days and weeks and... Like he was just behind the door, in the hallway, and could walk a few steps and wrap her in that homey hug again.

And then she was crying again, and wrapping her own arms around her and laying on his bed because she couldn’t trust her legs to keep her standing. And then her eyes were just too tired and her mind was just too much and her heart was just too heavy for her to be awake for a minute more.

She woke up at the sound of Sally coming home with Paul.

“We’re back!”

By the time she reached Percy’s room, Annabeth had already gotten up, but she was sure her face and clothes basically had written all over them that she’d been napping.

Sally stopped at the doorway and turned on the lights.

“Annabeth?”

“Gods- Sally, I’m sorry, I,” she looked at the ground. “I might have slept with your robe while you were gone.”

She was sure her face was as red as Apollo’s sacred cows.

Sally’s mouth turned slightly up into a side smile. “It’s alright, honey.”

They stood in silence for a while, Annabeth facing the ground until she found the courage to look Sally in the eyes and was surprised by how welcoming and warm they still were.

“Why don’t you sleep here tonight? You can stay in Percy’s room. Maybe it’s better if you’re not alone tonight.”

Annabeth nodded affirmatively.

“Okay, then. You can grab some of his clothes if you want, too. If it’ll keep you warmer.”

“Okay.”

“Well, c’mon then. I could use some help in the kitchen.”

She turned to leave, but Annabeth finally found her voice. “Sally?”

She stopped and turned back to her, with questioning eyes.

“Thank you. For everything.”

“We’re family, honey. That’s what we do. We stick together.”

Annabeth was glad she didn’t find it hard to trust her.