So, where was I? Oh, yeah. Gabe shot me. I tried to avoid screaming a stream of curses, but the bullet in my shoulder blade didn’t make it easy. Gabe snickered as I went onto my knees and tumbled back to hit my head on the step. Annabeth fell back onto the floor while I still remained on the step, but either way, Gabe paid her no attention. He stepped right over her and kicked Mom out of the way before she could help.
Gabe grabbed a fistful of my hair and pointed the gun toward my mom. “I’ll give you two choices. It’s either you stay here and they go free or you get to watch them die. Your choice.” Gabe hissed, throwing me off the stair and onto the ground. My eyes were blurry, but I blinked to clear my vision and looked up at Gabe.
I didn’t want them to die because I was being brave, so I did the only natural thing. I decided to stay. I needed to protect them, even if it meant dying for it. “I’ll stay.” I hissed through clenched teeth. “On one condition. You let them go and never bother either one of them again.” I hissed.
Gabe nodded, as though considering this, then smiled at me. “You drive a hard bargain, but fine. As soon as they wake up, you may say your goodbyes.” Gabe snickered and went up the stairs. Both Mom and Annabeth were unconscious, so I put Mom on the wall next to Annabeth and felt a tear trickle down my cheek when I looked at both of them. Both of them were unconscious and bleeding in various places. I was about to start crying when Annabeth woke up.
“Annabeth!” I tackled her in a hug and held her there as her vision came back. “Thank God you’re okay.” I whispered. Annabeth patted my hand and smiled at me.
“Of course I’m all right. Percy, what happened?” She noticed the tears that trailed out of my eyes. I tried to calm myself, but I could only sob into Annabeth’s shoulder. “Sssh. It’s okay. Tell me.” Annabeth grabbed my hand. I wanted to tell her, I really did, but the truth would hurt her too much.
“I decided to stay. You and Mom go free if I stay here with Gabe.” I explained as I wiped a tear off her cheek. I was surprised; this was Annabeth, who I’d barely ever seen cry like this, but I had seen her cry many times today.
“No. I’m not letting you…What is that?” Annabeth was referring to the blood on my back. I shook my head. I didn’t want to explain. “You are not staying here. I won’t let you.” Annabeth grabbed my shoulders and looked right into my eyes.
“Annabeth, it’s not your decision.” I responded. She shook her head and began to cry into my shoulder. I calmed her as best I could, but when I was least expecting it, Annabeth attacked me with a kiss. My eyes were wide open in shock even after she pulled away from me, and she had a shocked look on her face too, as though her actions were unthinkable.
“It’s partly my decision. I don’t want you to stay here. You’ll die.” Annabeth begged. I shook my head again. “Percy, I swear, I am not leaving you here if you stay. Your mother wouldn’t agree either.” Annabeth reasoned.
“I know that she won’t approve, but if it means saving you two, then I don’t care.” I grabbed her shoulders and stared into her eyes, which were full of tears and a way to protest, but it didn’t matter. She may have had many ways to talk me out of it, but they would have no effect on me. She had things to live for; dreams and hopes. I did not. I was dyslexic, had ADHD, and there was nothing I was good at. I would die without having accomplished anything.
As if she read my mind, Annabeth stared right back at me and shook her head. “Percy, I don’t want you to get hurt.” She begged, tears spilling out of her eyes. The guilt was eating me alive; I had to give in. No. That’s exactly what she wanted me to do.
“I’m sorry. I have to stay here.” She did exactly what was unexpected; she punched me. My head fell back as the blood trickled from my mouth. I wiped it away with the back of my hand and gaped at her. Her hands were over her mouth and her eyes were wide open in shock. Obviously, this was not her intended action.
“I’m so sorry.” She tore the sleeve of her shirt and wiped the blood from my mouth as the tears flowed from her eyes. I grabbed her hand that was wiping the blood and watched her stare at me.
“Don’t worry about it.” I whispered and caught her chin to make her look at me. Tears trickled down her cheeks and fell onto my thumb. I wiped them away and watched her tackle me in a hug as she sobbed into my t-shirt that Gabe had torn when he turned me down. “Sssh. It’s okay.” I tried to calm her as her hair brushed my hands that were wrapped around her waist. Nothing seemed to be able to calm her down, so I let her cry. Of course I hated to see her crying, but there was nothing I could do.
I felt like the world had ended when she finally backed away and wiped her eyes. She was shaking as she took deep breaths and I sighed as I wiped more tears from her eyes. “Sssh. It’s okay.” I pushed the bangs out of her eyes.
“No, it’s not. How do you think this will affect me and your mother? Percy, I care about you. I’m not going to let you do this. I’ll die with you.” She grabbed my hand, as if this would make her point. I took my hand out of her grip and shook my head.
“I will not let you die because you won’t leave me. Look, I like you, really I do, but don’t you think that you should let me follow my own heart? Make my own decisions?” I asked her as my fingers ran through her hair. She looked at me like she wanted to strangle me.
“Well, what about my heart? What about my decisions? I’m deciding to stay here because that’s what my heart is telling me to do. Percy, is it so wrong for me to care?” She stared at me.
“No, but… I can’t stand to see you get hurt. The deal is that I stay and you two go free. I’ll take the risk if it means protecting you and my mother.” Tears were streaming down her face and they were about to start stumbling out of her eyes. “Sssh.” I pulled her into a hug as she sobbed; heartbroken sobs that made my heart shatter at the first sound. I sshed her for I don’t know how long, but either way, the sound didn’t die down.
Mom was still unconscious when I looked, so I only continued to hold her as she sobbed. She choked out one last sob, and pulled away from my shoulder, even though the tears were still streaming down her face and they still glistened in her eyes.
“Please, don’t cry anymore.” I wiped a tear away with my thumb and smiled down at her, as if I was happy to stay here, which was a total lie. I didn’t want to stay here, but I did want them to get out. Maybe I could save myself again like I did last time. I hoped and prayed with every fiber of my being that Annabeth and I would meet again. I didn’t know where or when, but I hoped.
Gabe trampled down the stairs about ten minutes later with a gun behind his back. Mom was still unconscious, and I wanted to say goodbye before I moved back into silence. Gabe looked between me, Annabeth and Mom, as if deciding which one to shoot first. I waited, tense where I sat as my blood froze in my veins. Gabe woke Mom up when he looked at her and she held her head when she tried to sit up all the way.
As I helped her sit up, breathing became harder. I suppose when Gabe kicked me, it had broken something. Oh well. I wouldn’t have to endure the pain much longer. I hugged both Mom and Annabeth goodbye, wishing them well if I wasn’t going to be able to escape and see them again in life.
I hoped Annabeth wouldn’t protest or anything, but my wish must have been ignored because she did anyway. “How dare you?” She snarled. I grabbed her arm to try and stop her, but she shook me off. “How dare you?” She repeated, but in a lower voice.
Gabe stared at her and his brow furrowed. “How dare I? Who do you think you are?” Annabeth never failed to have an answer for everything. She pulled a Yankees cap out of her pocket and slipped something out of her sleeve.
“Daughter of Athena, at your service, Mrs. Jackson.” She smiled at Mom and unsheathed a dagger that she’d pulled out of her sleeve, but her Yankees cap still dangled from her fingers. Gabe laughed after the sentence left her mouth as I tried to piece the whole thing together, although with my ADHD, it took my brain a few minutes to understand it all. The dummies were for training, and she got all that fancy footwork from her mother Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. I should have known.
Gabe laughed at her, and Annabeth seemed to be in shock. I don’t think anyone ever laughed at Annabeth before, and I think it only made her madder. She stepped forward with the sword and sliced it through the air. I couldn’t even tell that she had cut him until I saw the blood trickling from his wrist. Annabeth was in trouble now.
Gabe stared at her for a few seconds before he aimed the gun at her head. I jumped in front of her. “Don’t you dare hurt her!” I screamed, but Gabe only laughed. Annabeth pushed me out of the way and threw on her cap, and she became instantly invisible. Gabe looked around for her as I tackled Gabe to the ground.
Gabe punched me numerous times and whacked the gun over my head. Fuzziness flew over my eyes, and I tried to maintain my vision, but I felt something grab me and push me away from Gabe. He screamed when something pierced his heart. He grabbed me around my shoulder and made me look right at him.
“Goodbye, little punching bag.” Gabe hit me in the nose one last time, and smiled as he fell back and my eyes bled. Annabeth whipped the cap off, and put her hands over her mouth, staring at Gabe as the light faded from his eyes. I don’t think that Annabeth had ever killed a human before, probably just monsters, and she was in a state of shock.
I pulled her away from Gabe and let her sob into my shoulder. They were heartbroken sobs that wouldn’t stop and tore my own heart to shreds. I grabbed Annabeth’s chin and made her look at me. She was about to ask a question, but I pressed my lips to hers. She kissed me back, not bothering to try and hide it. After a second, she pulled away.
Mom seemed to still be in shock, because she wasn’t looking at us. She was looking at Gabe, who was pale and his eyes were black since death had claimed him. I put my arm around her shoulders and led them up the stairs, even though they were both blubbering tears by the time they were halfway up the stairs.
By now, Gabe’s poker buddies had gone home, so besides us, the apartment was empty. My mom sniffled and looked at me. “What are you going to do now?” She asked. I didn’t know. I wanted to be with Annabeth and Mom at the same time, but Mom grabbed my shoulder before I could tell her what I was going to do.
“Percy…your father is Poseidon, God of the Seas.” Mom told me. Annabeth’s eyes darted between me and my mother, as if not believing it.
“I’ll meet you there, Mrs. Jackson. Here comes Grover.” Annabeth ran out the back door and down the stairs. I don’t know where she went. I was about to call her back when Mom pulled me back and pushed me toward the door.
“We have to go. Come on.” Mom grabbed her purse and her keys and pushed me into Grover on the other side of the door. We ran, but I was still in shock from what she had told me. That is, before my mother got taken by the Minotaur. I tried to defend her as best I could, but once I hit my head again, I couldn’t think of anything besides the pain that took me over.