The Ex-Girlfriend

Annabeth POV

The next half hour was completely chaotic. There was so much to think about, especially regarding Percy, but all the activity pushed those thoughts aside. The police were asking all of us questions, cops and paramedics were bustling about, and the criminals were being escorted to prison.

Atlas was a very bad man, and he deserved to be behind bars for the rest of his life. What kind of father would maliciously hurt his own children?

I was currently sitting inside Percy's car as I waited for Percy and Calypso to finish their conversation with Officer Ares. Apparently, Calypso would have to live with a foster family from now on, and the family was already prepared to take her. We just had to drop her off.

Calypso was leaning against a cop car.

She was a beautiful girl, and I felt somehow self-cautious. Percy and Calypso had evidently dated in the past, and they seemed to have a complex relationship.

I felt bad for Calypso. This must've been so hard for her.

I watched as Percy walked towards Calypso with a water bottle. Calypso took it softly but didn't take a drink or anything. Percy started talking, but of course, I couldn't hear their conversation. Calypso seemed to get emotional again, however, and Percy took her into his arms slowly.

I felt a tug in my gut. For some reason, I didn't like the visual in front of me at all.

Percy being that close (physically and emotionally) to another girl was simply offputting for me. It felt like acid was bubbling in my gut as I turned away.

My phone rang, and I quickly answered, grateful for the distraction.

"Hey, Piper, what is it?" I asked in a tired voice.

"Annabeth, I have big news. A girl our age is moving into my house. Her dad, who is a criminal, apparently got arrested. Poor girl," Piper said in sympathy.

"Yeah, I know, Piper. Her name is Calypso."

"Wait, Annabeth, how do you know all this?" Piper asked in surprise.

"Because I'm with her right now, Piper." I started to explain everything that happened tonight as my eyes stayed on Percy and Calypso's embrace. Percy was gently rubbing her back, which seemed to surely comfort Calypso.

I knew that Percy was just helping her out, but I honestly wanted him to let go of her. Ugh.

"Wow, Annabeth, are you okay?"

"Yeah, everyone is all right, Piper. Thanks for asking. We'll be at your house in a few minutes."

"Okay, I'll see you, Annabeth. Bye."

As I ended the call, Percy and Calypso made their way to the car. Calypso got into the back as Percy started to drive.

My eyes wandered to Percy. He was such a sweet person for how he was helping Calypso. I hadn't realized that Percy's temple and cheek were bruised until now. Percy must've gotten hurt during the scuffle.

"Thank you so much, Annabeth," Calypso spoke softly.

I turned around to face Calypso. She seemed like a nice person, but I instinctually wasn't fond of her. The only reason behind that was the fact that she and Percy were together once.

I smiled softly before giving a quick response.

We drove in silence.

We pulled up at the McLean house pretty quickly. Piper's housekeeper, butler, and Piper were waiting outside of her big house.

Piper immediately came forward and hugged me tightly. I guess she was scared after I told her everything. I happily accepted her embrace. Then, Piper turned to Percy, who was limping towards us. His right leg seemed to be hurt near the knee.

"Percy, I'm so glad you're okay," Piper said as she hugged him too.

Finally, she turned to Calypso. Piper was a girl, who was great at interacting with people. She knew what to say and how to handle different people. Piper and Calypso got acquainted as Piper warmly accepted Calypso into her home, household, and family. I couldn't help but smile at my friend's caring nature.

Percy and I got in the car soon afterward.

"Percy, do you want me to drive?"

"Huh, what?" he asked as he turned to me from the driver's seat.

"Your leg, Seaweed Brain. I think you got hurt. Let me drive," I said softly.

He stared at me for a moment before nodding. Percy must've actually been hurting because he wouldn't have given up driving so easily otherwise.

Percy gave directions as I drove to his apartment complex. Besides that, the car ride was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. I was dropping Percy at his house, and I'd be taking his car home with me. He said he'll get it tomorrow or the next day.

I parked outside his apartment complex, and we just sat there.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he replied.

Before I could say anything else, he came forward and wrapped his arms around me. It caught me off guard, but I easily relaxed into his strong, warm arms.

As I drove home, all my thoughts were about Percy.

I wasn't even sure what happened today, but I knew one thing: Percy was a genuinely great guy. He'd do anything to help the people around him. And, he'd feel even worse if something were to happen to them.

Percy cared a lot about me. I could see that in the way he protected me and held me throughout the night. I was grateful for our deal because I wouldn't have gotten to know Percy otherwise.

***

As soon as I got to lunch on Monday, I noticed that our lunch table was different because we had a new member: Calypso. Piper was introducing her to everyone. Everyone had made it to the table except for Percy, but that wasn't a surprise. He was always the last to arrive.

"Hello, Annabeth," Calypso said brightly as I approached.

"Hi, Calypso, how's the first day going?" I asked as cheerfully as possible.

"It's great actually. I'm so happy to be out of danger and to be here. All your friends are so nice and accepting."

"Yeah, of course."

"We're all friends now," Rachel said kindly. "Oh, you also have one more person to meet. He's usually always late to lunch, though."

Grover looked over at Rachel at the same time I did. Grover didn't seem too fond of Calypso, considering they maintained minimal interactions with each other. I didn't really know what happened between Calypso and Percy, but there definitely was a complicated history.

"Really, who?" Calypso asked.

"His name's Percy Jackson. He's like the player of our school. I'd be careful if I were you."

"Rachel, he currently is not a player," Jason said with a sigh.

Calypso started chuckling, which caught everyone's attention. "Percy as a player doesn't seem too much like him," she said between laughs.

Honestly, she wasn't wrong. After getting to know Percy, I didn't even understand why he was a player. I didn't understand why he jumped around for solely physical relationships.

"Wait, you know Percy?" Thalia asked.

"She an ex-girlfriend," a deep voice said from behind. Everyone turned towards Percy in surprise.

"Calypso, I need to talk to you alone," Percy said.

Everyone watched as they walked out of the cafeteria together. Percy had plenty of ex-girlfriends, but Calypso was different. She was different to Percy, and I didn't really like that.

But, I didn't understand why I didn't like it.

"Well, that was weird," Piper said to which everyone nodded.

"I wonder what happened between them. Usually, Percy's very chill around ex-girlfriends," Connor said.

Everyone's gaze fell on Grover and Juniper. If anyone knew something, it would be Grover. Grover avoided our looks and started to eat his lunch.

The rest of us looked at Juniper.

She immediately understood the silent message. "Uh, honey, maybe you want to tell us about Calypso."

"No, guys, she's a part of our friend group now. It wouldn't be right. Besides, Percy and Calypso are ancient history, so it doesn't really matter," Grover said logically.

The conversations returned back to normal. Percy and Calypso came back in a few minutes, and everything seemed normal. However, I noticed that Calypso kept looking at Percy with a certain expression.

I knew that expression. It was one of desire and care but also guilt and shame. I knew that expression because it was written on my mother's face when she left my dad and me.

Calypso still had feelings for Percy, but she also knew her chance with Percy was gone.

It didn't take a genius to guess that it was probably her fault.

***

Calypso and I shared our last period together. As soon as school ended, she joined me in my walk to my locker. Calypso was actually a very nice and interesting girl, and it was easy to talk to her. I kind of understood why Percy could've liked her in the past.

"So, Annabeth, you have this deal with Percy?"

"Yeah, he's like one of the players of Goode High. I devised this deal in the hopes of torturing him after Rachel got hurt."

"Was Rachel getting hurt Percy's fault?" Calypso asked. That was the perfect question to ask, and honestly, I don't think it was Percy's fault.

"Not really. Percy didn't lead her on or lie to her or anything. Rachel's feelings for him just happened. The deal was an on-the-spot thing."

Calypso nodded as we walked in silence.

"You know that Percy is a very good guy. He may be a player, but he's good."

"Yeah, I'm realizing that," I said truthfully.

"He could be playing with girls because he doesn't want to get hurt again. Like I did two years ago," she said softly.

"Calypso, you don't have to-"

"No, I want to because you did save me on Saturday." I simply nodded.

"Percy and I were each others' first. First, everything: kiss, relationship, sex, etc. We genuinely loved each other, but I hurt him."

She took a breast before continuing, "Percy is one of the most loyal people I know. Percy helped put my father behind bars to save me. He was amazing and loving, and I betrayed him."

Her voice faltered off as her eyes turned misty.

"You cheated on him?" I asked softly. She simply nodded.

Getting cheated on certainly explained why Percy wouldn't want to engage in serious relationships. He didn't want to get hurt again. However, a part of me wondered if that was the real reason. Percy just didn't seem like a guy who would put off relationships because one of them didn't work out.

"I made a horrible, devastating mistake, and I lost an amazing guy. It's probably my biggest regret."

"It's all right, Calypso."

We stood there at my locker for a couple of minutes until Calypso calmed down. I honestly felt horrible for Percy. He had done so much for Calypso and probably loved her so much, but she hurt him in return.

Grover's words repeated in my mind: they are ancient history.

I felt a small amount of joy to know that Percy and Calypso were ancient history. They'd only be friends going forward. Nothing more.

Ugh, that shouldn't even matter to me.

Percy was still a player. I couldn't be having weird joys and warm feelings about him.