"Luke," I said, breathing deeply, "what the hell were you thinking?"

"What are you talking about?" Luke frowned. "Annie, I don't understand."

"What do you mean 'you don't understand?' You manipulated me into invading Percy's privacy and believing I've been doing the right thing!"

Luke scowled and crossed his arms. "I haven't done anything wrong, Annie. I gave you what you wanted: proof."

"You said I was in the clear!"

"I don't remember that."

"You fucking texted it to me." I wrenched my phone out of my pocket, pulled up our text chain, and thrust it into his hand. "There! Look at it!"

Luke glanced at the phone with a concerned expression. "There's nothing there, Annie."

"What are you talking about?" I snatched my phone back and glanced down at our text chain. "Wha-"

The message was gone. I quickly exited out of our text chain and opened the deleted messages tab. No texts existed there, either.

"What... what..." I sputtered, the temperature around me increasing. "What... where are...?"

"Sweetheart," Luke said gently, "I think the stress of dealing with Percy is impairing your memory. You should go rest."

"But... I saw it..."

"I promise you I never sent that message, Annie. I really think you should go rest; you've been under so much pressure lately."

I shook my head, attempting to clear my thoughts. "I know what I saw, Luke. You're gaslighting me!"

"Seriously, Annabeth? Why would you accuse me of something like that?"

Instantaneously, regret erupted in my heart. My heart began hammering, and the heat surrounding me intensified. I focused on the ground, steadying my body.

"I can't believe you, Luke," I said at last. "You broke your promise."

"What promise?"

I snorted in disbelief. "What promise? Oh, I don't know, the one we made when we first started dating? The one where we said we'd never lie to each other?"

Luke's eyebrows knit together in concern. "Annabeth, that never happened."

"Yes, it did! Stop lying!"

"No, it didn't. Sweetheart, I really think you should go to rest. All the stress is clearly causing you to lose your memory."

"Stop trying to manipulate me," I snarled.

"I would never do that to you, Annabeth," Luke said, the hurt evident in his voice. "You need to chill. The stress from Percy is clearly making you delusional."

"Delusional?" I echoed, my voice rising with each syllable. "What the actual fuck, Luke?"

"Annabeth, you aren't thinking clearly. Percy is causing you stress, and it's affecting your health!"

"Don't blame Percy!" I shouted. "You're at fault for this, Luke! You're trying to make me think I'm crazy!"

"No, I'm not," Luke said in a placating tone. "Annie, I promise, I'm just trying to help you."

"No." I backed away from him, shaking my head. "No. No, you're only trying to help yourself."

"Annie, please-"

"No, Luke." I gripped the door handle behind me. "We're done."

"Annabeth, wait!" Luke begged. "Don't leave! I love you!"

"Love doesn't gaslight or manipulate, Castellan," I said coldly. "Goodbye."

I slammed the door shut and sprinted down the stairs four at a time. I wrenched the door to my car open and jumped inside. The engine roared to life, and I floored it out of there.

With fumbling hands, I dialed Thalia's number. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, Annabeth," she said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Luke and I broke up," I said in a slightly trembling voice.

"Wait, what?" Thalia sounded shocked. "You did?"

"Yes."

"Good; you deserve better than an asshole like him. Can I go punch him now for what he did?"

"No, Thalia. Violence isn't the answer..." My heart skipped a beat. "Never mind, it is the answer."

"What's wrong?" Thalia asked, hearing the fear in my voice. "What happened?"

"Luke's following me." I glanced in my rearview mirror, just to be sure. There was no mistaking the scar under his right eye or his irate expression. "It's him, alright."

"One second." Thalia yelled something indistinct on her end before the call resumed. "Here."

"Is this you, Annabeth?" a vaguely familiar voice asked.

"Clarisse?" I was stunned.

"Yes, it's me, blondie."

"What are you doing here?"

"Doesn't matter. The point is: I can help you. I'm in police training right now, and I can arrest Luke. I already have some evidence against him."

"Okay," I said. "What do I need to do?"

"Don't get out of your car," Clarisse said. "Don't look back at Luke or acknowledge him in any way. Text Thalia your location and then drive to CalTech's track."

"Okay."

Clarisse hung up. I messaged Thalia my location and turned onto Southern Wilson Ave. The speed limit was twenty, and I intended to abide by that until I realized Luke was tailgating me. I experienced slight whiplash as he bumped into the back of my car. The fury mixed with anxiety inside me increased tenfold, and I floored it. My car surged forward, going from twenty to sixty in thirty seconds.

I swerved right onto a perpendicular road heading towards the public parking adjacent to the track. Luke followed, blaring his horn in an indication that he wanted me to stop. I ignored him and concentrated as I zoomed into the public parking area. I glanced around, searching for Clarisse. I spotted her as she waved her arms over her head. I swerved left this time and slammed on the brakes. I halted the engine, at the same moment when Luke stopped his car behind me.

"Annabeth!" He jumped out and dashed over to my window. "Can't we just talk?"

"No, Luke," I said coldly. "I told you already that we're done."

Luke's expression hardened. "Open this door!" he demanded, hammering on the metal.

"No," I said simply.

"Open this door!" Luke shrieked, forming a fist with the intent to punch through my window.

"You're under arrest!" Clarisse, having sneaked up behind Luke, forced him to his knees and cuffed him. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court."

"What...?" Luke glanced pleadingly at me. I was standing beside my friends, having just climbed out through the front passenger seat window. "Annabeth, don't just stand there; help me!"

I stared mercilessly at him. "You brought this on yourself, Luke. I warned you that manipulating people would ruin your life. I just can't believe I put up with it for so long."