"- same as usual," Annabeth finishes. "It's not any worse, but it's not any better. Which is why - there's always going to be a chance that I won't come back here."

She shrugs, matter-of-factly.

She'd always accepted this, and was fine with it, until Scorpius.

"And it's not fair to you that we continue like this if I might suddenly disappear, you know? Not that it matters now, I guess." She smiles wryly, before the smile fades completely.

"And ... maybe, it's not just that."