Hades Titans {BOOK 2}

XV. Perfect

My eyes stung, and I was lying on a freezing cold floor. My shirt had lifted, and my lower back was right against the cold. I tried to decipher what had led to this. I had never had a reaction like this before. Was it the pregnancy? Was it the kiss? Was it Phoenix? I felt like all of the control slipped through my fingertips and I was no longer in control of my own body. My body was numb, cold, and lifeless. My body had given in to whatever happened, letting it take over.

"Come on?! Answer your phone!" I heard Penelope's panicked voice, before even attempting to open my eyes. Oh no. She's calling Hayden. He will never leave me alone after this and if he finds out about Phoenix –.

"What are you doing?" I forced my eyes open, despite the pain and irritation. My mouth was dry, and the words felt like blades cutting through my chest and throat. What is this? I felt like my body was punishing me for the kiss that was forced on me. Why am I being punished?

"Oh my god, you scared me. Are you okay? I didn't know what to do. I tried every one, but nobody is answering their damn phone!" She held my head in her lap as she continued to dial on her phone.

"Hang up." I tried to lift my limp hand towards her phone to take it, but my whole body was drained of any power that I had. My legs were jelly, my arms trembling at any attempt to move them. I felt exhausted like I hadn't slept in days.

"What?" She stared at me, her eyes glassy and full of concern. She had a tough exterior, but it seemed I had made my way into the deep soft center of her heart.

"Hang up. If you tell Hayden, he will never leave me alone again." I used all of my strength to sit myself down, using Penelope's body as a wall to lean on. She held me close, locking the screen of her phone, before setting the phone down beside her.

"And he shouldn't!" She slowly picked herself up off the floor, gently pulling me up with her. "What happened? Did Phoenix do something to you? Why was he here?" What happened? Did he do this to me? Surely not. I got to my feet, my knees buckling under me instantly. I was glad she had the strength of all the humans I knew combined.

"I asked him to come here," I explained vaguely, panting, despite not taking any steps to help Penelope. My mind, body, and soul had given in to the exhaustion. My lungs were ready to collapse, my body limp and weak. I felt broken.

"Careful." Penelope, carefully laid me in my bed, covering my cold body with the duvet.

"I asked him to help me with a present for Hayden." I exhaled a weak breath. I'd never felt so unwell before. I never liked hospitals and no matter how unwell I felt, I would never consider going to one, but it wasn't just me anymore.

"What happened? Why did he storm out like that? I haven't seen him like that in a long time. He looked really upset and so did you." She sat down beside me, moving a pillow to comfort her lean against the headboard. She brushed my brown hair out of my face, peering in closer.

I watched her eyes, hopefully waiting for me to tell her what happened. "He kissed me," I said, looking into the depths of her slowly widening eyes.

"What?!" She shrieked. "What is wrong with him?!"

"He remembered everything that happened before he died. All of the feelings he had for me and I had no idea." I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. "I shouldn't have asked him to come here and to help me with my boyfriend's present." I looked up to the grey ceiling. "Oh my god. It will break his heart when he finds out I'm pregnant."

"Hey, you don't need to worry about this. Nick can take care of himself. You have plenty of other things to worry about. You need to look after yourself and your health for the baby." She slowly brushed across my hair with a smile. I'm a bad friend.