Come Back to Me[Sequel to YME and Crossing Paths]

Chapter Forty-Eight: The Fates Plan

Chapter Forty-Eight: The Fates Plan

Percy

"What?" I gripped the edge of my desk, begging that Annabeth was just playing with me and Jason wasn't really dead.

"He's dead, Percy. He's been dead since Monday. He locked himself in and...I don't know, they are doing an autopsy now." she sobbed through the phone. "Thalia and I went to check on him because Piper hasn't seen him since Thursday. We had to kick through the door, and he was dead!"

I gulped. "I'll be over as soon as I can. I love you." I hung up, setting my phone down in disbelief. It took me a few minutes before I realized that I had to go to the hospital. My cousin, one of my closest friends, was dead.

It took me half an hour to get to the hospital. My ears rang, and I stumbled as I got out of the car. I ran inside, nearly running into a nurse.

"Mr...you need to sign in." a nurse guided me towards the front desk. He sat down and pulled out a clipboard, but Thalia rushed to my aid.

"Sir, he is with us." she grabbed my arm.

"Oh...I'm so sorry. Go right ahead." he put the papers back on his desk as Thalia led me away.

"The autopsy is almost done. Piper is pretty upset, but she's mostly okay. Jonas is so confused." for the first time in nearly twenty years, Thalia Grace began to cry. I pulled her into a hug. "I can't believe he's gone. He was fine not too long ago. I don't know what happened." Despite her being as tall as me, she seemed to shrink with every word.

Once she'd calmed down enough to walk in a straight line, we went over to where everyone else was waiting. Leo was sitting next to Annabeth, his face in his hands. Piper sat on her other side with Jonas in her lap. Annabeth spoke softly to her, trying not to break herself.

Just as Thalia and I sat down, a man in scrubs and many protective layers came and addressed our group.

"We found the cause of death," he said grimly. Since there was no one else in the waiting room, he didn't bother leading us into a private room. "We believe he died Tuesday night, but it very well could have been yesterday morning. He had cardiovascular failure. We looked through his files and saw that he'd been coming in for nearly a month for treatment, but the medication only weakened his heart." This information made Piper break into heavy sobs, holding her son tight. She leaned into Annabeth, who had a few tears running down her cheeks as well. "I'm sorry we must ask so soon, but since Mr. Grace's body was found so late after death, we do need to know what will be done with the corpse right now. Mrs. Grace, your husband didn't have a will, so all of his assets immediately go to you."

Piper took a shaky breath, nodding. "He wanted to be cremated."

"Alright." the mortician nodded. "I'm so sorry for your loss," he said before walking back to the mortuary.

"Annabeth, can you take Jonas for the night? I...I need to go." Piper handed her son off to Annabeth, then ran out the door.

She got up and came to sit next to me, looking slightly scared. "Are you holding up okay?" she asked me.

I nodded, stroking my nephew's hair. He was only one and a half ー he didn't deserve to grow up without his father in his life. Piper and Jason had worked so hard to make sure that Jonas had the childhood that they never did. However, Piper was one of the most caring people I knew, and she would do her best to fill in the blanks.

Thalia had left, and Leo was about to. He walked over to Annabeth and me, meanwhile throwing his jacket over his shoulders. "You two okay? Cally and I can take Jonas for the night if you need us to."