Soon You'll Get Better

25.

25.

Grover and Silena find out

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Percy POV

I was beginning to feel faint. The shouting match was making my chest hurt and my head spin. "We're done. As I said, I really wish it didn't end this way."

And then she ran. "You'll regret this, Jackson!"

I sighed, and swiveled around, turning to the crowd watching us. "GET LOST! THIS ISN'T REALITY TV! DON'T YOU GUYS HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO THAN INVOLVE YOURSELF IN MY LIFE?"

Black spots danced in front of my eyes, and I started to sway. Matt Sloan, the boy who I punched a few weeks ago for messing with me, took the opportunity to come up to me and punch me in the chest.

Pain blinded me. I couldn't breathe properly. I was falling. I stumbled backwards against a locker as Matt continuously punched me. Someone tried to get him off of me. Grover and Jason, I think. I didn't know. I was trying to force air into my lungs. The pain came, again and again. I was too tired and weak to fight him off, so I just let him.

I didn't cry. I probably should have.

You're a man, my mind told me. Men don't cry

So? Crying doesn't make you any less of a man, the other part told me

Still, I refused to cry. If I've learned anything, crying shows vulnerability. Something that I shouldn't have. I had a reputation in this school. I was not going to let it go because someone was punching me.

I'm going to make this clear. I normally would fight back. I would punch him straight in the jaw. I was a lot stronger than he was. He didn't do sports. He didn't workout. I swam at least 5 days a week, played football and basketball at least four times. All the sports had physical training, and not to brag, but I excelled in all of them.

I was just tired. Too tired to fight back, and Matt thought it was funny.

"Is the popular boy weak? Can he not fight back? Face it, Jackson. You're nothing. All you have is looks. You'll never be better than anyone else. Face it, you're just a burden to your family. Do they have to pay for your hospital fees after I send you to the hospital?" Matt whispered, punching harder and faster. He said it in a way that only I could hear.

I almost laughed. If I wasn't in that much pain, I would've laughed. It was so funny how he coincidentally talked about the hospital fees. I didn't go to the hospital that much other than my checkups, but the chemo sessions costed a lot. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was a burden. What good did I do for them? Spend their money on hospital fees? Chemo fees?

He wasn't wrong. I was nothing. All I did have was looks. I wasn't even better than others.

And that made me want to cry even more.

"This is for you breaking my nose!" he said, punching him again. "This is for the black eye you gave me!"

I heard someone squeal. Piper maybe? Probably Silena. She always squealed when things got violent. Footsteps ran. Someone yelled. Someone's foot hit someone.

Breathe, I told myself. You're not breathing

But I couldn't. Every time I took a breath, a sharp pain entered my chest, blinding me with pain.

My knees began to shake, and I sank to the ground. That didn't stop Matt though, who just came down with me and punched me.

Finally, after what felt like 10 years, the body was lifted off of mine. Was it Reyna who did it? Thalia? No, hated me. Probably Beckendorf.