Soon You'll Get Better

54.

54.

The Surgery

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Annabeth POV

I woke up under the sheets of Percy's blanket.

He had insisted I stay with him last night.

No. We were not doing that. Dirty mind.

He was too tired to do anything.

Anyways, it was early morning. Around 9 o'clock. It's early for me, okay?

Percy wasn't in bed, so I walked out the door to see him sitting on a chair at the kitchen counter talking to his mom who was making breakfast. His head was down in his arms, and he wasn't wearing a shirt which made it hard to not stare at his body.

Sally saw me and she smiled. "Good morning, Annabeth. How did you sleep?"

"Good," I answered.

I walked over and put a hand on Percy's bare back, gently massaging his neck for him.

"Morning, Seaweed Brain. How did you sleep?"

"Awful," Percy said. "I had migraines the whole night."

"Did you take anything for it?" I asked, looking at Sally.

She shook her head. "He won't take anything."

"It's not going to help," Percy argued.

"Well, let's try taking something for it first, okay?"

He sighed and held out his hand for the pills. Sally immediately went to the cabinet and pulled out two Advil's. I handed him the water and he gulped them down.

And then there was silence.

"I can't do this," Percy whispered, putting his head back down .

"Do what?"

"I can't do this," he repeated. "I'm so sick and tired of everything."

I wrapped both of my arms around him, pulling his close. "I know. You're so close, Seaweed Brain. You can do it."

"I can't."

"You've made it this far," I reasoned.

"I can't."

I gave him a kiss. "I believe in you."

"I don't even believe in myself."

My heart almost stopped.

"What happened to the cocky, egotistical, confident person I used to know?"

"He changed."

"Why?"

Percy was silent. Then, he said very quietly, "He gave up trying."

I frowned. "That doesn't sound like him."

"Things change," Percy said. "People change."

"That doesn't sound like him."

"You don't get it, Annabeth, do you?"

"No. Care to explain?"

I saw that Sally had left, leaving us to talk.

"All my life, I've been trying to make people happy. I tried so hard, Annabeth. I did everything and anything I could. My fatal flaw is loyalty. I'd be the one to get killed instead of them. I tried my best to give them what they wanted. But some people just didn't believe in me. Some people like my dad, just didn't. And that's fine. Because I never really cared for his approval."