¹𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀. percy jackson

LVIII.

☼

THE FIRST NIGHT AT SALLYS WAS DIFFICULT. Lucia knew she had no reason to be afraid of where she was staying. Not in the slightest. Lucia was the safest she had ever been.

She was welcomed with open arms. Which helped to calm the anxiety of feeling like an intruder. Sally had gotten new orange sheets for the sofa bed. And it didn't stop there. Percy's parents went out of their way to buy her a nightlight to plug in by the TV and bought a bag full of extra toiletries to use. Paul even cleared a space in one of the hallway closets just so she could have a place to unpack her bag.

To say Lucia was grateful to them was an understatement. 

But that's the thing. It wasn't the house that was scary, it was her own head. Ever since the end of the war things had been great, but going back to normalcy was not easy. Every time Lucia closed her eyes it was like she was taken back in time; if she wasn't seeing Agatha screaming she was seeing her lifeless body. If she wasn't hearing the gunshot she was hearing Kronos' piercing voice. If she wasn't thinking of losing her dad she was thinking of losing Ethan.

The gist of the matter was that her memories were running rampant. And Lucia would have to endure that, but at night it was the hardest. Sleeping had become a chore rather than the easiest thing to do when the sun went down.

She tossed and turned on the sofa bed more times than she could count. Until finally, she found herself knocking 'riptide by vance joy' on a white wooden door.

"Luz?" A sleepy voice called.

"Are you sleeping?" She asked, rather stupidly. Of course, he was sleeping it was 3 am on a Saturday.

"Come in."

Lucia softly opened the door. She cringed as it creaked, hoping it wasn't loud enough to wake up his parents. She stood at the door of the dark room shifting on her feet. The glow around her body allowed her to see his silhouette on the bed.

"I'm sorry Percy." She sighed, "I can't sleep."

Her eyebrows furrowed together when she saw him stand up. He instantly wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked her back to the living room.

"I didn't mean to disturb your—"

"Hey, You came to me for a reason didn't you." He asked

She nodded shyly in the dim light.

Percy climbed onto her pull-out bed. resting his head on her pillow, he pulled out the covers and then patted the space next to him.

"Sally will kill us if she finds you here in the morning." Lucia huffed, "And I don't know about you but I'd rather not hear Paul  give us 'The talk' again"

He chuckled softly, "Come on baby, I'll go once your asleep."

Lucia hesitated but climbed in next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder before wrapping an arm around him. Her leg clung around his. "Neither of us believe that."

"You doubt me?" He scoffed,

"mhmm." Lucia whispered, "You're gonna get too excited about holding me alllll night and want to stay."

"You're right." He hugged her close. "Looks like we're gonna have to endure another reproductive health speech."

She playfully hit his chest. "Gods please no. I truly think he memorized pamphlets just for us."

She felt his chest vibrate against her ear. Then his lips press against her forehead.

"You're safe." He whispered,