No Strings Attached

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

No, no, no. I knew it was true. I knew it would come to pass like a plague. But it didn't hurt any less. I could only heave out a few strangled sighs. No words came out of my mouth; my throat wouldn't let it be.

"Nico," Will's eyes were sympathetic if a little wet, but he hugged me regardless. He slid his arms around my body, snaking them down my waist and pulling me gently into a hug. "Oh Nico."

I just stood in silence. No way could I show how much I missed Jason. I let the phone slide out of my hands and drop on the wooden floor. My father's voice cut through the silence.

"I'll be at home, Nico. Call me whenever you need." He whispered. "Bye, Nico." He cut the call.

I sat down on Will's bed and fell on my back onto the mattress. Will did the same. His blond hair tickled my ears, but I chose not to point that out.

"What now?" I said quietly. "Are they going to plan a funeral for him. Oh God, Zeus is going to be there. I haven't seen him in ages. And his wife, Hera. She sucks. Never liked Jason to begin with."

"Do we get to go to the hospital?" I said softly. "I don't know, say goodbye to his body? Anything? Is this really it?"

"Where's our big goodbye when we need one?" Will Solace chuckled, but I could see the loss weighing on him, causing the dark circles under his eyes.

***

The next morning, the dark circles were nowhere near gone, even after a night's rest. Will Solace still looked haggard, but I dare not point that out when I looked the same, except ten times worse. I hadn't planned for school the next day, but now that I was here, it was too early to rush back home. When I told Will this, he flashed a thumbs up and threw at me a bright yellow hoodie and some blue jeans. I cringed at the colour but changed into it regardless.

The moment I walked into school; I regretted it. Peopled murmured and whispered, forming circles around us as they talked, and the common denominator from all their conversations was Jason. I was sick of hearing them talk about him. They gossiped about him, bringing up old, embarrassing memories of him. But I couldn't find any malicious intent in their conversations. Just as if they were friends reminiscing about a buddy that had moved away.

Lunch was the hardest. I found my seat first, in its usual spot, and waved down Will, who plopped into a seat next to me. He had with him, in addition to his tray, his science textbook and a highlighter, as well as his laptop. I saw him draw his pen from his pencil case, but his hand shook as he did so, the pen quivering in his hand. He eventually gave up, after staring at the pen for a few minutes and resigned to eating what looked like spinach, if they'd shoved it in a torture machine and a blender.

Percy and Annabeth filed in next, and judging from their sunken eyes and dimmed personality, they too had heard about Jason's death. They sat down next to each other, leaving an empty chair next to them, a silent agreement that Jason was still here.

"Nico?" Percy started. His voice was hoarse and now that I looked at them, his eyes were red. "What happened? With Jason?"

I could hear the pain in his voice, only amplified by how he choked mid-sentence. Annabeth placed a tentative hand on his shoulder, the ghost of all her time with Jason haunting her expression. Despite the sunny atmosphere and the fluffy clouds dotting the sky, gloom hung over our table like a fog.

"It's hard to explain," I said softly. I wanted to tell him that I didn't have to say anything, that I was grieving, but he deserved an explanation. "He went into a cafe with this girl, and she dragged him outside and murdered her." The condensed version sounded like an amateur's storytelling. 'Billy went to school. He had recess. Then he died.' But this was so much more real. Seeing Jason's scarred body lying on the ground is an image I'll never get out of my mind.

"Het, Percy?" A voice said, slithering in our conversation like a snake and cutting through with an annoying voice. An annoying voice I'd recognise anywhere. "How are you doing, bud?"

He took Jason's seat next, which seemed cruel in light of the losses we were faced with. Octavian stuck out like a dark shadow in a well-lit room. Percy's face lit up a little, but that little was too much for my liking.

"Oh! Me and Annabeth have an announcement to make." Percy said, entwining their hands together, and for the first time since she arrived, she sported a smile. A dramatic pause tensed the moment before Percy let out a breath and said, "We're soulmates."

Gasps echoed around the table, everyone eyeing everyone else for their reactions. Not me, though. I looked down, barely breathing. Percy Jackson, whom I'd crushed on hard for the last two years had a soulmate. I looked up at the ceiling in a poor attempt to hide my tears. First Jason died and now Percy and Annabeth were soulmates?

"Our string appeared when we both found out about Jason." Annabeth said, finally speaking. "We were together at Percy's place, and Sally had just left for work. Then I got a ding from my phone about the news and showed Percy and we were both so distraught. And then it happened. Our red string appeared for a few seconds, but we saw it and we knew.

Annabeth kept talking. Instead of her rapid-fire speech, she spoke slowly, like she was putting together the pieces of a tattered memory, lost many years ago.

"I need to use the bathroom." I mumbled pathetically, rushing off before anyone could protest. I ran out of the cafe fast enough to have kids staring at me, and only stopped when I was sitting on a toilet seat, the door locked in front of me. Only then did I let myself cry.