Sparks Fly

Chapter 6

Leo

The waiting room was unsettingly quiet. Jason and I sat in the corner, side by side. Frank was fixed up but the doctors wanted him to stay over night for observation incase of infection. Percy was still in surgery.

I closed my eyes, I couldn't handle. I was supposed to be getting married today, instead I'm in a hospital waiting room after telling one of my best friends that her husband was going to die.

Jason stood up abruptly. I looked up at him. "Hey" I said as he began walking away. "He can't die. He can't. He has done too much, he deserves to live" he said turning around. "He's not going to die" I said, taking his arm. Jason shook me off.

"No" said a familiar voice. We both turned to see Annabeth standing in the doorway of the waiting room. Her face was calm, there was no fear in her eyes, just saddness. Like she had already began to grieve.

"Annabeth" I whispered. "It might happen. Percy could die. Because no matter how hard we try or how much we want it, some stories just don't have happy endings. That's okay. It's not good but it's okay. We'll make it, we have to. It's not the end of the world. It's the end of some things, but not everything. You need to accept that" she said.

"Don't say that" I said walking over to her. "Leo, it's okay. I'm okay. I know how to live without him. Are you forgetting the first time he was gone?" she said, this time looking at the ground as if reliving that time. "Percy is going to be fine" I urged. Annabeth shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't talk about this. I need to see him" she said walking away."You can't, he's in surgery" Jason said, sitting back down. Annabeth sighed before sitting across from us.

Eventually, I couldn't stand being in that room any longer. I left for a walk. The sky had turned dark, by now, I'd be at home with my wife but I'm here. The wedding was over. The air was cold and the wind only made it colder. This of course was a simple solution for me but I liked the cold, it kept me awake and alert.

There was a small park across the street from the hospital. It was empty so I went and sat on a swing. Staring off into the distance, I must have been there for hours.

"Hey" said a voice. I looked up and saw her. I smiled and stood up. Calypso walked over and embraced me tightly. I held her close, breathing her in like sweet honey in the summer. She brought warmth and safety with her.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered, hugging me tighter. "Gods I missed you" I replied, planting a kiss on the top of her head. It was one of my favorite things about her. Despite my short stature, she was even smaller so I could hold her and kiss her anywhere.

"How'd you find me?" I asked, letting go. "Jason said you left, when I saw the park I knew thats where you went" she said with a smile. I grinned "Thank you for coming" I took her hand and looked down at her engagement ring. I made it myself, it took a good year but it had to be perfect. It was a twisted golden band with a firey red diamond embeded in the gold. On the inside, engraved in its core was a small quote "I will always find you" is what it said. I knew that the second I pulled out that ring, anyone would have said yes.

"I'm sorry we didn't get a wedding" I said softly. I brushed her hair from her face. Her hair and makeup was done for the wedding, not that she needed any. She still looked stunning.

Calypso just smiled. "We need to go, Percy got out of surgery". "He made it?" I asked, my hopes finally rising. Calypso's smiled fell. "They won't know anything until he wakes up. He flatlined on the table, he lost a lot of blood flow to his brain. There is a possiblity of-" she paused, I knew she didn't want to say it. "Brain death" I whispered. "I know" I said. Calypso gave my hand a squeeze of encouragement which helped.

When we got to the hospital, everyone was gathered outside Percy's room. The only one in there was Annabeth. I stared through the door way and watched the monitor, no sign of brain activity.

Annabeth sat in the chair next to the bed, she held his hand and stroked his arm. Calypso began to cry softly and I took her in my arms. "Let's give her some space" I whispered. We walked down the hall to a bench.

"Never do that, you can't ever leave me" she said, tears running down her face. "I'm not going anywhere" I said, holding her tighter. I chuckled softly, kissing her cheek. "I'm serious Leo, if you leave, I can't-" I cut her off.

"I won't leave you, I quit the army, we'll get a house in the city. I'll get my own mechanic shop, you can have a garden. It will be easy, no danger. That sound nice?" I asked. Calypso nodded and I smiled.

3 days passed with no brain activity. Hope was fleeting. Sally brought the kids and they sat with him. Annabeth was going to give him 2 more days, if he doesn't do anything, she will take him off life support.

The 7 (minus Percy and Annabeth) all sat in the waiting room. It was completely silent, as if we were all afraid to speak. Percy was moved back home to our hospital in New Rome but even our demigod powers couldn't help this.

"I have to go" Calypso whispered. "I'll go with you" I said but she held her hand up, stopping me from standing up. "I'm just going to run home and back, I'll be 20 minutes. You should stay here with your friends" she said, giving me a peck on the lips. I nodded and sat back down.

A few minutes went by when Jason came to sit next to me. "Hey" I said staring at the ground. "Hey" he replied in the same tone. Another moment went by before Jason said "It's not your fault, I was angry and I blamed it on you. I'm sorry".

I didn't say anything, just nodded as more minutes passed. "But you were right" I said looking up at him.

"No, you did everything anyone would do" he shook his head. "I was scared, I didn't keep my eyes on him, if I had-" Jason stopped me. "Stop, nobody could have seen that coming. It's just one of those things". 

I thought for a moment. "Just one of those things" I muttered. 

***Short but tragic. I'll try and update again in the next day or so but don't count on it. Thanks for reading, honestly I'm too fucking tired to continue writing so I love you little demigods! -Izzy