safe in my arms | solangelo au | under editing

Chapter Twenty

WPOV:

"Good morning!" I smile as Nico walks into the kitchen. His hair is a mess and he still looks half-asleep.
"Ugh." He replies.
"Nice to see you to." I grin. He sits down and runs his eyes.
"I'm tired." He mumbles.
"I can tell."

"Want breakfast?" I ask.
"Sure." He sighs. That takes me by surprise. He's never said yes before! Belfries he can ch she his mind. I quickly hand him a pice of toast.
"Thanks." He bites into it and grimaces.

"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Butter."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't know you didn't like butter." I take his pice of toast and replace it with a plain piece.
"Thanks." He gives me a small smile.

"No problem." I bite into the piece I gave him.
"How can you eat that?" He asks incredulously.
"It's nice." I shrug. He pulls a face and I stick my tongue out at him and cross my eyes.

Nico laughs, then immediately slaps his hand over his mouth, eyes wide. I frown.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He removes his hand.
"Do you not like laughing?"
"Not really." He admits.
"Why not? I bet you would have an adorable laugh." Why did I say that?
"My laugh is awful." Nico says.
"It won't be." I assure him.
"It is."
"I tell you what," I say, "laugh, and then I'll tell you if I like your laugh or not."
"But you'll obviously say you like it." He shrugs.

"Nico..." I sigh. "Why do you have such low expectations of yourself?" He looks at the ground.
"Percy said-"
"Oh, to hell with Percy!" I shout. "He's an idiot!"
"But-"
"He mistreated you." I shake my head. "He wanted you to feel worthless. But you're not."
"But..."
"You're not worthless, Nico." I say sternly, cupping his face with my hands. His eyes fill with tears.

"Percy might have been right." He mumbles.
"He wasn't. He's the only worthless person."
"He's not worthless!" He pulls himself away from me and storms into another room. I follow him.

"He is." I say.
"He isn't! He helped me!"
"How?" I ask incredulously.
"He took me in when I had nothing. When I was all alone!"
"He took advantage of you!" I cry. I'm angry at Percy. Angry at Nico for defunding him. Angry at myself for being such a jerk.

"He was nice at first." Nico whispers.
"At first." I point out.
"He was going through a hard time. His girlfriend had been murdered. He was hurting."
"So he took it out on you." My voice drops to a low growl.
"He was heartbroken." Nico says quietly.

I turn away from him with disgust.
"I can't believe you're defending him." I spit.
"I came believe I thought you were understanding." Nico retorts, walking into the bedroom and slamming the door.

I clench my fists and storm out of the building. He's being ridiculous. Doesn't he realise that I saved him? Doesn't he appreciate how much I've done for him?