safe in my arms | solangelo au | under editing

Chapter ThirtySix

~~~3 Months Later~~~

WPOV:
Percy's trail is over. He was given a life sentence for harassing a minor, domestic abuse, rape and attempted murder. Nico and I went to the trail, but since Nico wouldn't talk I did most of the explaining based on what he told me.

Nico is much better, but he still won't talk. I've gotten pretty good at working out what he wants to say, by either looking at motions he makes with his hands or just reading his expression. If I fail to understand what he means after lots of attempts, he'll write it down.

The doctors don't fully understand why he still won't talk. They say there's nothing wrong with his vocal chords. Some doctor's suggest hay he's still traumatised. They say he must be so shocked he's forgotten how to speak, or is reluctant to. Other's say he's being stubborn, dramatic or lazy. I almost punched the first doctor that said that.

I've become very protective of Nico. If anybody gives him a judgemental look, I glare at them until they look away. If somebody insults him, I'll go for them. Nico has had to restrain me several times. He hates seeing me violent, so I try to remain calm. However, when people bring Nico into it, I want to punch them.

He's eating more, and no longer self-harms, which is good. A few weeks after I brought him back from the hospital, I caught him searching for knives and razors, each time, I held him in a hug until he calmed down.

I took time off work to take care of him (despite his protests) and we spend every day together. Sometimes I try to coax him into speaking, but we usually just watch movies or read books. Sometimes we have small conversations, Nico writing what he wants to say.

I've found out that Nico is an amazing cook, though he would never admit it. He also loves to read: mostly adventure books. I often pester Nico to tell me more about him, but he always stubbornly refuses or gives me a boring answer. For example, I would ask what his favourite colour is and he would point to his black shirt, so I would ask him why and he would shrug. Or I would ask him how he knows so much about cooking and he would just ask me to pass the salt, completely ignoring my question.

I've learnt that I'd Nico doesn't want to answer my question, I should jus give up and move on. He can be very stubborn. Unfortunately for him, I'm more stubborn. I continue to any him despite his obvious reluctance. If he starts to get upset, I'll give up, as it means it must has something to do with his traumatic past. I don't want to upset Nico.

Despite his darkness, he lights up my life. I love him so much.