Trust Me (a Percico Fanfic; Sequel to Letters to Nico)

Chapter 22

PERCY'S POV

The best way to describe it was panic. Percy was breathing heavily and shaking harder than he ever had in his entire life. His whole world crashed around him and the room spun. Percy shakily got down onto his knees and frantically looked around, but Zoe was no where to be seen. However, as he was looking, he saw something he hadn't noticed before.

A note.

Percy scooped it up shakily and read it. There was only a single word. Darkness.

What did darkness have to do with Zoe's disappearance? Percy looked outside and, sure enough, it was still dark. Something told Percy that there was a deeper meaning to the word.

Percy got to his feet and ran out of the cabin. As much as he didn't want to, he knew he had to tell Nico about Zoe's disappearance. They had raised Zoe together; it was only fair.

Percy slowed when he got to Nico's cabin. He knocked frantically on the door, but there was no answer. Confused, Percy tried to peer through the window, but it was too dark to see anything.

That's odd, Percy thought. After he and Nico had started dating, Nico's cabin had been brighter than ever. Now, it was like a cloud of shadow had fogged up all the windows.

Then, the realization hit Percy like a splash of icy cold water. Darkness. Had.. Nico taken Zoe? He remember the determination flashing in Nico's eyes right before he had left. Almost like he was planning something.

Anger flushed through Percy. How dare Nico steal Zoe? He had no right! Plus, Zoe could be in danger. Nico had been rash about making decisions lately. What if he had killed her? Horror at the thought made Percy's stomach feel sick.

Percy fell to his knees and gagged. He fought back the urge to upchuck all the contents from dinner. Pain and betrayal stabbed Percy's heart. Until this very moment, he had loved Nico. Now it felt like he had no trust in him left. Exhaustion coursed through the son of Poseidon, but not the sleepy kind of tired. The wanting to give up, the pain without feeling. The numbness of loss and the stabbing of heartbreak.

"How could you!" Percy screamed to the sky. He didn't even care who heard. He had never felt so hurt in his life, not even when Annabeth had broken up with him. He wanted to die, he wanted to feel his life ebb away into an endless void of pain and screaming.

Then he remembered Zoe. Her giggle, her excitement at everything, her smile, and the way she had sat next to a complete stranger at the park. His lips curled into a smile at the thought.

--FLASHBACK--

"Daddys, watch me!" Zoe squealed as she went down the slide. Nico laughed, his smile lighting a fire in Percy's heart. Nico had picked up Zoe and spun her around gently.

"Weeeee!" Zoe squealed. Percy smiled warmly at his boyfriend and daughter. Everything seemed so right. Nico set Courtney down and let her play in the sandbox, then walked over to Percy and intertwined their fingers together.