Rain falls but love flies[heroes of Olympus]

Ch. 2

I nearly dropped my coffee. "You're 14?!"

Nico scowled. "Yeah. What did you think I was?"

I shook my head. There's a limit to how young you can look. I thought you were 12."

Nico spat out his coffee. "I'm no where near that small!" He brought his knife back out. "I dare you to contradict me." He had an evil smirk but his dark eyes had begun to gain a sparkle.

I raised up my hands. "Ok! No arguing."

Nico chuckled but put his knife back in his pocket. "Actually my younger sister–" he froze. I waited for him to continue. After a few seconds I became worried.

"Neeks?" I tilted his chin up so I could see his face. I saw that his eyes were squeezed shut and tears were streaming out. "Nico!" I found his hand and squeezed it. The next moment he began sobbing in my arms. I began hugging him back, rubbing his shoulders and trying to comfort him as best as I could. 10 minutes later, he reverted back to normal. And by normal, his eyes were like fractured glass and he looked much more gloomy.

"Nico," I asked carefully. "What happened to your family."

Nico's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. "They died a few hours ago." He rested his head on his knees. "I'm the only one left."

I coaxed him to continue open up. I learned that he also had a dad who was never there, but he had an older sister named Bianca, and a younger sister named Hazel.

"Bianca used to sing me that song I sang to your little sister," Nico said quietly. I had been moved to tears too.  "So because of your adrenaline, you ran away and kept running despite your injuries," I finished. He nodded. I couldn't help it. I embraced Nico with my arms, and felt him lean into my chest. "I'm so glad you chose this house to knock."

"So am I," he whispered into my chest. I began drifting away into the arms of sleep, as I heard him say, "Will solace I hate that I love you." I would've responded, but I was too far gone.

~time skip~

I woke up to a gray morning, because Nico was shaking me until my teeth clattered.

"Nico what's so important," I mumbled. Nico was still shaking me.

"Shut up solace and check the news!" I ran to the tv. They were talking about the biggest accident that had happened in the storm and listing the injuries.

"Sally Jackson, broken foot, Maria levesque, crushed arm and leg," I glared at Nico. "How does this affect me?" I regretted my actions when I saw Nico's eyes.

"Keep reading," was all he said. I scanned through the various names, until I found a name that made my heart stop.

"Carla Solace... Mom?" I gasped. I looked at the injuries. "Cracked skull and unstable." The remote fell out of my hands.

In the distance, I could feel someone calling my name. But all I could see was a white screen.

"will? Will! WILL RESPOND!!" the whiteness faded from my vision and I blinked a few times as my vision cleared and focused. I stared at Nico. He looked terrified. I think I would've normally tried to comfort him, but I felt empty.

"Nico?" I whispered. Relief filled his features and he kneeled back with a sigh. "Thank god."

"I told her to find a hotel," I whispered.

Nico shook his head. "She had listened to you. The accident had happened near the hotel."

"Then this is all my fault!" I grabbed Nico's arm. "If only I had told her to come home straight away."

Nico's gaze hardened. Then he punched me. "You are an idiot you know that?" I looked up at him and he punched me again. "Why are you blaming yourself!" He yelled.

"I..." I didn't know what to say. Apparently Nico didn't expect me to say anything either. "You can't see the future! If you could, I would've never asked my family to come with me to my art tournament! I could've gone by that bus that hit our car." Nico grew silent. Then he began to talk again. "I won a million dollars. First prize. But was it worth losing my entire family?" I couldn't speak. Nico stood up. "I'm going to go now," he said quietly. Before he could leave, I grabbed his hand. He tried to pull away but I pulled him closer to me, so that he was facing me.

"I hate that I love you too, Nico." I whispered. Nico's eyes widened and before he could say something, I brought my lips down to his. All our pain and worry melted into that kiss. It tasted salty with our tears, but sweet as well, as our flavors merged together.

I didn't want to break it, but we both needed to breathe. I didn't have anything to say. Apparently neither did Nico, but the way he slid his arms around my chest said everything he needed to say. Just then, the phone began ringing. Nico reluctantly got up, and I answered it.

"Hi is this Carla Solace's son, William Solace?"

I stiffened. "Yes, is she going to recover?" I braced myself for the answer.

"You are very very lucky. Part of her skull wedged itself in her brain, and she was almost pronounced dead. But she survived the surgery and is well on her way to recovery."

I lost my balance and Nico caught me. "What's wrong with you! Stand up by yourself!" I pouted but stopped leaning on him.

"Thankyou ma'am," I said.

"Have a good day," and with that the phone hung up.

I promptly flung myself into Nico's arms. He flinched but awkwardly patted me with his good arm.

"Mom survived," I whispered in his ear.

"Thank the fates," Nico said back.

I pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Nico I owe everything to you. If it weren't for you, I would probably be a mess with a crying baby. Who knows what would I have done."

Nico looked up into mine as well. "And if it weren't for you, I would be dead in a ditch somewhere. You saved my life. I've got your back Solace remember that."

I hugged my Nico. "And I've got yours, and I'm never letting go."

He laughed. "You better not."

I brought his face back to mine and gave him another kiss, which he accepted immediately. I felt my eyes drooping as I went back to sleep, but before I did, I made sure to say, "I love you." And I was asleep before he could say it back, but I don't think I needed it, because just knowing he was there, safe in my arms, was more than enough for me.