You And Me [sequel to True Love]

Five - In Hospital

Faces dart in and out of my line of vision. I see my mom smiling at me, Annabeth's calculating stare and my dad's worrying expression. I hear voices. "Wake up," They say. "You have to wake up."

But I'm swirling around in a void of black. Everything is blurred and out of focus. Sometimes I'm awake and I see nurses in their pressed uniforms bearing down on me. Other times I'll see Annabeth and Rachel sitting beside me, talking. Their worried expressions makes me think that something terrible has happened.

Everything feels tiring and I'm extremely drowsy. I have a weird gut feeling that when I wake up, someone will tell me that one of my friends is in trouble, and it will hurt me and make me feel a hundred times worse than if I was in trouble. I would be sitting on the side lines, unable to help anyone or do anything; just watch as they fall down.

Eventually, after much time drifting in and out of consciousness, I wake up. The hospital room that I'm lying in is empty, with only the beeping of the machines and the dim lights above my bed providing me with the comfort that I'm not dead - unless the Underworld suddenly gained a hospital.

"Ugh..." I groan, rolling over. My head throbs. I attempt to sit up and heave myself into a sitting position.

Yawning, I rub my left arm, and freeze. Looking down, I see that there's a cast on my arm. It's bright blue, which makes me grin - Annabeth must've told them that I would like blue. But what strikes me the most is that I've broken my arm. Actually broken my arm.

Just then, the door to the small room bursts open and in runs Annabeth. "Percy!" She shouts, and engulfs me in a massive hug.

"Hey Wise Girl." I mumble into her hair. It smells like lemon.

"Oh, my gods, I've been so worried!" She cries and pulls away from me and perches on the edge of my bed.

"Why? How long have I been out?" I ask.

She looks down. A frown is evident on her face. "Two days. You were hit really badly when we were rescued. I was awake for all of it, but if it weren't for the pedestrians who were passing by, we all would've died." But on the word 'died' something in Annabeth's tone changes.

"What's wrong?" My heart is suddenly pounding. Oh no. I was right - something has happened to someone else.

"Don't worry - no one has died!" She says quickly when she sees my alarmed expression. "Rachel is fine. I'm fine." Her voice is now slightly higher.

"And Thalia? What about my cousin?"

"Percy, she hasn't woken up." Annabeth is now whispering. I strain my ears to hear her.

"What do you mean she hasn't woken up? What's wrong? Annabeth, please tell me." I grab her hand and grip it tightly.

"She's suffered damage to her brain, Perce." Annabeth explains, sniffing . "She injured her leg and when the car caught fire and she inhaled too much smoke and it went to her brain. They say it's a fifty-fifty chance that she'll wake up."

And just like that, the foreboding feeling comes back. Something bad has happened, and I know that it will get worse.