You're All I Need [Solangelo AU]

XXI

Nico's PoV:

"Hades? What does this mean? What's going to happen?" I hear Persephone ask and Hades say "stay here" before loud footsteps make their way towards me.

Hades grabs my shoulders and spins me around. "You're a coward, you'd never. . ." Hades' voice falters as his eyes look up. I turn my head and see Will with the phone against his ear. Will looks surprised to see me, and his eyes blaze with something I can't quite name when he sees my face. "You lied to me," Hades says flatly.

I shake his arms off my shoulders, but it's not like I needed to try much. Hades arms fall limply to his side. "No," I say sarcastically as I take a step back.

Hades puts his face in his hands. "First you kill mama, then Bianca, and now you're doing this."

I feel my heart squeeze tightly.

You know he's right, Nico. You. Killed. Them.

He's right. He's always been right. How could I convince myself otherwise? They're deaths have always been my fault. Always. My eyes fill with tears. I killed my mama. I killed my sister. What kind of person am I? I don't deserve to be here, I don't deserve to live. They do. Why wasn't it me? Why Bianca? Why mama?

"That's right, Nico. Even if you call the cops, you know I won't go to jail. They'll won't believe you." he pokes my chest. "They'll believe me. We can take this to court, I'll still win. Because I'm smart, and you're an idiot. I'm an adult, and you're a child."

He's right.

"No, Nico!" That voice. . It sounds familiar. "None of that is true!" A person appears in front of me, pushing Hades aside and putting their hands on my shoulders. He looks familiar, too. "Nico, you're not the cause of any of those things. Calling the cops is the right thing to do, he'll go to jail, I'll make sure of it."

Will.

"Do you. . Do you promise?" My voice is small, and it's pathetic, but I need this. This reassurance that he's giving me. I need him.

"Yes, I promise."

"Alright, that's enough!" Hades roars, and pushes Will. He falls to the floor, and anger surges through me.

"No!" I stand in front of Hades. "Don't bring him into this, he has nothing to do with this!"

Hades stares at me before smirking. "Nico ha una cotta?"

I blush furiously. Now is not the time, especially after. . . "No, non parlarne!"

"You're lying, look at that blush." He pinches my cheek and I slap his hand. "Non avresti mai avuto una possibilità con lui. Hai davvero pensato di averlo fatto?"

My heart sinks. Of course. I'd never have a chance, how did I ever think I did?

How many times do we have to repeat it? You're an idiot.

No, no, no. He promised, he's going to help me. He has to help me. . . Right? You. . You can't break a promise. But. . . She did.

"Nico, look out!" She pushes me out of the way, but gets hit herself. The driver quickly gets out of the car and calls nine-one-one, while I cry over her body.

"She can see you now." Papa and I stand up and begin following the nurse to her room.

I smile lights my features when I see her, but my heart hurts. I did this to her.

"Nico!" She calls to me, and I run to her bed. "How is my favorite little brother?" She asks while ruffling my hair.

I let out a noise of protest. "You know I hate it when you do that!"

"Of course I do, that's why I did it." She laughs at the expression on my face.

Later, when we have to leave, I look at her sadly. "I don't want to leave."

She sighs. "I know, Nico. But you have to."

A tear rolls down my cheek. "I'm scared. What if. . What if you. . ."

She seems to understand what I mean. "I'm fine, Nico. I won't. I promise."

She sticks out her pinky. I smile despite the situation and take mine out, and we cross them.

"Okay, Nico. Time to go now."

"Alright. Bye! I love you!"

"I love you too."

When she dies, it's like my heart is being ripped out of my chest. My body goes numb and I'm deaf to whatever the doctor is telling us. She promised, she promised she wouldn't die. It's not like it's something she could control, the nurse tells me when I tell her that. I glare at her and run away. When we get home, Papa is angry. He slaps me and yells at me, asks me why I'm still alive and she isn't. Tells me that I killed her, that it's my fault. Then he locks himself in his room, and doesn't come out. I go into the room I once shared with her. Tears stream down my face.

"WHY?" I yell, falling to my knees.

"WHY DID YOU SAVE ME, BIANCA?!"

The memory hits me like a truck and I feel sick, I'm going to vomit, get me a damn bag because if you don't I'm going to vomit all over Hades and that certainly isn't going to help the situation. Will seems to be getting over his shock and now the anger is very visible on his features, and I can't say I'm not scared. I've never seen Will like this, he's angry and. . . And he's going to hit Hades, I can tell, that look on his face, the angry gleam in his eye and I'm being reminded of Hades when he beats me. The resemblance scares me even more and the vomit rises up again, I put my hand over my mouth and swallow. Now's not the time to throw up.

Hades snaps in my face. "Hello!"

I stare at him blankly, focusing on keeping my breakfast down. "Stop moving so much. ." I get dizzy while watching Hades pace. 

He glowers at me. "You shut up already, you've done enough!"

And that's the trigger, Will jumps on Hades and starts punching his face and I'm gonna be sick from the sudden quick movement mixed with the feeling of fear. Will has always been so non-violent that seeing him like this is new for me. Sure, I heard about the fight with Octavian, but I didn't see it. I wasn't there to experience it first hand, up close. Hearing and seeing are different things, very different things.

Will is going to continue to punch Hades until he fights back, pushing Will off him. 

The vomit rises yet again.

Now Hades is punching Will, and there's blood, god there is blood.

I taste the bile in my mouth.  

Will throws a punch at Hades' jaw and flips them over yet again, and Hades is losing, he's older, weaker, and I see him slowly begin to lose his consciousness.

I need a bag, a trash can, something.  

Persephone chooses this moment to come out of my room and screams when she sees what's happening. She rushes towards Will and Hades, attempting to grab Will's arm to prevent him from punching Hades. He turns his head and it's like the first time I'm seeing his face. His lips are bloody and he has a black eye, but what's worse is the anger. His whole face is consumed in it and his eyes are not the blue that I know. They're a dark, cold grey. Will pushes Persephone away aggressively and she lands on the floor with a thud. His eyes widen once he realizes what he's done, staring at Persephone then Hades. His face changes back to how it usually is but the blood and black eye is still there. 

I turn around and run towards the bathroom, the vomit filling my mouth.

I don't make it in time.