Choices- A Percy Jackson/ Heroes of Olympus Story (After the war)

Chapter 12: More Truths

HelloOooOo people! Welcome to another chapter. Make sure to vote and stuff, and enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I own no characters. Might contain some content about harming themselves and attempted suicide.

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---Annabeth--
Annebeth knew something was up. She just didn't know what.

She was so lost in her train of thought that when she stopped thinking, she found herself sitting on the steps of the pool, her legs and feet wrinkled from the water, and her hair not wet yet.

She saw Piper and Percy splashing eachother in the water, the usual. Frank, Hazel, Leo, and Calypso were in the hot tub, Leo looking like he was telling a scary story or something. But she couldn't get her mind off of Jason Grace. She's seen some bruises on his arms once, when he thought nobody was looking and he took off his Adidas sweat jacket. She thought that she's seen wrong, but now she was extra concerned. Jason was downright depressed.

So, when everybody said that they were going to go inside, Annabeth went to her room, planning to talk to Jason.

Annabeth walked there, swiftly, and she slowly opened the door to see Jason running on his treadmill. Jason was wearing grey shorts that stopped at his knees. He had his jacket off, wearing a blue sleeveless top showing his arms and muscles.. and Annabeth saw it, and kept on looking, trying to make herself discreet. He had scars, bruises, and cuts lined up on his arms, some old, and some fresh, like it's been cut a few minutes ago. Then, Jason stopped. He rested his head and arms down on the place on the treadmill where it showed how fast it was going, and whimpered. Annabeth was completely and utterly shocked. She's never seen his side of Jason, scared, hurting himself, so broken, and looking like he needed help, while it was always the opposite case.

Annabeth slowly walked over to him, and slowly and softly put a hand on his shoulder. He jerked back, surprised by her presence, his icy blue eyes glaring at her in disbelief.

"No.. no, not another person.." he whispered, his eyebrows arching up. "Why do I always have to screw everything up?" He whispered like he was asking her. This is not the Jason that Annabeth knew. He was whimpering, stuttering, scared, and in a fragile mental state, like he's just been exposed to the whole world.

"Jason, you're okay.. it's fine.." she pulled him into a tight hug, still very confused and having so many questions. But it was her turn to help Jason, he really needed it.

"Please don't tell anybody.." he whispered, silently crying, and hugging her back.

"Of course.." she said. She wanted to ask him so many questions right now, like, why would Jason Grace out of all people be hurting himself? She simply didn't understand, and got angry at herself for that. She should've known how to help him. Jason was always so selfless and helping, and Annabeth didn't even know how to comfort him in a situation like this.

She sat them both on his bed, his icy eyes tearing up. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and his small scar on his lip was trembling.

Annabeth felt so bad. She didn't know why. She was on the verge of tears, she could feel them stinging her eyes.

They just stayed there, hugging for a while. It wasn't uncomfortable, and it felt needed.

"Why did you do this?'" Annabeth asked, tears in her eyes, separating from him.

He sniffled. "I can't handle it anymore. I mean, like, I already went over this with Nico and stuff.. but.. it feels like I have nobody. I have no reason. I was a mistake. My mom died, I don't even know about Thalia.. it's like my life before the mist was all just fake and that I'd just started it waking up on that bus. And everybody still thinks of me from the mist, the legend I was supposed to be.. but I just.. can't live up to those expectations.. not all of them, and I try to, so hard..." his voice broke, tears streaming down his face. "But I can't do it anymore. And I couldn't do it anymore. And I tried to.." he took a deep breath. "I tried to kill myself. I.. I stole Leo's ADHD pills. I tried to overdose.. but after like, 3 pills, Leo came in, asking for where it was. I told him that I would check in the bathroom, and I went in there and took it out of my pocket and said that I found it. I felt lightheaded and horrible after that, and said that I wouldn't try it again, so I started to do.. this.." he stuttered and cried, showing his cuts and bruises. Annabeth didn't know how to handle this information. She would never expect in a million years for Jason Grace to do this to himself. But here he was, nobody to rely on, everybody thinking that he is something that he is not, relying to him, and putting way too much pressure on him. He was basically stuck, in a way, having no purpose. Annabeth felt horrible.