Before I Die (Split Souls part 1)

31: Hi Mom, It's Not A Tattoo

PERCY PoV

It's some time after my breakdown. I've been calming down, and trying to push everything to the back of my mind. I know that it's something important, I do, believe me. But I also know that Nico is taking care of it. And from the looks of everyone else, they all know what it is too. They always look to Nico, so it's my guess that he's the one with the steering wheel for the plans.

How has Mom been? Am I good enough to see her? Does she even still want to see me? Not after I disappeared for months without a word... Maybe she can forgive me though?

"Hey, Percy?" Uncle T's voice brings me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah? What's up?" I look up at him from my seat on a couch.

"Well... I was wondering if you would be up for seeing your mom?" He asks shyly.

"I was just thinking about her." I say.

"What were you thinking?" He sits down beside me.

"Well... I was thinking about how mad she would be." I admit.

He gives a light chuckle. "Yeah, I can see mad. She'd want to see you though. The last time she saw you, you were in a coma."

"She saw me?" I ask, wide eyed.

"Yeah. I kinda wish she hadn't though. But whatever. Wasn't my place to hold her back from seeing her son. I did warn her though." His shoulders sag.

We're quiet for a little bit, before I realize he asked me a question in the first place. I think on what my answer should be. And I think and I think and I worry before I decide. "Okay."

"Okay what?"

"I wanna see her."

"How soon?"

"Today?" I ask hopefully.

"I'll figure out the arrangements. Go take a shower or something, buddy." He pats my shoulder.

"Alright. Thanks Uncle T."

The shower relaxes my tense muscles. I feel like the water washed away some of the stress that's been eating at me since I was injured. The familiar shower, with familiar soaps. I can finally take a deep breath. I didn't know I was so oxygen deprived.

I sit on the floor and let the water pelt across my back, and the spray to hit my face. I absorb the presence of the water. Things pass through my mind, and I don't take the time to look at them for longer than a cursory glance.  The thoughts slip out of my head just as soon as they enter. Is this what meditation is? Knowing the things that pass by, but not delving into the matter and instead letting it be? It's peaceful.

Too soon, it seems, that Uncle T is at the door, knocking. Startled from my reverie, I slip on the tiled floor.

"You okay in there?" He asks, most likely worried about the loud thud.

"Yeah. You startled me and I slipped." I call back to him.

"Can I come in? I don't want to yell through the door."

"Yeah." The shower is one of those large tiled ones with the glass doors, fortunately you can't see through these ones, so everything is fine.

The door opens, and quickly shuts. I hear a fan turn on. "Sheesh, buddy. It's like a sauna in here."

I shrug, and realize that he can't see that. "Meh."

"So." He says, awkwardly. "I talked with your mom."

It doesn't sound like whatever it is could be good news. "Okay."

"She um, she said that she wants to see you today." My heart did a little loop thing that I'm pretty sure isn't anatomically correct. Uncle T continues. "But she has a flight tomorrow for a meeting, about her books. So you'd only be able to see her today and then she'd be gone for a little while. She really wants to see you though."