WHISPERS • A PERCICO AU

• Chapter 13 •

"What happened?"

Percy woke up on Saturday morning shivering and sweaty, his hands clammy with apprehension. The same question was running circles around his mind. Each minute, he regretted more and more leaving the brown-eyed boy of his dreams. Each second, he missed him more.

The weigh of the world on his shoulders was nothing compared to the guilt swelling in his chest, spreading from his heart to his mind, which befuddled each of his thoughts.

Getting onto his feet, a surge of determination coursed through him. Why was he getting second thoughts? This is what he deserved. This is what he wanted.

After he changed into a warm outfit to comfort his cold thoughts, Percy ran down the flight of stairs to join his family in the kitchen.

The door creaking open, Sally Jackson stood up to greet her son. "Good morning, dear!" she chirped at the sight of Percy stumbling into the brightly lit room.

"'Morning, Mom." the green-eyed boy replied, faking a yawn. Pretending to be tired would probably be a foolproof excuse to explain his bloodshot eyes. 

His mother had fallen right into his trap. "Didn't sleep well, honey?" she asked, her tone betraying her worries. Percy felt bad for making her feel anxious for no reason, but he didn't want to explain his utter rejection last evening. "Er, yeah... headache." he lied.

She gave him a small sideways smile before pushing a plate of toast towards him as Percy took a seat. He grabbed the Nutella jar at the end of the table before twisting the lid off, reaching for a butter knife to spread the chocolate paste on his bread.

His stepdad, Paul Blofis, raised his head from his newspaper and nodded to Percy. Raising an eyebrow, the black-haired teen dug into his breakfast, not breaking eye contact at either of his bites.

"Percy, I will be leaving to work soon. Your mother is going to be away until dinner as well, because she is busy with the new book she is working on." the man with salt-and-pepper hair started, smiling lovingly at his wife.  "You will have to babysit your sister. Don't do anything stupid. You may have friends over, but don't make a mess, please." Sally continued for her husband, her kaleidoscope eyes glittering nervously.

"I'll take good care of her." Percy promised, giving his parents a lopsided grin. His face muscles hurt as he tried, like he had never smiled before. 

Sally beamed back at him, standing up from her chair. She slung her handbag over her shoulder, and Percy couldn't help noticing how heavy it looked, piled with notebooks and other novels. "Good luck!" Percy said, his eyes twinkling in the sunlight. His mother bent down to press a kiss on his forehead before walking out of the door. "Have a good day!" Paul called after her.

Five minutes after Sally's footsteps couldn't be heard anymore, his stepdad got to his feet as well. "Well, I'll have to go now. Stay safe." he said, ruffling Percy's jet black hair with his hand.

Percy gave him a lopsided smile as the man ambled out of the doorframe, hearing the front door close behind him. As he listened carefully to Paul's car driving away, he exhaled shallowly, cleaning up the table.

His business done, Percy climbed up the stairs once again to see his sister still sleeping sound in her cozy bed. The green-eyed boy wanted to join her. He wanted to be a child again, not being bothered by love and heartache. His tired eyes had glazed over with tears as he put a hand on Estelle's sleeping figure.

The girl stirred, slowly blinking her eyes open. "Hey..." Percy whispered, gathering her into his sturdy yet weary arms.

Seeing Estelle smiling peacefully at him, Percy was determined to protect her today. It'll just be her and him.