Broken Pieces

Chapter 2

"Mom?" the kid slurred.

"No I'm not your mom kiddo," I replied to the half-awake kid. His eyes started to droop. "Just go back to sleep, you'll feel better."

He mumbled something before he passed out again.

"So, did you see his mom?" Annie asked me.

"No, by the time I got there it was just him, Grover, and Bull Baby."

We both jumped at the sound of the door opening, revealing Grover. He looked so depressed it was making me depressed.

"H-how is he?" He asked.

"He just woke up actually. Asking for his mom." I answered. Grover visibly flinched. "What happened Grover?"

"He- she-she r-risked her life, to make sure Percy and I were safe." He cried.

So, Percy, that's the kid's name. Most likely after Perseus, this must be a sick joke. But wait-

"Why was she there in the first place?" I inquired.

"Well-"

"Ngggh" The kid, Percy groaned.

I turned, checking what's wrong with him. None of his wounds are infected, I cleaned and treated them myself. I felt his forehead, it was a normal temperature. Then it clicked. He was having a nightmare. He began to thrash and whimper in pain. I held on tightly to his hand, trying to stabilize him.

After several minutes, he calmed down. His breathing was still a little irregular, but nothing too severe.

That's when Grover stated, "I'll watch over him now, you haven't slept at all in the past 24-hours. ."

Has it really been that long? I guess, now that I think about it, my neck really aches. I guess I should take a break. So I got up, very slowly mind you, and said my goodbyes to Grover and Annie. The minute I walked through the door to Hermes cabin I was tackled by none other than Connor Stoll.

"What happened? Who's the kid? Is he alright? Are you alright? You look like death. Have you slept at all?" He asked one right after another. I laughed softly.

"Hello to you too. I'm fine, just need some sleep. The kid is fine, he's currently resting at the Big House. Any other questions mom?"

He pouted, "Come on Phe, you had me worried. You snuck out of the cabin and never came back! You know how terrifying that is? You could have been dead, and I would have never known. Luckily I heard some rumors that you were in the big house. I tried to visit you, but they were limiting visitors to not scare the kid. But still! You can't just do things like that!" After his speech, he was nearly on the brink of crying.

Ouch, my heart.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. But you know I can't get beaten that easily." I laughed.

"I know. It's just, that dream has made me paranoid."

"Huh? My dream has made you paranoid? Shouldn't it make me paranoid?"

"But the thing is, you don't fear death! Someone could tell you that you'd die today, and you would say something like, "Oh, guess I'll have to make the best of it then." And that scares me! You have no sense of self-preservation. It's very frustrating."

I frowned, not liking this worried Connor. "Con, you're being too serious. I don't like it."

"Heh, I guess you're right. I would invite you to prank the Demeter house, but I wasn't kidding when I said you look like death." He chuckled.