PARENTHOOD // PERCICO

chapter nine - how to comprehend

As soon as the prophecy was delivered, Percy looked at Will. "I'm gonna..." He said, and that was the best form of an excuse he could form before he rushed off. He was panicking. His brain was moving a thousand miles a minute while shutting off at the same time.

He followed the familiar path to the ocean, taking deep breaths as he made his way through the woods. He heard the words, but he couldn't remember them, he couldn't analyze them. He couldn't process anything. His brain felt fuzzy. His heart was racing. He had never felt more panicked in his life.

And he had been through a lot. Stress, panic, and action wise. He had been through traumatic stuff. This was by far the worst. Because he knew he could do it. He could fulfill a prophecy. He didn't want his daughter to have any part in that.

Once he got to the beach, he sat down in the sand. He stared at the ocean and took a deep breath, desperately trying to grasp onto something. Anything. It couldn't be a coincidence. Jason had a kid, around Zoella's age, show up at his doorstep and the same day a prophecy is delivered? It was connected.

There was no way it couldn't be. Two extremely powerful kids being born around the same time. It wouldn't make sense if there wasn't a prophecy. He still didn't want it to be true. "Why?" he asked, looking into the ocean. He figured his dad was in some deep shit right now, so the chances of him answering were low, even still, he spoke. "Please. Tell me why."

He tried to remember the exact words. The first lines were about Zoella. After those words, his brain had gone fuzzy and he couldn't remember much else.

He wanted Nico. He wanted Zoella. He wanted to be home with them. He didn't want to be over here, hundreds of miles away. He knew Nico had it all handled, he was astonished at how good of a parent Nico was, but he still wanted to be there in case something did happen.

It was as he looked out where the sky met the sea and realized how fucked this world really was. It was one thing to mess with him, but another to mess with his family. Percy wasn't someone who got angry often. He managed to keep that emotion under pretty good wraps. But right now, he was so fucking angry. He stood up, walked over to the nearest tree, and just fucking hit it.

He knew it wouldn't make him feel better.

He remembered the advice his old swim coach gave him years ago.

Never punch something that's not going to punch back. At the time, he didn't get it. Isn't it better to hit something that won't feel it, than something that will? However, he has punched both people and now trees, and trees hurt a lot more, and he was still just as angry.

So, maybe Coach Green was going somewhere with that.

"Fuck!" he cursed, grabbing his one hand in the other. He wasn't sure where his thought process had been.

But he had so much coursing through him and he just felt like he had to get it all out. Hitting the tree didn't work, so he began to run.

He didn't have a destination in mind. He didn't know where he was going, really. He didn't have a plan. He just wanted to run. To get so far away from everything and find some form of clarity.

And, he didn't stop running. Even when his limbs were shaking and his lungs burned, he kept going, making his way around the outskirts of camp. He heard the sound echo throughout the forest, signaling that dinner was ready.

He decided he would just finish his journey around camp and end it at the pavilion. He didn't want to have to face anyone, but he convinced himself that Makayla needed him. Realistically, he knew that wasn't too true. Makayla had been found without him before, but he needed to be needed right now.