𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 [pjo]

nine; i'm so sorry

━━━i'm so sorry

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・．

Callahan woke, gasping in a puddle of her own cold sweat with the heavy bodies of Annie and Percy beside her. She laid there for a second, staring at the bleak light of early morning. her skin slithered over her muscles and she shuddered, her clothes tight and damp.

Next to her, Annie hummed and moved closer to Cal's warmth, and the brunette winced. She pulled at the covers around her, unpeeled them from her skin, and slipped out from between her partners. Her bare feet hit the cold wood floor, she sighed, pulling her tired muscles up. The sway of the boat comforted Callahan, and she slipped away and out of the darkroom.

The cold air of early dawn chilled down Cal's spine and she breathed out, relishing in the licking cold. The sky was bleak and grey, clouds wispy and pale. Out here in the silence, Callahan could breathe, and her mind came to life. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her heart, beating and thumping in Percy's tan hands, and she shivered. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling for the lub-dub of her living working heart.

A hand touched her bare shoulder, and she started. Her heart beat faster underneath her palm, and she turned to see Percy. She flinched a flicker of black dancing through Percy's concerned gaze. The boy frowned, a crease forming in his brow.

"Lucky, what's wrong?" he moved closer, and Callahan tensed.

She swallowed harshly, her heart a faint heartbeat and her skin like breaking china.

"..Nothing, Percy."

The boy narrowed his eyes, pulling at her jaw lightly to get her to look him in the eye. Callahan winced, remembering the soft hands that had been holding her heart, crushing it to a fine powder.

Percy's eyes darkened, "What did you dream about, Cal?"

She stepped away from him, her heart tight and immediately missing his warmth, "Nothing, Percy."

Percy stared at her, his sea-green eyes wide and dark, staring at her like she was breaking his heart,

"Callahan, you can tell me anything." He murmured, reaching out for her wringing hands.

She shook her head in response, pulling away as he approached, "It was nothing, Percy. I promise."

Percy's eyes narrowed and became a reflection of the ocean beneath them. The boy knew Callahan was lying to him, it was obvious in the way she wrung her hands and chewed the corners of her mouth. He knew it was bad, terrified of the way she winced and flinched, the way she stared at his eyes like they were something else. She wasn't letting him touch her, and touch meant everything to Callahan. What in Hades is going on?

When he reached out to brush her shoulder, to pull her to safety and away from the minefield of her mind, she flinched and stumbled away. His heart dropped to his stomach, to the soles of his feet. He saw the fear in her eyes, the apology as well. He stared.

"Lucky, Baby, what's wrong? What did I do? Tell me, please." He stepped toward her and felt slight relief when she didn't lurch away.

'Baby, please. Talk to me."

Callahan swallowed thickly, trying her hardest to give him a believable smile, "nothing, darling."

Percy stared at her, his face unbelieving. He had begun to notice her fear, the way she whimpered at night a while ago, but he had simply hoped that Callahan would tell him on her own. Instead, he was stuck on the deck of the Argo II at 3 in the morning, watching as one of the loves of his life floated farther and farther away, floating to a place he could not follow.

"do you think I haven't noticed?" He muttered, and he watched as Callahan's shoulders stiffened, leaning away from him and his touch.

"Do you think I haven't noticed how you move? How much you've changed? You're scared all the time, and--and--and sometimes you look at me like I did something wrong, like-like I hurt you." He stepped closer and watched as she stiffened even more, now more stone than human, "Lucky, Callahan, baby, something's going on with you, and you won't let me in!"

"I can't, Percy! I just--can't, and you have to trust me!" She pleaded with him, staring at his begging form, "I can't tell you, Percy."

"Don't you love me?"

A shard of pure ice shot through Callahan's vulnerable, weak heart, and she stumbled like it was a physical blow.

"I--" She gulped and wet her dry throat, "How could you--?"

Percy swallowed too, his jaw so tight it was about to break, and he glared, "How could I not? You're not talking to me anymore Callahan, and you've been weird since Alaska. Are you, tired of me? What, now that you have better options--"

He didn't mean to shout, he didn't mean to make her flinch. He didn't mean for her to stumble away, for her to stare at him like he was someone, something, else.

She swallowed with wide eyes and stepped back, back to the safety of below deck and Annie's sleeping form. She nodded at him and turned, slipping away before Percy could stop her.

Standing there on the deck of Argo II, Percy's heart cracked in half, turned into stone and shattering. The shards of stone cut through him, tearing at his body and ripping through his veins, taking away his life force. The smell of Callahan's hair, roses, and shea butter wafted past, and his broken heart dripped to the wooden floor.

━━━i'm so sorry

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・．

A//N: These couple chapters are so short, and I'm so sorry about that. I'm just trying to get the angst(?) across, and if you couldn't tell I've never written angst before. It ain't my strong suit.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy it and I promise that the next chapter will be longer.