A Deal with a Player

Chapter 17: The Chemotherapy

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE SONG ABOVE.

IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES, AND IT HAS A MEANINGFUL MESSAGE.

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Percy POV

December 1st, a Friday, initiated the first day of my new chemo regimen. I was incredibly nervous because I knew that the side effects would be bad. It was a gut feeling, and my gut was usually right.

"Are you ready, Percy?" Nurse Hestia asked.

"Not at all," I said softly.

Nurse Hestia rubbed my arm gently. "I know this is hard, Percy. You have to stay strong."

"Yeah, I know, but this regimen is so much worse than I'm used to."

"Percy, you need to stay strong. You are going to get through this, Percy," she said reassuringly.

"You can't actually say that, Nurse Hestia. It's practically illegal for a medical professional to tell a cancer patient that they're going to be okay."

Nurse Hestia held a sad smile as she prepared my arm for chemo injection.

I stared at the patients around me. Several people were getting their chemo dosages today, and they all held solemn expressions. I turned back to Nurse Hestia, who took a seat next to me and held my free hand.

The needle was already in my arm, and the yellow liquid was flowing.

"Percy, you're right that this cycle will be bad. You should do everything you can to alleviate the side effects. That means that you should follow your alternative pain relief methods since drugs don't help you."

"Nurse Hestia, I-"

My voice faltered off. There were exactly 7 weeks left of my and Annabeth's deal.

"Take care of yourself, Percy," Hestia said softly.

I simply nodded before Nurse Hestia got back to work.

I closed my eyes as the cold chemicals washed through my body. I could already feel nausea kicking my gut as I focused on my breathing.

For the first time, I was angry and frustrated with Annabeth. Not because of the deal, but because of my growing feelings for her. Even now, as chemo flooded my system, I was thinking about Wise Girl.

The hardest part of cancer wasn't the physical symptoms.

It was the emotional drawbacks. The hardest part is leaving those that you love and care about. And now, because of Annabeth, I had another person making it so much harder.

Usually, I slept around with many girls in short time frames to avoid any lingering and growing feelings, but I didn't have that option now. I had already fallen for Annabeth.

However, it was a mistake. I couldn't have romantic feelings for Annabeth for my own physical and emotional health's sake. I was okay if that meant losing our deal.

***

The chemo cycle was bad (really bad). Cancer and chemotherapy weren't this bad even at the start, but I was actually struggling to keep myself together.

I spent the whole weekend either laying in my bed or throwing up into my toilet.

I could tell that my mother was in pain watching me.

I couldn't even volunteer on Sunday because I had another chemo session, and the side effects hit immediately. Grover came over on Sunday, and that was a little bit relieving.