𝙩𝙪 𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨 - p. jackson [₂]

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒙𝒗𝒊.

𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏.

as soon as i tried to go to sleep, i'd see the orange-red glow of killian standing over me, ready to kill me. or i'd feel the pain of extremis coursing through my veins. sometimes, i'd even be thrown back to when the house was attacked.

i got up, unable to fall asleep for long.

i knew i wouldn't be able to survive on red bull for the rest of my life. when we moved to new york, the cars and chatter was too loud for me. it reminded me of where pepper and i were held captive. at camp, it was slightly better. my siblings would whisper amongst themselves, giving me a sense of reassurance, but even they'd fall asleep quickly. then the silence began to haunt me.

it was why i spent most of my time in bunker nine with leo. i told him i was just mentoring him, but the truth was, i couldn't sleep. 

in bunker nine, if i ever dozed off, i could pretend the sounds of leo tinkering were actually my dad in his workshop and sleep came a little easier.

i had a pretty whacked sleep schedule to begin with, but i'd still get enough sleep during the day. now, with the days being filled with work and expeditions, there was no time. 

i peeked out my door, unable to see any sign of coach hedge. if he saw me, i was sure he'd kill me.

i closed my door silently, tiptoeing down the hall to percy's door. it creaked open, and i went over to his bed.

his eyes were screwed shut as he slept. no doubt he was having a nightmare.

"percy," i whispered.

no response.

"percy," i poked him this time.

percy woke up, staring in disbelief for a few seconds before realizing this was real.

"wh — what happened?" he asked. "we there yet?"

i grinned, whispering, "nah. it's like two a.m."

"you mean... you sneaked into my cabin?" he muttered.

i rolled my eyes, "oh please. i'm seventeen already. you're turning seventeen in two months. are you afraid of getting in trouble with hedge?"

"have you seen the dude's baseball bat?" he whispered.