𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄° ! jason grace

𝐯𝐢. 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄

Cress emerged from where Jason lay, her eyes squeezed shut. Percy stood next to her, his arm wrapped around her shoulder in his caring, Percy way.

Cress had never felt so helpless.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, burying her face into his chest. She could feel a lump form in her throat, which she swallowed and squished deep, deep down. "I can't... I really can't look at him like this."

Cress' voice cracked. She couldn't watch Jason's limp face, his jaw slack, his forehead bleeding, his skin so pale that he might've been dead... she just couldn't. Piper sat beside Jason on his bed, clutching his hand. Her voice was slow and soothing as she attempted to charmspeak him awake.

It won't work, she wanted to say, but she didn't have the heart to. She didn't even want to remember it. I've tried it before, and it won't work.

"I've only just met him," she murmured to Percy, who rubbed circles into her back. He knew what this meant for her, he knew how much they'd lost. "I mean, I really shouldn't care this much. But after Castor..."

"Hey, hey, hey," Percy turned Cress towards him, his sea green eyes peering into hers with concern. He had always been the older brother she always wanted. Sure, Cress had her fair share of siblings, but none were as soft or protective as Percy. 

"Don't think about Castor, or Silena, or Beckendorf, because I know you're going to. Just... just think about Jason, okay? Think about how he got hit with a brick. He wasn't, like, impaled or anything. It was a brick."

Cress stared at Percy with wide eyes, a ghost of a smile creeping onto her lips.

"It's okay to laugh," he encouraged gently, patting her back. "It's funny."

Cress' voice was raw and brittle as she let out a breathy chuckle, shaking her head. "You're ridiculous."

"And you're going back in there." Percy spun her around so she was facing the door of Jason's cabin. "I'm going to see my girlfriend now. You'll be okay?" Looking at the son of Poseidon was like staring into very concerned sea glass.

Cress nodded. "I'll be okay."

She stared at the wood exterior of the doorframe, squeezing her eyes shut. She could hear the awful sound of that brick hitting his forehead echo in her ears.

It only happened because he was shielding you from the Romans. Someplace deep in her brain nagged. It's your fault, really.

Cress let out a deep, shuddering breath before she let herself get consumed by her thoughts. She slipped through the entrance to the cabin silently, the heaviness in her heart weighing down each step she took.

She glanced over at Piper, who was force-feeding him nectar and ambrosia. Her eyebrows were deeply creased and she was chewing her bottom lip, a blatant look of apprehension on her face.

"He's going to be okay," Cress spoke up, filling her tender voice with confidence that she so clearly lacked. However, she was selfish. She wasn't saying it to reassure Piper; she was saying it to reassure herself.

Piper nodded, but she didn't look like she believed it. How could she, when Jason looked so close to slipping into Elysium? "I just... I don't want him to lose his memories. Again."

Cress looked down, trying to keep her emotions in check. She had known Jason for what, a day before he got knocked out? Piper had known him for months (she was guessing), and had an actual reason to be worried about Jason's amnesia coming back.

To lose all your memories for the first time, gain more memories, and lose them again... even the gods weren't that cruel.

"So, are you two dating?" Cress gestured to Piper's hand on Jason's arm. She had a lump in her throat as she uttered the words, sending a silent prayer that they weren't. She wouldn't know how to feel if they were, given that Jason chose her to give a tour of New Rome and their hug... it would be downright wrong if he had a girlfriend all that time.