𝑃𝐸𝑅𝐶𝑌 𝑅𝐸𝐼𝐷 thought the worst thing he would have to live through was his mother's death but life deals him a new hand, something he would have never expected, it takes away his father.
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PERCY CRAVED THE TRUTH, he was sick of being left in the dark. The not knowing was driving him insane, his dad was framed for murder, and he assumed he would hear news like that from Elle or Emily but not a girl he had known for about ten minutes, even though those were the best ten minutes of his last week. He was angry at everyone, especially at Elle for not telling him. He could handle JJ and Emily keeping things from him, hell, he would be fine if it was Garcia or even Luke but not Elle. He trusted her, he expected her to trust him too, trust him with the truth. "I don't wanna talk to anyone." He was in Derek's old office, he locked the door to keep the team out, he just wanted a minute to himself.
Ever since Derek left, his office became the place that the team would go to for a little breather, Luke never thought he would have to kick the door in on his favorite relaxing spot. Percy jumped when the door opened, looking up at the man from his spot near Derek's desk. "Well, then we can brood together. Like men." Percy wasn't sure if Luke was making a joke, he sat down on the table to get a better glance at Percy. "I don't brood." Percy was in fact brooding, his knees were pressed to his chest, his face between his knees and his blonde hair covering his eyes.
"Listen kid, I know you're having a tough time but you're strong."
"Because I'm a man?" Percy rolled his eyes when he looked up at the person who was one of his favorite people before Luke became another person who was keeping things from him. "Because you're Reid's kid and you were raised by a few of the most badass people I've ever known." Luke knew Percy was strong because of the people around him. He had barely known the team for a few months, but he felt like they had all affected him and he knew being raised by the team made Percy strong, it made him brave. "I mean, look at Elle. She's pretty scary and you seem to get along pretty well." Luke started with the person who stood on the other side of the wall, waiting for Percy to calm down.
"You don't know anything about Elle." For some reason, hearing people talk about her made him angry. He hated the words they used to describe, he didn't see Elle as someone to be scared of, he saw her as someone to look up to. She was strong and she was brave and she had loved him since he could hold her ring finger in his whole fist. He loved since before he knew what love meant, a part of him hated himself for loving her that much. "I guess we have that in common." On the other side of that door, Elle's heart broke.
"She loves you, kid. Don't say that." Luke furrowed his brows, "I wish you were honest with me." Percy got up, opening the curtains and finding her on the other side. She looked at him like he had slapped her, he felt like he did worse. "I didn't want you to be hurt again." Elle didn't go to the door, she didn't go into the office, she gave him space because he needed it. She knew crowding him would only make him run away because that was what she would have done.
"Lying to me, that is what hurts me. I'm sick of you keeping things from me. Like why you left. Why did you leave me?" Percy always wondered, he always needed to know. Before he knew why his dad was gone, he thought about Elle abandoning him. He thought Spencer was following her lead and he knew once was an accident but when two people see you, when they really know you and they choose to leave then you might be the problem. He wondered what he did to make his dad run away, but now he knew the reason why Spencer wasn't there and the only thing he didn't know was why Elle left.
"It's not your fault." Elle placed her hand on the glass window, and he did the same and he could have sworn he felt her hand through the cold glass. "I just wish I never went to your apartment. I'm staying with Aunt Penelope tonight; I don't want to see you every day and then just lose you all over again." His heart broke, she could tell it was something that has been happening for a very long time. Percy's heart started breaking the day he was born, and the crack has just been growing, and growing and growing, Percy is scared of the day it's too broken to be healed. That one day there would more void than heart.
"Because it will kill me, losing you again will kill me." He shut the curtains, he felt Luke beside him when he heard Elle walk away. He wanted to call her back, to say he didn't mean it, but he did because ever since he showed up at Elle's door his mind kept going into the future and he didn't really see her sticking around. "I don't hate her." He admitted, turning to the man next to him. "She knows that." He wondered about that.
"I'm tired of being sad, Luke." Percy hated the word sad, it felt too small for the ache in his chest. "Then let's get ice cream and just be happy even if we have to pretend." Luke placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Can I drive?"
"I'll think about it on the way down."
"Can Annabeth come along?" Percy got a yes and Annabeth agreed. Two minutes later, the group of three were downstairs with Luke handing Percy the car keys. Seeing that made Annabeth's mouth fall open, made her anxiety spike. "He's gonna kill me."
"He's just gonna pull out of the parking spot." Luke had faith in the blonde boy, Annabeth liked being alive too much and she wasn't the type to have faith in something that she couldn't control. "I have to call my dad; I have to say my goodbyes." Annabeth pulled her phone out of her pocket and Percy opened the door of the backseat for her, "She's kidding." Luke got in the passenger's side, but Annabeth stayed outside, turning her back to Percy.
"She's really not." He looked over her shoulder and she was in fact calling her dad. "If you kill me, I'm getting even." Annabeth held the phone to her ear, Luke laughed at the two from inside the car while Percy stood in front of the open door. "What are you gonna do, poison my Capri-Sun?" She shook her head, biting down on the tip of her tongue while she waited for her father to answer the phone. "I might." She turned her back to him when her dad finally picked up the phone and five minutes later, she was in the backseat of Luke's car.
"Do not tell your dad that I let you drive my car, if you do, this is never happening again." Luke pulled on his seatbelt and Annabeth did the same. "You want me to lie to the man who gave me life? Wow, what a great example you're setting for the kid." Percy looked to the back where Annabeth sat, nervous out of her mind, "The road is in front of you," She told him and looked over at Luke, "He doesn't know the difference between the road ahead and the wall behind us."
"Relax, Annabeth, I've driven a car before." It would be his second time behind a wheel and the first time went pretty well. "Go karts are not cars." She held on tightly to her seat and he shook his head. "Wait, who let you drive their car?" Luke was shocked at the news.
"Tara." Percy answered honestly, "She beat me to it." He groaned and leaned back in his seat, relaxing while Annabeth did the opposite. "Do you want me to pray for you or something?" Percy gave her a cheeky smile, "Are you there God, it's me. Percy. Please don't kill Annabeth, thanks." He finished up what he saw as a prayer. Annabeth would be lying if she said his smile didn't bring her a little comfort, but she really just didn't want to die. "Relax, no one is going to die today, not on my watch." Luke made Percy look at the road ahead of him and gave Annabeth a thumbs up from her spot in the back.
"And if we do, what a way to die." Percy started the engine, foot hovering over the gas. He wondered if he was in the right state of mind to be driving a car, Luke and Annabeth had something to live for, Percy's reasons to live were going down every day. His hurt had become t's own entity, it was an abyss and the more time he spent looking into it, the more it looked into him. "He's joking, no one is going to die. Start the car and stop being a smart ass." Percy did what Luke told him to do, his hands firmly on the wheel as he pressed his foot to the gas, and he lived. The car started and it stopped, and he got out without a scratch to give Luke the car keys as he got into the back with Annabeth. Her eyes were still shut when she heard him pull on his seatbelt. "Are we dead? Is this hell?" She asked him, peeping open one eyes, "We're not dead."
They got ice cream five minutes later; Percy and Annabeth were sick of ice cream but didn't say anything until Percy's ice cream ended up in Luke's face and Annabeth's ended up in his hair. Percy laughed the entire time; he couldn't stop laughing and for the first time it felt right to be happy but when Luke dropped him off at Garcia's place. He went up, used the key she had given him and went to the room she gave him. He got changed, took what he needed and then he left, ot leaving behind a note or a reason as he got into the back of a cab.
