My eyes instantly widened. I opened and closed my mouth several times like a fish out of water, unsure of what to say. I had mixed feelings about my father now. Now that he was dead. What was I supposed to do now? Would anything even happen in my life in the first place? I feel as if I ask way too many questions that I can’t answer.
“How?” I managed to say. I mentally congratulated myself for not sounding stupid.
“I believe you can guess, Mr. di Angelo,” The Caucasian one said.
I thought about that for a moment. Why did he think I could guess it? Maybe I had other people that were close to me dying the same way.
Then, it dawned on me. “A…car crash?” I surmised.
The African American one smiled, but it was filled with amusement. Why was he amused?
“Just like what he said. You are very smart,” The African American one said.
“Just like what who said?”
“Not important.”
I raised an eyebrow, but I said nothing. So, my father died in a car crash? Just like my sister and my mother? I didn’t know what to think about that. But, would that mean I would die in a car crash? I was really not looking forward to my future.
“Then, what do I do now?” I looked up at the two men that stood in front of me.
The two men glanced at each for a brief moment, before turning back to me.
“You are very strong indeed,” The Caucasian one commented.
“Just like your father,” The African American one added.
I raised an eyebrow. “You guys…knew my father?”
The Caucasian one nodded. “We have been keeping records of him.”
My eyes widened again. “You have? But why?”
The African American one cleared his throat. “We are getting side-tracked from the topic. You are no longer allowed to stay at this residence any longer.”
“Wait, what?! Why?!” I demanded.
“Mr. di Angelo,” the Caucasian one began, “you must now understand that you are an orphan. As an orphan, you must be legally taken into a home or family under the government. You cannot just ‘move in’ with another family without us knowing.”
“So let me get this straight, you guys are the government?” My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my eye sockets.
The Caucasian one only continued to stare me down. “Not important.”
I scowled and narrowed my eyes at them. “So, what am I going to do now?” I doubted Percy’s family wanted to go through all of this complicated government stuff just so they could keep me.
“Pack,” The African American one simply ordered. “We will take you to an orphanage.”
“What if I refuse?” My gaze on them was unwavering.
“Then you are going against the law, Mr. di Angelo,” The Caucasian one informed.
I gritted my teeth. So this is what my life had come to…an orphanage. I really didn’t want to get separated from Percy and everyone else, but I didn’t want them to go through all of this shit. And, I really didn’t want to meet new people at the orphanage.
I sighed in defeat and averted my gaze to the ground and the perfectly polished shoes of the two men. “Fine.”
The two men nodded and took a step back, allowing me some space. I inhaled through my nose, breathed out through my mouth, and proceeded to opening the door.
Once I closed the door and looked up from it, I found Paul still on the couch, and Sally’s hand resting on Percy’s right shoulder. Percy was sitting in a cushioned seat adjacent to the couch. His head tipped downward toward the ground, and his elbows rested on his knees. His fingers were intertwined, and it looked as if he was deep in thought. Tyson was apparently there now, because he was leaning against Paul.
I brought everyone’s attention to me once they heard me close the door. All their eyes shot up towards me as fast as lightning, and I could see that they were waiting for an explanation. I didn’t want to tell them that I had to move into an orphanage, but what lie could I even tell them? I guess I could sneak out later.
I could also tell that Percy really wanted to jump up from his seat and rush towards me, but Sally’s hand on his shoulder restrained him from doing so.
I gulped. Then, an idea sprang into my head.
I put on a sorrowful expression. “They…told me that my father died.”
All of their eyes’ widened at the news I just broke to them, but Tyson looked utterly perplexed. I guessed at age seven, you don’t know what “died” is.
“Nico,” Sally breathlessly said, bringing a hand up to her chest, “I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine.”
“Maybe you need some time alone,” Paul suggested, grasping Tyson’s hand. “Go upstairs into your room for a bit. We’ll call you down for dinner.”
I nodded. “Thanks.” I stole a glance at Percy, but he face was unreadable. I couldn’t tell if he knew I was lying or not, but I decided to keep up with my act.
I nodded at all of them before making my escape up the stairs and towards my not-my-room-anymore.
When I got up the stairs and into my room, I threw the door closed without looking back, which was the greatest mistake I made that day.
The next thing I knew, I was pushed against the wall, but not hard enough for it to hurt. Arms were found at both sides of my head, trapping me in that position. I looked up with shocked eyes at my not-going-to-be-soon boyfriend Percy Jackson.
“Percy?” I asked in bewilderment.
“Why did you lie again, Nico?” Percy’s face only had one thing written across it in giant capital letters: anger.
“What are you talking about?” I decided to play innocent, straining to keep my face the same so it wouldn’t reveal that Percy found out my plan.
“Don’t ‘what are you talking about?’ to me. I know you were obviously lying,” Percy snapped. “What did they really say to you?”
I gulped. Shit, Percy read me like it was right out of a book. I clenched my teeth together and stared to the side. “Why do you know me so well?” I muttered.
Percy took my chin and his hand and forced my gaze onto him. “Because I care about you, that’s why. Anything else you want to ask before you tell me what they were really talking about?”
I narrowed my eyes, since I couldn’t really look away from him. “I wasn’t really lying.”
“There’s probably more to what they said then,” Percy surmised. “Tell me what they said. All of it.”
I sighed in defeat for the second time of the day. “They told me my father died in a car crash. Then, they told me that I was an orphan, and I…” I trailed off. I didn’t want to say this part to Percy, or anyone for that matter.
Percy’s shoulders slumped as he relaxed. I guess he wanted to show me that he meant no harm.
“And you what?” Percy pressed.
I gulped once again. I wanted to stare anywhere but Percy, but Percy’s hand was still grasping my chin. His hand moved its location until it began to caress my right cheek. I had the feeling Percy was either trying to comfort me, or getting ready to slap me across the face for not telling him this earlier.
“They…they told me I couldn’t live here anymore. I have to move to an orphanage,” I finally told him. “So, I…have to pack and leave with them now. I’m…” I still wasn’t used to saying this, but I said it anyway, “sorry for not telling you earlier, Percy.”
Percy stared at me for the longest time in the most unnerving silence I had ever experienced. I felt uncomfortable, and nervous. Was Percy going to be angry at me for not telling him? Would he storm downstairs and punch the two men outside? Or would he demand his parents that they go through all the government crap just so that they could keep me.
Finally, after what seemed like a millennia of silence, he asked, “Why didn’t you just tell me this? Why did you decide to hide it?”
There was a pained look in his eyes that made my heart clench at the sight of it. I hated feeling like this. Warmth spread throughout my body and I knew I was going to break down soon. I bit my lip. I’d rather feel pain than sadness.
“I didn’t…”
“You didn’t want to live here anymore then?” Percy assumed.
My eyes widened. “What? No!” I denied with a frantic shake to my head. “No, you’ve got it all wrong. I want to stay here. I really do. I don’t even know where the orphanage is, or how far it is from all of you.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?” Percy asked again.
“Because I…didn’t want you going through all of this shit anymore.” I ran a nervous hand through my hair. “I mean, I know it’s going to be all complicated. And, if it’s just so that I could stay here, then I don’t really want you guys to go through all of that. I didn’t think it would be worth it. “
Another long and unnerving silence. I only waited patiently for an answer. I was too scared to even hear what Percy had to say to that.
Percy sighed. “Nico, I’d do anything for you. You know that, don’t you?”
“You don’t have to do this though, I’ll be fine,” I assured him, even though I was not prepared to going to an orphanage.
“Nico,” Percy repeated, “I’m not getting separated from you. We haven’t even been dating for a full day. I am not giving you off to an orphanage now.”
I frowned. “You don’t have to, you know.”
“I will, Nico, just watch me.” And with that last sentence hanging in the air, Percy made his way down the stairs.
I only stared at the doorway he just walked through, and I could hear his footsteps thumping against the wood of the floor as he jogged downstairs. I didn’t know what Percy was going to do, but I didn’t really want to know.
I glanced back at my room, wondering if I should even bother packing at all.
No, I thought, Percy always has a way of getting things. I think he’ll be able to get me to stay. I hope.
I glanced back at the doorway, curious as to what Percy’s plan would’ve been. I left out the part about the two men being from the government and whatnot, but I had a feeling Percy already knew. How he knew that was something I couldn’t answer.
I closed my door and went to lay down on my bed. I shut my eyes, trying to clear my thoughts.
My whole family was dead: my sister, my mother, my father. It was like a di Angelo fate or something. Would I suffer the same fate as the rest of my family? What even happened after you died? Was there another world to live upon, but instead, as a soul instead of a living being? What even happened to the dead?
I was an orphan now. No one in my family lives anymore. I didn’t even have a family, and I wasn’t sure if Percy’s family even considered me as part of theirs. Was Percy really that determined to keep me here?
I frowned. I made it sound like Percy was keeping me hostage. That was definitely not the case.
My thoughts then led back to the two men. How did they even know my father? And who told them about me? Those two men were probably the biggest mystery of my life. This was probably how Percy felt when he first met me. Did he even think about me when he first met me? I doubted it.
After all these questions swimming through my head, my body decided to go through a deep slumber.