UNEDITED!!! ;)

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👌😐

"You do know him, right?" Nico's hollow eyes bore into her skin as she took the photograph from his grasp.

Rachel snorted turning away from the dark haired boy to face the skyline of New York city.

"Who doesn't."

They were settled back in the darkened confines of her bedroom. She wasn't sure her father would appreciate a boy in her room, but than again doubted he would notice. For now her only immediate worry was what Nico had told her. What he knew.

Nico grabbed her arm, his fingers frozen cold against her warm skin. She shuttered, her eyes flickering back to him, their gazes locking in burning pain. Because they both knew that they had the same worry hidden beneath their outward appearance.

"You know what I mean." Nico let his fingers untwine from her forearm, his eyes dropping to the mahogany floors. Rachel bit her lip, returning to stare at the man in the photograph.

"My dad is friends with the self absorbed billionaire." Her voice was bitter, almost to the point of resentment. She took a sharp intake of breath, and let the photo flutter from her grip.

"Why does it matter to you?" Her eyes rose to meet his again, and he scowled.

"That man....has him."

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The light blurred in and out of focus above him. The slow rhythmic beeping like an annoying flip phone was blaring in his ears beside him. The radiating warmth of the sheets, cradled his broken body; still numb from sleep and empty darkening dreams. His nerves seemed to be on 'rude awakening setting' because as soon as he flickered the slightest bit out of his sleep, a searing pain burned through his abdomen like glowing fire. Drunkly, he raised a heavy hand to wipe the sleep from his eyes. He halfheartedly wondered why the Hades he had drugs in his system, and if the Hermes cabin had somehow spiked his food with some crap. But he suddenly realized as his mind tumbled awake, that this was not the case. You see, Percy realized much later than the average person might, that he was in fact on pain medications because he had a freaking bullet hold piercing through his side.

Yes, things like that are just so hard to miss.

Percy scrunched his face as the artificial lights seemed to glare brighter overheard. The pain in his side multiplied as he coughed, the bitter taste of blood coating his tongue. He stared up at the ceiling dizzily, and questioned the bullet hole in his side, as one might assume he would have done earlier. But his morning brain didn't function quite that well, and he had a hard time remembering earlier events. He blinked, his eyelashes practically sticking together.

And he stopped.

Because he remembered.

It crashed down on him like buckets of venomous water.

And his eyes shut, choking on the lump that rose like bile. Clogging his burning throat, making it hard to breath. But he bit his lip, cutting his skin with a stinging snap, and took a ragged breath.

And let it out.

It was all his fault.

Breath.

Your never getting away from me.

Never again.

Percy opened his eyes, crystal tears clinging to his lashes. But he didn't let them fall. He just let them stink his cheeks, and fade away to nothing. Just like a his happiness.

Just like his love.

A feverish sticky warmth seemed to encase Percy's body, his limbs feeling like they were encased in stone. He pushed back the covers the frozen air hitting him like a wall of ice. The pain in his torso exploded like flames, his heart beating faster than it should have been.

He rose unsteadily to his feet, a headache pounding like a crazy son of Hephaestus was slamming his mind with a hammer. He kept his face blank, but he felt disgusting and feverish. He didn't mind the increasing pain that racked his torso, he dealt with much worse daily. But the fuzzy sickness suddenly overwhelming his system, felt horrible.

Despite this he kept walking, his bare feet sticking to the ground with each step. He stumbled definitely more than once. He was pretty sure he heard shouts coming from upstairs and frantic footsteps running his way, but he didn't care. He need his daughter.

And he needed her NOW.

He had almost reached the metal doors, his shaking hands inches away from the handle.

But the door was slammed opened before he could even touch it. People rushed in to help him.

But they were to late.

By now his body was growing limp. His head was empty of thought, the pounding headache slamming into his brain. His skin feverish and sweating.

He blinked as his vision tunneled in and out. And suddenly his knees buckled and he fell forward.

He felt two people jump forward to catch him as he fell limp in their grasp. Their bodies pressed up against his own to keep him from collapsing to the cold floor. His body felt fuzzy and barely connected to his mind.

"WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING."

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