My knuckles hit Percy's cabin door two times and then again two times, our secret knock. I heard his soft voice beckon me in. My hand clasped the doorknob, turning it, opening the door to find Percy sprawled out on the bed, hands intertwined and the back of them resting over his eyes. His expression, from what I could see of it, was troubled. I took a few steps closer to his bed and then finally sat on the edge of it.
"Hey, you okay?" I whispered in the small, quiet cabin.
He breathed a deep sigh and removed his hands from his face, instead placing them in mine. "Yeah, it's just my mom." He paused as if he didn't want to tell me what followed. "She wants me to come home for the summer."
My breath caught in my throat. Percy hadn't been home for a while now, so I guess we both expected his mom to start missing him and finally ask him to come home for a bit. But it was still shocking. My hand squeezed his. "And… are you?"
He abruptly sat up and took his hand from mine, rubbing his face with it. "I don't know. I mean I haven't been back in a while, but at the same time I don't want to leave camp. Or you." The last part made me tingle in unmentionable places. His eyes met mine and held them for a long second.
Even though I had to force the words out of my mouth, I knew it was the right thing to say to him. "You can go."
