Learn to Love Again, chapter two
A/N: 'Ey! Sorry about the delay! I've been having exams! (reviews every other damn day) and cramming. And literary jam as well. Sorry again!
The snowflakes dusted her hair, as Thalia Grace prodded through the alleys of New York. Her face was twisted in concentration, as she lifted her skirt to walk through the snow. The confrontation with Castellan was already exhausted enough.
Thalia Grace was famous for deceiving men, and double crossing other gang leaders. Her devious smile was her signature, and her gun, already loaded. A smile crosses her face, as she remembers duping Jackson, Valdez and Di Angelo. They were all men of Castellan's gang, and she led them all on. It was for this, further reasoning that Mr. Castellan hated her guts.
It wasn't her fault she had to steal the beer from his gang, she had to. Circumstance required her to deceive other men, and perform deadly sins. Thievery, lusting, and every other sin under the sun. Not that she minded, of course. She was raised that way. Her Ma had been a singer in the shows, and her father had been a soldier, a general of sorts. God knows how he'd be ashamed to figure out his little girl had become a criminal. He broke her mother's heart twice, and her mother died of heartbreak when she had been fifteen. Imagine that, she became a mother to her brother at fifteen. Having to drop out of school, she had to deal with men to survive, and eventually joined the ranks of the gangs in New York. Her brother, though younger, made his own way. Joining the Great War, he returned several years later, heartbroken and depressed. His love had left him, and he needed a place to stay. Though he was a slight inconvenience, and at that point she was lieutenant to the former gang leader, she let him stay in her apartment with her. He didn't exactly approve of her occupation, but he never told her to stop. Now, he spent his days whiling away in her apartment, a cripple, but not a coward.
Entering the apartment building, she ran up the stairs, avoiding everybody's eyes as she did. It was a known fact around there that she was a crook, but they were always too afraid to confront her. Rolling her eye at a mother who flinched at the sight of her, she unlocked the door to her apartment, and headed inside.
"Jason?" she asks, her voice echoing in the apartment. Her apartment wasn't exactly neat, but it was in some sort of suitable order. She hung her coat on the hook on the back of the door, and set her gun down in the corner. She pulled her sweater closer around her, her rough black hair mussed up and dirty. She reminded herself to shower, as it's been ages since she's showered.
"Yeah, Thals?" he asks, his voice weak. He's been drinking again. She sighs, turning her head to see Jason sleeping on the couch, the blanket pulled up to his chin. A small smile appeared on her face, as she walks over to her little brother and kissed his forehead.
"Hey," she says softly, "How you feelin'?"
"Alright…" he murmured his voice rough and faint. She noticed his forehead was slightly red, and she picked up the bottle, nearly half full.
"Jason, you really got to limit yourself…" she said softly, wincing at the sight of the stains on his blue flannel pajamas.
"Not my fault, Thals…" he whispered, "It's…I just miss her. A lot." A tear slipped down his face, and she wipes it away, her hand brushing against his cheek. "It drowns the pain."
"Jason…"
"It hurts, Thalia…" he says, "Piper…I miss her…I miss her," she watches as a tear slides down his face, "So much."
"Jason, you really got to stop thinking about her," she whispers, before realizing his forehead had begun to heat up. A concerned expression replaces the one of worry, as she stood up and went to find her thermometer. Sticking it into his mouth, she waited for the red meter to hit the numbers, and when it finally stopped, she gasped softly.
"Jason…" she whispers, tears teasing at the corner of her eyes, "103 degrees…You're really sick."
"No shit," he grumbles, turning his head away "I feel like I'm going to die."
She sat there, shocked by the numbers. That would cost at least 100$ in medicine, maybe even medical care. She only had 90, maybe 95. She had to make deals, find ways to get the money…the meeting with Castellan rang in her mind, and she realized, with a dreadful realization, she was going to have to deal with Castellan to get the money she needed for her brother.
"Jason, I promised Ma this," she said, her hand brushing some hair away on his heated forehead, the pained expression on his face breaking her heart, "And I promise you. I'm goin' to take care of you, no matter what."