The next few days after I met my half siblings, I got into contact with my dad, who had come back to the States. Let me give you the run down of our conversation.

Me: Hey daddy, I'm sorry about being rude before you left and I love you.

Dad: I love you too princess, I wish I could be able to make all of this easier on you.

Me: It doesn't matter.

Dad: I have a shoot to get to, I love you, great talking to you again.

Me: Bye.

And now it's Arts and Crafts night... No this isn't an excuse for me to not talk about how I haven't spoken to Jason since our kiss. And I realize I did just bring that up without you asking, fuck you.

Alright, truth is fuck arts and crafts night. Truly fuck it. You wanna know why? Because I can't art. I can sew. I can knit. I cannot for the life of me draw. I can't even make a fucking macaroni art picture that looks like what I wanted it to look like. My freaking valentines day cards look like pink and red butts with glitter and sharpie on them.

I guess I'm just frustrated. With all that's going on. Jason has got to stop being so charming, and Annabeth has to be less pushy. I can't bring myself to even look at him, let alone talk to him. Alright? I just get nervous, because he's so, gooey. He lets a smile melt across his face, he lets his hands tremble. And why does he have to make that something constant? Like, why does he always make that dumb face when I walk into a room?

Okay, so maybe I've been thinking a lot about him recently, and maybe it hasn't been entirely me pushing him away. I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but I wish I could believe in love. I just can't.

My thought process usually consists of me telling myself to give him a shot, that it can't end that badly. Hey who knows, it could be the best decision you ever make, you never know, you be good for each other. Annabeth seems like she knows what she's talking about. It's not entirely impossible that you could fall in love.

I think about him, and as stupid as it sounds I think about his hands. They're so big, and soft for a guy. I don't know if you've ever held a guys hand but they are literally the most disgusting thing on the planet. All dry and cracked. But his have a certain tenderness. His hands are sharply cold, stinging the warmth they come into contact with. I remember his hands on my body, and I shiver when I recall the feeling.

From his hands I think of his arms, and how they seem to always find their way around me, engulfing me in the strength they possess. There is never any distance between you and him when his arms get their way. His arms that want to crush people to him so he can keep they safe. His arms that held Seth so expertly.

Then there's his chest his stupidly firm chest. I felt each muscle in his chest. But when I think of his eyes, I see darkness and fear. He's so deathly afraid. He doesn't want to die, and that makes it all so much worse. He has a fire in him, a will to live I have never possessed.

I remember how Annabeth told me we'd be good for one another. He'd bring me the sun, and I'd bring him the moon. Both are necessary yes. But do I really want to be the reason he turns cold? That he loses his light?

I imagine those stupid romance films where there's this hard ass the young bubbly girl has to work for. Do you know that story arc I'm referencing? Somewhere in the middle of the film someone ominously tells the girl that he wasn't always so cold. She finds out through falling in love with him that he lost his first love through tragedy.

I don't want to be that for him. I don't want to leave him in ruins. I don't want the reason he turns his back on his sunshiny little world.

Then the whole idea of him falling in love with someone else makes my cheeks flame up and I get all defensive of him. As if he belongs to me, even though he really doesn't. He's the guy I said no to.

I wish it would all stop. I wish I could stop feeling. Like when the Grinch collapses in the live action version and he's crying but he says he's leaking. And he's screaming at Max that he's feeling. That's me alright? I am the Grinch and my heart has grown three times too big, but in Whoville this means Christmas joy. For me it means, get a new one or die.

And that's another thing, I'm getting worse. I mean, yeah I always am. My heart is literally growing into my lung, crushing it into my rib cage. I'm constantly aware of the reality, I am sick. My disease is taking up all of me, becoming all that I am. And that is the most terrifying part of this mess.

Not this stupid romantic trauma I've wound up in. No it's the fact that I am getting worse every day. My illness is taking over me.

There is no escaping it. It takes every fiber of my being to keep myself alive. I have to make sure I remember my medicines, I can't eat foods too high in iron, I have to stand up slowly, the list goes on and on. It's a full time job, being this sick. If I forget one little thing I could end up in the hospital. It is exhausting and monotonous.

When I think of what's happening I see my chest scans in my mind. How they used to be alright, well balanced like they're supposed to be. The last image I saw, pops up in my mind, I remember the way my overgrown heart is pushing my lung out of the way. My heart, shoving its way through my body just to make room for its gluttonous self.

I mentioned how I'm getting worse. How do I know?

I now wake up to pains in my chest every morning, breathing is difficult. For a few minutes mind you, before I feel alright again. The first time this happened I was terrified, but since it passed so quickly I thought little of it. I haven't told Dr. D or Chiron. I seem to forget it once the pain has run its course.

Alright call me a dumb ass, sigh as you say my name. I know. I know.

You want to know how I got pay back for all of this? Here you go.

I wake up startled and out of breath. My chest is burning, literally, the skin is hot to the touch. I lay there, taking harsh heavy breaths hoping to quell the burning sensation. But today, I can't.

I feel a strangled cracking moan fall out of my body. I close my eyes for a second, when I hear Annabeth shifting in her bed. I hope I don't wake her.

"Good morning girls." I hear Percy throw our door open. I suck in my lips, still trying desperately to breathe, but I feel like this is less of a breathing problem and more of a my heart is being a bully pushing my other organs around problem.

"Go away." Annabeth says tiredly.

"Pipes, help me out man." Percy chuckles. I feel a tension in my throat, I can't even breathe, how does he expect me to speak? "Pipes?" He tries again, "You're not asleep are you?"

I hear him walking closer to me. I relax my face a bit, I can feel the tension from my face fall down to my chest, where the muscles are so tight I can feel it in my bones.

"Wake up." He shoves me like a kid trying to wake his mom on Christmas morning.

Only, it hurts. It hurts so bad I desperately breathe out, "Stop." I try opening my eyes, but when I do tears that had been held back fall down into my ears.

"Pipes." He takes my hand, and feels my forehead for fever, "What happened?"

I feel my muscles start contracting, I start squirming under his hands, this hurts too. I hear myself groan but it only vaguely sounds like my voice.

"Annabeth, get up and go get Dr. D." Percy says frantically, "Pipes stay with me, okay?"

I want to scream when Annabeth barrels out of the room, I can feel the floor moving, hear the house creaking with her sprint. I'm uncomfortable both physically and mentally. But why the fuck do I want them to stop fussing? Now seems like a perfectly good time to fuss. So my brain needs to shut up and stop making me feel so guilty. I feels a hacking cough wrack my body as my victimized lungs reach out for more air.

"Calm down, just breathe."

But I can't. There have been too many times where I've realized, I can't breathe.

"What happened?" I hear Dr. D's voice pierce the protective hushing that Percy must have thought was a comfort but it only provided a dull buzzing in the back of my mind. The looming of two more figures over my fidgeting body makes me more anxious and a quiet protesting whine emits from behind my closed lips.

"I don't know, I think she woke up like this." Percy says backing away.

"Piper, what hurts?" Dr. D asks me trying to calm me down.

When I open my mouth to speak all that comes out is cracking breath.

"Annabeth go tell Chiron to grab the spare oxygen tank by my bed. Percy go with her."

As the two of them leave, my body is again seized with absolute pain. I writhe beneath him again, like my body thinks moving will allow for better breathing.

"Stop moving we don't know what's wrong yet." His voice is soft like it was when he spoke to Frank. I guess it's that bad. Huh? "Open your eyes and look at me." When I do, more tears escape, "Relax, you're going to be alright, just relax."

I hear Chiron knock the oxygen tank on the door as he rushes in. When I look at him he's fixing the dials before wheeling it over to me. He eases the oxygen mask onto my face, gently lifting my head so the strap can hold the mask firmly to my face.

My lungs are so parched and desperate for air I completely blackout for a few seconds. I say a few seconds but I really mean four hours.

I'm woken by a gentle nudge and softly spoken, "Piper?"

I slowly open my sleep caked eyes to see Chiron standing over me. The pressure in my chest is gone, but my throat feels dry and scratched.

"You fell asleep." He says obviously.

"Was I not supposed to?" I let my voice leak tiredly into the air.

He smiles at me, "No, you weren't. But it's alright, Dr. D and I have had time to talk."

"What happened to me?"

"We're not sure."

"Then what'd you talk about?"

"For starters," He sits beside me, "You need to start wearing this little mask when you go to bed at night. Every night, got it?"

I nod, "Got it."

"The other thing, is that Dr. D wants to run some tests. Which means tomorrow morning you, Jason, and Dr. D will be heading to the hospital."

"Why's Jason coming?"

"His surgery is tomorrow. Didn't he tell you?"

I close my eyes, I'm too tired to think about this. He's having surgery tomorrow, life saving surgery. And he didn't tell me. I wonder who he did tell, "He didn't mention it to me."

He shakes his head, "Well, you get some rest, you're going to have a long day tomorrow."

I close my eyes again, anxious for the solitude of sleep. Only, sleep evades me, leaving me to lay in a room that only gets brighter as the sun continues it's trek through the sky.

I hear them walk in, and I know who they are. Percy, Annabeth, and Jason. Of course.

I hear Annabeth sigh as the door closes behind her, "Oh, look at her. She looks so, delicate."

"Yeah... Poor thing." Percy says softly, the two of them take a seat on her bed as Jason's frozen hands touch my hot skin.

"Aren't we supposed to wake her up?" Jason asks them.

"But she looks so tired." Annabeth says.

"I know." He says softly. He kneels next to me, "Why's she so cute?"

"I don't know Sparky." Annabeth chuckles.

"It's cause you're madly in love, my dear best friend." Percy adds to the conversation.

"But... She said no."

"And? Do you know how many times I said no to Percy?"

"No..."

"At least eight."

"Really?" Percy asks, I can just imagine him rattling through his memories counting the number of rejections he's received.

"This is different." Jason insists, slipping his hand in mine.

"How so?" Annabeth asks.

"She's not you." Jason says, "And she's the first girl I've ever seen as... Don't be offended, but she's the first girl I've ever seen as a girl. And she's absolutely adorable."

"Jason, she'll come around, you'll see."

"I don't want her to come around. I don't want her to warm up to the idea. I just want her to like me."

"She does."

"But-"

"She likes you, trust me."

He sighs looking back at me, "I haven't told her yet."

"About your surgery? Dude." Percy sounds disappointed.

"I know." He sighs, "I wanted to tell her, but I just never saw her alone."

"Maybe it's because you fell limp while holding her little brother?" Annabeth snickers.

"It could be anything, really, but that's likely. And totally the most humiliating thing ever."

"But you didn't tell that you're having a life changing surgery? Like it could kill you it could not. And you didn't tell the girl you're in love with? You're borderline jackass."

"Thanks man, real helpful." He sighs, "Maybe, I wanted to protect her from it. That's probably it, I just didn't want her to be afraid."

"Dumbest excuse ever." Percy claims.

"You boys go talk this out somewhere else. I should really wake her up." Annabeth stands from her bed before hovering over me.

"Wait." Jason says, standing up. He hesitates for a heartbeat, working up the courage to leave a soft kiss on my hairline, before quickly ripping his hand from mine. The two boys exit in a hurry.

"Pipes?" She shakes my shoulder lightly. I fake a tired groan, "Are you hungry sweetie? It's almost four."

"Uhg." I open my eyes to look at her, "Okay."

"Yeah?" She smiles softly at me. She helps me sit up before taking the oxygen mask off of my face. When I'm standing and walking again, I start to feel better.

That night I find myself sandwiched between Leo and Nico, both of whom I use as pillows during Captain America. Nobody tells me about Jason's surgery. But I don't tell them that I'm leaving with him, either. So I guess we're even?

Early the next morning, and I mean five o'clock, Chiron gently wakes me. I take the fastest shower I've ever taken before hopping in the van with Dr. D, we wait a few minutes for Jason. Needless to say he's surprised I'm there.

"Hey." He blushes instantly.

"Seat belt." I smirk at him.

"What are you doing here?" He asks averting his gaze from me. I never knew bucking your seatbelt could be so interesting.

"Tests." I shrug.

"Oh..."

A moment of silence settles in the van before I speak up, "Why didn't you tell me?" He doesn't give me an answer. He sits there in silence, "Are you mad at me?"

"No..."

"Then what is it?"

"It's nothing... Don't worry about it."

I give up asking, boys, they're so juvenile. It's hardly a prolonged silence before we reach the hospital. Jason meets his dad and is admitted right away. I however am taken to see my favorite person.

"Dr. Underwood, you look a little worse for ware." Dr. D teases him, "Take my kid?"

"You brought two in this morning?" Dr. Underwood chuckles, "How bad did you screw up?" He asks me.

"Not anymore than usual." I return the joke.

"Damnit Pipes, I thought we told you to not do that." He laughs, "Come on. Let's get you scanned." He puts a hand on my shoulder and leads me to get scans and other assorted tests.

By the time I've been poked, prodded, and drained it's a decent hour of the morning. Decent being nine o'clock, whoopdeedoo.

"I called your dad." Dr. Underwood says with my results in hand, "He's as chipper as ever, although we're in luck, he just finished a late night shoot and says he'll be here in fifteen minutes."

I nod at him, "How's the fiancée?"

"Not yet! God next week, wait a little." He smiles, "You want to see the ring?"

"Duh." I roll my eyes, he pulls out an absolutely breathtaking ring the band is braided gold and the biggest diamond right in the middle, "You ask your mom for help?"

"Even better. Her brother."

"And he didn't kick your ass?" I laugh, "You go."

"I know right?" Dr. Underwood laughs with me. I fold my legs crisscross crinkling the paper beneath me.

"So how are you going to ask her?"

"Alright, so picture this." He smiles the dorkiest smile I've ever seen. It's nice to see him so excited about this. He's been waiting to propose since their first date. It'd be sickening if I didn't know that they're the rare kind of couple made for each other. They aren't the gross cliché couple the romance loves. They're two of the dorkiest people ever and that's why they're so cute.

"I'm going to take her ice skating, and I'm going to fall on my ass."

"That's a great plan." I cackle.

"And then I'm going to suggest we go back to our house but she won't know that the whole time under my skating clothes I've been wearing a suit, right?"

"That's a lot of clothing."

"I won't be wearing the jacket." He says that as if that makes it better, "Anyway, meanwhile a few of my friends are going to be filling the house with flowers and when we get upstairs she's going to find the picture she took of us on our first date with the same Facebook post that says, 'went on a date with this dork, wonder if it'll go anywhere.' And bam, I'm down on one knee."

"Don't break yourself for true love." I laugh.

"You obviously don't understand love if you think that's what's going to break me." He laughs with me.

We hear a swift knock at the door, sending Dr. Underwood to shove the ring back into his pocket, "Come in, come in." He tries and fails to be professional.

What surprises me, is that it's my step dad who walks in, "Piper, I saw you were in here. What happened?"

"Uh..." I don't know what to say to him. He looks worried as he touches my shoulder.

"Did you contact someone that she was here?" He asks Dr. Underwood.

"Who are you exactly?"

"Devin Alester, hospital defense attorney."

"And you're here because...?" Suddenly Dr. Underwood thinks he's done something illegal.

"He's my step dad." I say.

Dr. Underwood looks at me with shock, "Oh... So you met your mom... And you're her, okay. Sure."

"Does your mother know you're here?" He asks me.

"Uh..."

"Of course she doesn't." He sighs, "I'll call her."

"I've already contacted her father. She'll be well represented." Dr. Underwood still thinks he's done something illegal.

"Yes, but he won't tell her mother, will he?" Dr. Underwood and I give each other the same look, "Hi honey-... Listen you need to get down here... The hospital, I'm with Piper... I don't know... Alright... Love you, bye."

"Well, this will be a train wreck." I sigh.

"Why?" My step dad asks.

"My parents haven't see each other in years. They hate each other."

"That's not true. Your mom and dad are just... complicated." He rubs my back, "So, what happened?" He looks to Dr. Underwood

"I'm... You're not her legal guardian. I'm not permitted to give you that information." Dr. Underwood says nervously.

"Fair enough." My step dad says. We then wait in an uncomfortable silence until my mom runs into the room.

"Piper." She sighs when she sees me before squeezing me to her chest, "I was so worried. Are you hurt, did something happen?"

"I'm fine... I think."

"Oh, my baby." She kisses my head before looking at her husband. I glance at Dr. Underwood, who is so painfully uncomfortable it's almost funny.

"Pipes-" My dad walks in at that very moment.

"Daddy." I look around my mom to see him.

Before I tell you how he appears to me let me give you some perspective. I've only ever heard my father scream in films. I usually associate him being angry with it being fake. He never gets mad, frustrated? Yes, absolutely. Angry? No.

But when I see him now, my mother's arms wrapped around me, he is livid. He will fucking kill her if she doesn't let go of me. But the instant she sees him her arms drop.

"What are you doing here?" He asks lowly.

"I'm here for my daughter." She snaps.

"She's my daughter."

"Because you never let me see her."

"Because you didn't want her."

"I never said I didn't want her, Tristan."

"You left us like we were your used trash."

"Stop it, I'm here now."

"And you think that matters? Get away from my child."

"She's our child."

"You left her!" He starts the shouting.

"Then what did you do!?" She continues it.

"I raised her!"

"I gave birth to her!"

"You didn't want her in the first place!"

"Like you did!?"

Dr. Underwood looks scared, he doesn't want any part of this. Neither do I bro.

They scream at each other for all of five minutes, before I have to be the one to intervene... Well I take that back my step dad tried to mediate but now he's adding to the screams.

"Hey!" I shout at the adults, "Doc, what's wrong with me?" The room instantly falls silent, "Oh I'm sorry, is that not why we're here? My mistake."

"Pipes," My dad takes my hand, trying to apologize. I just don't really want to acknowledge what's just happened.

"Well, uh, yeah let's talk medicine." Dr. Underwood mutters pulling some scans up, "Alright, so, do you remember how the last time we took scans we saw your heart pushing into your lung?"

"Duh, but go on." I answer him.

He clears his throat gesturing to the new scans, "It seems that your heart, because it's growing so much, is trying to turn up instead of being tilted to the left. But that's causing there to be a tension not only between your heart and your lung, but with the blood vessels. My main concern here is that your heart is going to tear those blood vessels."

"And I'd bleed out." I say.

"That, another concern is your lung collapsing."

"Perfect." I whisper only to myself.

"What happened yesterday morning. After talking to Dr. D ad taking into consideration some of your tests, we have both concluded that you had a heart attack."

"We're there?" My dad asks. Squeezing my hand.

Dr. Underwood nods, "We're there."

"There?" My mom asks. I squeeze my dad's hand so he won't snap at her.

"The danger zone." Dr. Underwood sighs, he hates describing things like this. He hates telling people they're going to die, "She's at the point where she could start having heart attacks regularly. She'll start declining. Now's the time that she gets put higher on the donor list. By higher I mean top twenty."

"Oh my god." She reaches out to touch me, my dad blocks her from doing so.

"How long?" My dad asks.

Dr. Underwood doesn't want to say it, "I give her till the end of this year, if she's lucky."

My dad wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheeks when he's said this. I hear my mom start crying and my step dad comforting her.

I feel my dad seething with rage as he turns around, "Shut up will you!"

"My daughter is dying, Tristan, what do you want me to do!?"

"I want you to leave us alone!"

"I have, for too long. I will be a part of my daughter's life!"

"You mean what's left of it!"

"You can go to hell, she is my kid!"

"Why didn't you treat her like it!?"

I close my eyes and squeeze my own hands. First Jason wouldn't talk to me, and now my parents won't stop yelling at one another. My hands creep up to my ears until their voices have the effect of being underwater. When I open my eyes I see Dr. Underwood sitting there, so stunned I can't believe he's really that innocent an adult.

I hear my dad call my mom a cunt. And my mom calls my dad a no good son of a bitch. And now I know why my dad hates it when I curse. The words sound so ugly, so profane coming from the people you love.

Then Dr. D walks in with Chiron and their eyes just about fall out of their heads as they listen to all of the vulgar words my parents spit at each other. They see me sitting there with my ears covered, looking profoundly uncomfortable. I nod at them, acknowledging their existence.

"What the hell were you doing leaving her in a fucking home like that!? Can't even take care of your own fucking daughter?!" My mother shouts at him.

"Don't you dare talk to me about leaving her, you fucking whore! You're the one who left!" My dad screams back.

"You should have taken care of your daughter if she was that sick!" My step dad argues.

"And do what!? Quit my job so we'd have no way to pay the medical bills!?"

Dr. D and Chiron look just as lost and scared as Dr. Underwood.

Chiron whistles loudly making the three of them stop shouting. "Alright, I think that's quiet enough."

My parents look at him, "Who are you?" My mom asks.

"I'm one of the residents in charge of her care."

"You'd know that if-"

"Quiet." Dr. D cuts off my dad boldly.

"As I was saying, Piper, we were going to take you home. We're welcoming a new patient to our home. Both Dr. D and I believe you've had a long enough morning. You and the new girl will be allowed to rest for the afternoon."

"What about Jason?" I ask with more worry in my tone then I would have liked.

"He'll be in surgery for at least eight more hours."

"But the others are going to wait for him?" Why do I feel so jealous? They aren't even going to see him! But I want to be here for him.

"They're staying the night with the family yes. If he's not out by ten they'll come home."

"Okay." I won't dig myself any deeper, when I know they're already confused. Dr. D and Chiron know what's going on better than I do. They probably know the truth behind Jason's actions and mine. It's almost unfair how they know more of what's going on in my life then I do.

I follow them to a small hospital room where I see a surprisingly beautiful girl braiding her hair intricately, but she looks so bored. Her soft brown eyes flicker up curiously when we walk in. She's alone. Oddly, alone, in fact.

Chiron smiles gently at her, "Calypso, meet Piper, she'll be showing you around the home when we get there."

She nods looking at me, her expression still bored. "Hi." She says, her voice is like music, which is... odd. She's very peculiar.

"Hey." I offer the only kind of smile I can muster. Sadly it feels uncomfortable, out of place, and awkward.

The two doctors leave us to finish up her discharge papers.

"What's wrong with you?" She asks.

"My heart's messed up."

She chuckles, "Same here, but you don't see me complaining."

I laugh a bit, "Well, that way too I suppose." I pull down my shirt to reveal my pacemaker.

"Well, aren't we a pair." She points to the dialysis machine, "Needing something to keep our blood going. Too bad you don't piss yourself." Kidney failure then.

"Too bad you don't forget to breathe."

She nods, "But don't you just wish you could sometimes?"

"Definitely."

"So are you an orphan like me then?" She asks. I wonder why she's being so open with me. Maybe she wants to be better than me. Top me at this little game we're playing. Or maybe she's just lying.

"No, I wish I were sometimes."

She laughs, "We'll get along just fine."

Dr. D, Chiron, and I get her into the van. Chiron drives us home.

I really like Calypso, I show her around and then we end up in mine and Annabeth's room. We start talking about a lot of things.

"So how long have you been sick?" She asks.

"Four years. Only been here for five months though."

"Ah."

"You'll like it here."

"I hope so, I've been looking for a family for a while." I nod slowly, "I was kidding about being an orphan, by the way."

"You joke about that kind of stuff?"

"Not always, I just wanted to see how messed up you were."

"Oh."

"I wish I were an orphan though. My dad thought that me being sick was a disgrace on the family, so he sent me way. I technically live with my aunt, but she doesn't even really live at home. Sometimes I felt like I lived on some island of solitude."

"How long?"

"I've been sick for six years." She tells me.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

I nod at her answer.

"What are the others like?"

"They're all really great." I assure her.

She then asks, "Do any boys live here?"

"A few." I answer, "Some of the girls... Well, the other two girls are dating two of the boys."

"Are there any single boys?" Oh god she's one of those.

"Yeah." I look at my bedding.

"Oh, you're having boy issues, spill."

"I-... I don't really-"

"And it's bad. Tell me everything." So I do. I tell her about Jason, and how Reyna loved him. I explain that I said no, and he won't speak to me since we've kissed.

"Ugh, boys." She sighs at the end of my story.

"I know! It's not even my fault. Really, I told him I didn't want to be his girlfriend."

"But you liked kissing him."

"I mean, yeah, but no."

"Look, when he recovers, you should help him learn to walk again. If you catch my drift." She winks obnoxiously.

"No... No, I can't just."

"Sure you can! He sounds incredible."

"He is... I mean, no he's my friend."

"You're difficult." She laughs, "You liked kissing him, so keep kissing him."

"I'm not like that."

"Then we're the total opposite." Ain't that the truth, "I mean, I fall in love with almost everyone I meet... It's becoming a problem."

"Sounds like it."

"It makes it really hard to have friends." Oh... Wait, "Ever kissed a girl before?"

I contemplate how to answer this, "Yeah."

"Wanna kiss another?"

"Not particularly, there was way too much breadstick last time..."

"Ever change your mind, I'm your girl." She laughs.

"Thanks." I laugh with her. I hear the front door open and suddenly freak out, it's past ten o'clock.

I quickly compose myself, "I'll introduce you to-"

"Not tonight." She says, "I'll go to bed. See ya." She gets up and quickly walks to her own room. A few moments later Annabeth walks in.

"Hey." I smile, "How is he?"

She bites the inside of her cheek. My heart feels heavier than ever before, "He's... He's stable."

"Stable? Just stable?" She nods slowly, "Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know Pipes." She starts crying then, "Fuck." The word stings my ears as she quickly hugs me, "I don't want to lose him, Pipes. I'm scared."

I don't want to breathe anymore. Jason... he wouldn't even talk to me before... Did I ruin him before he died?

"Pipes?"

"I'm scared too Annabeth." I promise her. What if I never see him alive again?