Three weeks passed since the entire incident. I was glad when I realized that I wasn't at all pregnant, especially when we forgot to use protection. When I told Percy this, he hugged me tightly and kissed me endlessly. Thalia didn't know about what we did and I wasn't ready to tell her. Plus, she has nothing to do with this and I guess she wouldn't understand anyways. As far as I know, Thalia is a virgin and this might probably go against every single law she forced me to follow.
"I thought she was the one who told you" Percy said as he placed kisses along my cheekbone. "Why would she overreact?"
I sighed and ran my hand through his hair. "Well, Seaweed Brain, your cousin isn't the kind of person who sticks to one idea. She changes her mind easily, especially when the situation grows worse and worse. Maybe she thought that it was the best thing to tell me at the moment and maybe when I tell her, she would start shouting at me and telling me that I wasn't supposed to take that step yet"
He looked at me with questioning eyes. "But you did"
"Yes I did and, as I said, I don't regret it"
My boyfriend nodded uneasily before moving beside me and kissing the top of my head. "You hungry?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. I guess he was just a little uncomfortable, talking about our sexual life with references to his cousin.
"I'm fine" I answered honestly as I played with his fingers. "But you can go ahead if you are"
Percy thanked me, pressing his lips to mine once again before running out of his room and towards the kitchen. I don't know how I knew it since I never left this room ever since this morning but Consuela was making fried chicken. And you know how he is with fried chicken.
Right after he ate lunch, we stayed in the movie room (yes he has that room) and watched High School Musical 3. I guess he was in the mood for singing and theater and sports and since Will Solace, a friend of ours, practically insisted that we watched the first one, we just found ourselves hooked with their lives. "I still can't believe that she's going to Stanford" he said, his hand digging through the bowl of popcorn in front of us.
"Don't question the movie" I scolded. He laughed at this one and kissed me lightly on the lips.
It was peaceful from that moment on. Nobody dared disturb us and we did what we felt like doing. He would kiss me and everything would just feel right in the world. Whenever he looked at me, my heart would stop beating just to admire how beautiful his eyes really are and how perfect his face is and… and…
"I love you" I found myself saying.
He wasn't surprised but he did give me a warm smile. "Love you, too"
The thing I hated most about going to the hospital was the fact that it gave me these bad vibes, reminding me of all the many things that probably happened here. We've been visiting Thalia and Jason's mom for three times now and on those three times, she was unconscious. We don't know if she was asleep or that she was faking it or she just couldn't find the strength to open her eyes. No one forced them to talk to her since we know what will happened if anyone did but I actually felt bad as I watched her once beautiful face go to waste.
"It's been the fourth time since we've here and she's not even awake. Can we go now?" Thalia whined.
I jumped at least three feet high when I heard a weak voice from behind me, weak enough for it to even be considered as ghostly. "Thalia? Jason?"
My best friend winced at the tone. As much as she hated her mother, she couldn't really help but feel bad for her. Jason blamed himself for letting this happen, most probably because the news that he and Piper together was the most shocking thing she has ever heard. "Hi mom" her younger brother mused with an obviously fake smile.
"The nurse told me that you went here to visit before. I'm sorry if I wasn't awake" Then she coughed and I buried my face in Percy's shoulder, him wrapping his arms around me. I may not like her at all but there was something about sick people that made me want to cry.
Thals balled her hands into fists and looked at me pleadingly. But all I could do at the moment was touch her shoulder. "Lisa," My boyfriend said, just to break the awkward silence. "You're looking well" He was always good at covering his emotions but the moment you look in his eyes, you can see all the pity and hatred and guilt that were there.
"Hello, Perseus" she nodded at him and gave a weak smile. "Can you give me some time alone to talk to my children? I really have to tell them something in private"
Jason set his jaw. "I will if Piper would stay with me" his grip on the girl beside him tightened and I could almost imagine her smiling at the act.
"And Nico has to be here too" Thalia's tone was as hard as stone, almost as if she wasn't requesting but ordering.
It was painful when we had to leave her, maybe because we went here to be with Thalia and now we would be uselessly waiting outside the door.
Just to prove my point, I started pacing. Percy was trying to calm me down but he failed miserably. I was panicking. What if something happens and she ends up killing her mom. Trust me, she can do that when she's mad enough. That is the many reasons why my boyfriend was afraid when we were still keeping our relationship a secret. He was afraid of getting his cousin pissed off enough to start stabbing him with her pen.
"Annabeth, could you please just sit down?" Silena begged.
I understood the reason as to why she was acting like this. She gets agitated really easily and seeing me pace was probably one of the many things she hated to do. "Fine" I muttered, sitting beside Percy. He pulled me to his arms almost immediately and I smiled at the warmth he was radiating.
"You okay?" he asked as he felt my forehead. He looked pretty worried and I guess this was affecting him just as much as it was affecting me.
But I smiled at him. What else was I supposed to do? "Of course" I answered, "Why shouldn't I be?"
Seaweed Brain gave me one of his looks that practically stated that he didn't believe me one bit and wanted me to tell him what was wrong or else he would force me. It has always been like that and I guess I got used to the entire process. "I don't know. You just look a little pale"
"Trust me, Perce, I'm fine" I reassured him. He still looked like he wanted to start interrogating me but he looked away, as if to stop himself from doing so.
The moment Thalia, Jason, Nico, and Piper exited the room, we all ran to their sides. At first, we didn't ask anything but when we realized that maybe they wanted to say something but couldn't, I started questioning. It wasn't new to any of us since I was always that certain kind of person but I was glad that they answered me thoroughly and truthfully.
"So you're saying that she's going to die soon and that she's giving all that she has to you two?" Percy summarized
"Yeah, that's basically it" Jason mused playfully. "Why didn't we just say it like that?"
I don't know how we did it but all of us started laughing. Not because of the joke but because we needed some sort of release and it has always been chuckling or smiling or even giggling that practically made me more carefree. I guess I practically proven the "Laughter is the Best Medicine" thing since ever since we started with that rule of life, we never at all got sick. Maybe we did get colds every once in a while but we found a way to laugh at it.
"Come on," Piper urged, having that smile on her face. "We have a lot to talk about"
They told me the entire conversation in full detail. Apparently, Lisa has lung cancer and she has a problem with her liver that can be very deadly. Dr. Hudson predicted that she only has at least six more months to live but there was nothing, not even a treatment, that could make her last a little longer. She's allowed to go out of the hospital by next week and she just has to go there for weekly check-ups but her last x-ray didn't go too well and she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which doubled her chances.
See, I knew everything you do is going to bite you in the butt in the near future.
"And there's nothing we can do?" I asked once they were done.
Thalia shook her head sadly, running her hand through her hair. "Even if there is, she doesn't want it. She doesn't want to spend so much money for a treatment that possibly won't work"
"So she gave up entirely"
"Basically. Dad agreed to take her in for the meantime, take care of her while she's still alive." Jason said
Everything went downhill from there. A week later, Lisa went out of the hospital and to Thalia and Jason's house, where Peter was taking care of her. My best friend and her brother pleaded for Sally and Poseidon to take them in until the time comes since they're not really comfortable seeing her right beside them. Thankfully for them, Mrs. Jackson was a nice lady and told them they could. So they moved in to two of the many guest rooms.
"Thanks, Percy" Thalia muttered, barely audible. "This means a lot"
My boyfriend smiled. "No problem"