31. Tell Me Something I Don't Know

She rolled her eyes as she walked away. She hoped the next time Cindy went for her spray tan that it would malfunction and she'd walk away with orange skin and that it'd be permanent and when she grew older she'd look like a really bad wrinkly peach and live alone with 34 cats. She sat down and pulled out a burger she'd gotten on her way to school. She took a bite as her eyes strayed about and saw Cindy standing in front of an elfish boy. It was Leo. Thalia watched curiously, wondering what the hell was going on between those two.

Eventually, it seemed that Cindy won. He looked around her, cast one longing look in Thalia's direction and sat down amongst the other girls. Cindy fixed her shorts and sat down as she flipped her blonde hair back. She intentionally sat in front of Leo, so he couldn't look at Thalia. Thalia didn't really care, but she knew something was wrong. She wondered if she should say something, but she figured he could probably take care of himself.

She finished eating and pulled out her science homework until it was five till. When it was, she ran out, trying to avoid the swarms of overly emotional teenagers. She reached her next class in no time and settled herself in the empty classroom as her teacher played on his computer. Class started and not ten minutes into it, a kid with a green lanyard walks in with a green slip. Holding her breath, she slowly sinks into her chair and bows her head onto the desk. The teacher clears his throat.

"Miss Grace, for you," he said. Thalia sighed. With a forced smile, she grabs the slip, quickly packs her things as everyone watches her and storms out of the classroom. When she looked at the slip, she was so close to just throwing it away and hiding in a bathroom stall. It was Dr. Woodrow. Thalia was about to pull her hair out. Why did she keep picking on her? There must be other kids with way bigger problems than her! She stomped into her office and threw herself into the chair, startling Woodrow.

"Well, that was quick," she said as she tried to organize her desk.

"What do you want now, Dr. Woodrow?" Thalia said, jumping straight to the point.

"Thalia please, I am not doing this to annoy you."

"Well, it's still annoying me."

"Thalia, I just want to give you help before your condition gets worse." Thalia scoffed.

"Condition? It's a condition now? I'm fine!" Thalia protested, standing up. Dr. Woodrow finally looked like she wanted to wring her neck. Finally, Thalia was beginning to think she was a robot.

"Is there any particular reason you don't want to talk about this?" Dr. Woodrow asked, trying to sound calm.

"Of course! It's my life! I don't need some doctor telling me things I already know!" Thalia said, but she closed her eyes regretfully as soon as the words came out.

"So, you already knew?" Dr. Woodrow asked, leaning back in her chair. Thalia sighed and sank back into her chair. She looked down, not wanting to meet Dr. Woodrow's grey eyes. She could feel them burning into her skin.

"Yes. I already knew," Thalia said quietly. She never wanted to believe it, but she knew it was true. She just thought that ignoring it would simply make it go away.

"And why's that?" Dr. Woodrow asked, now sounding more like an honest therapist. Thalia didn't want to talk about it. She hated just thinking about it. She didn't want to let Woodrow know she wakes up in cold sweats from terrible nightmares or that she hides whenever a car backfires or a book is slammed against a desk. She didn't want to sound vulnerable and weak and scared.

"You know the symptoms of PTSD. Why do you have to ask me?" Thalia asked, dropping her bag on the floor and pulling herself farther into the chair, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Not everyone is affected in the same way," she said plainly.

"Oh no?" Thalia chuckled in disbelief.

"No. Some people only have nightmares, some acquire phobias, and some can't differentiate between their fear and daily life occurrences, like a door slamming." Thalia winced. "Some people are good at hiding it, others can't. Some people are good at forgetting and others," she said, tilting her head sideways to look at Thalia's bowed head. "can't. And for some people, those few, it becomes part of their life." Thalia looked up.

"Does it matter?" Thalia said.

"Of course it does," she said simply. Thalia sighed.

"Yes, I had an… unfortunate experience with a gun," she said. She almost felt like the wound was still there, still healing in an ugly scab. It had finally healed, but it left an ugly round scar. She touched it through her shirt and she could feel the outline.

"What happened?" Dr. Woodrow asked. Thalia felt guarded. She had already shared too much. She was beginning to get uncomfortable, and her methodical grey eyes didn't help much either.

"I'd rather keep that to myself," she said.

"Fair enough," she said. "You can go now, but I would like to see you this Friday again at 3. Our sessions are not over yet." Thalia sighed. She grabbed her things and left. The rest of the school day, she kept thinking about the day she had gotten shot. She's lived in fear ever since that day, thinking the man would show up again to finish her off. And every time she thought about it, she couldn't help but blame her mother. She couldn't imagine she'd ever forgive her. And she was never going to forget either.

The rest of the day kind of sucked. It was gloomy when she walked out of the school and it threatened to rain, so Thalia power walked to her apartment to avoid getting caught in the downpour.

She was walking by Percy's building when her phone rang. It was Percy… She was close to hanging up, but she answered in hopes that maybe Wednesday babysitting was cancelled.

"Hello?"

"Thalia," Percy's voice answered.

"What is it, Percy?"

"I went to the doctor yesterday and…"

"Why do I want to hear about your doctor visits, Percy?" Thalia asked sarcastically.

"They said I have a tumor." Thalia would've never believed him, but she second guessed herself when she heard how serious and sullen he sounded. Thalia laughed weakly.

"You're kidding," she said, as she stopped next to the park. Percy sighed.

"I wish I was. I had been having migraines and when they checked me, they said I had a tumor," he said sadly. It took Thalia a while to realize she was holding her breath. She didn't know what to say. He sounded too serious to be joking. Her eyes wandered about as she tried to figure out what to say when she looked at her watch. Suddenly, she started laughing.

"You're a real dipshit, Percy!" she yelled into the phone. Percy guffawed.

"Happy April Fool's Day," Percy said innocently.

"Oh, you're a jerk!" Thalia growled. Percy laughed.

"I love you too," he teased. "But man, your face was funny."

"My face? How did you even –" she stopped when she looked up and saw a face poking out a window. She had to give it to him, it was sneaky. He waved, but Thalia didn't feel like doing so, so she flipped him the bird.

"Well that was very lady-like," Percy laughed. "You need to act more like a girl."

"Why don't you shove it up your –ahem– melon," Thalia fixed when a little girl walked in front of her. Percy chuckled. "Just wait until Wednesday. I'm going to get you good," Thalia said with an evil smile. Percy flailed at the window.

"Oh, I'm so scared," Percy said with mock fear.

"Better sleep with one eye open, Percy. 'Cause I'm gonna get you," Thalia said with a smile as she hung up. Percy waved one more time as Thalia turned and left. As she walked she started conjuring up plans for getting back at Percy for scaring her. She shook off that small feeling she had felt when Percy tricked her. Seems like you care for him more than you think. Thalia shook her head as if that would do any good. No, I don't. But maybe it was true. Maybe she did care for him more than she thought. But that was crazy. Thalia couldn't care for someone… could she?

Hey guys! I hope you liked the chapter (and I know Dr. Woodrow's eyes were a different color before, but that was mistake, my bad). Anyways, let me know what you think :)

And just in case, "flipping the bird" is when you give someone your middle finger :P