Chapter 10

Percy.

I couldn't speak more to Annabeth in the rec room. I had individual therapy with Chiron. As I enter the room, I feel as if thousands of people are staring at me, though it's only Chiron staring intently at me from behind the desk. I imagine thousands of doctors, in long white lab coats, staring at me from behind a glass panel.

"What do you think, doctor?" The imaginary nurse pushes up her glasses and stares straight at me.

"The boy's obviously damaged. Look at him. He can't even keep still." The doctor observes my antsy body.

"He's on drugs. C'mon, doctor, his diagnosis isn't real." Another doctor speaks from the corner of my eyes, more sinister than the first.

"-Percy!" Chiron snaps, and I jump. More from the fact that I'm not used to Chiron yelling than from the sudden unexpected noise. He takes a deep breath, and starts talking again. "Take a seat, please."

I sit down, a little nervous. "I'm sorry." I murmur to Chiron, 'cause it feels like the right thing to do.

"For what?" I just shrug.

"Did the dog come back, Percy?" Chiron cuts right to the chase.

The correct answer was no. I say "No," But I shuffle a bit in my seat, and look down at the table.

Chiron can tell when I'm lying. He doesn't call me out on it. He just sighs and pretends that I said 'yes.' "You have only two constant hallucinations, if the dog even is constant. That's pretty good seeing that you've had schizophrenia since you were thirteen."

"I saw Grover since I was six."

"Everything else, all the other symptoms - gradually came. You weren't diagnosed with full blown schizophrenia until you were in your teens."

"He's seeing things, doctor. Hallucinations and such."

"He's just pretending, for attention obviously. We see this in many teens, doctor."

"Two is more than one. Two is one more than a week ago. I'm crazier now than I was twelve hours ago." I glower at the table.

"That's not true, Percy. I see improvements from when you first came here."

"I have more mood swings, Chiron. I'm eating less. I weigh less. I sleep less." I whisper. I've hid these things from everyone, especially Chiron, hoping it was just a phase. Now I was scared of myself. I wanted help, and I needed help.

Chiron's eyebrows shoot up for a second, betraying his look of nonchalance. Quickly they settle back into place. I giggle and wiggle my eyebrows as well.

"See this, doctor? Classic symptom of schizophrenia - mood swings."

"He needs to just man up, doctor."

"You can't sleep, Percy? Why's that?" Chiron actually sounds concerned, I don't understand why, because I'm a lost cause. I only shrug in response.

"Grover?" I shrug again. "Nightmares?" I shrug again, but this time Chiron sees my discomfort.

"This boy is obviously troubled, doctor."

"Can't argue with you there, honey."

"I'm going to prescribe to you some new pills-"

"I can't take the pills." I respond quickly and darkly.

"Why not? You're not allowed to? Grover won't let you?" He's guessed one reason, but I don't tell him that.

"I just can't, that's why. They make my brain rotten. I can't see Grover, I can't draw."

"The drugs are to stabilize you Percy, they block out the hallucinations. These ones will help you sleep with no nightmares." Chiron states, but he seems defeated. He knows I'm going to refuse. He knows I won't take them.

"I can't draw when I take them. They rot my brain." I reiterate my points, waiting for Chiron to explain why that happens.

"Percy, you can't just refuse all treatment." He says, letting it go. But I don't let it go. I take my sketchbook, which was clutched in my clammy hand this whole conversation, and show him the picture. The picture is of a brain. But the brain is decomposing, veins are cut open, and the whole thing is a soggy mess. Flies are flying around it, one is perched precariously on the top. Some of the red tubes, usually filled with blood are flattened. Worms are wriggling through holes. One's bitten a hole through the middle.

"You can see by the drawing that he's mad, doctor."

The most shock I've seen Chiron display was with the photo. He physically recoils. "This is what happens when I take the drugs, Chiron. I saw it. I drew it." I tell him eagerly.

"You saw this before you drew it?" Chiron asks, trying to act calm, but closing the sketchbook. My mouth clamps shut. In my eagerness to prove SOMETHING to Chiron, I'd told him something that I wasn't supposed to tell him. I wasn't really allowed to tell him.

Percy's in trouble, Percy's in trouble.

"Percy?" Chiron's voice has a sense of urgency in it. "Talk to me."

"Uh, yeah. I saw it." My voice was quieter. "In other people's brains, I mean. I saw the inside of their heads." Grover was going to kill me.

"When did this happen?"

"It, like happens sometimes in group therapy. I don't know." I tried to answer vaguely. I didn't tell him how the inside of their heads each had different personalities. I didn't tell him how Luke's had a small hole in it, and Thalia's was bright red, not pink.

"Okay, Percy." He looks like he's aged 30 years in 30 minutes. "Time's up with me. Take a break from drawing, get some sleep."

"Serious actions need to be taken to ensure the safety of those around him, doctor."

"I say we kill him, doctor. He doesn't deserve to live."

The doctor finally responds to the both of them. "I absolutely agree."

…

As I walk out the room, I acknowledge the fact that I am in major shit. Grover's going to kill me, because the brains thing was our little secret.

It's probably going to be worse if I go back to the rec room to talk to Annabeth, but I consider it all the same. I don't wanna delay the inevitable though. The faster that Grover corrects me, the faster he goes back to helping me.

…

I brace myself before entering the room, and I almost chicken out. I force myself to open the door, and sure enough, Grover's on the other side of it. Surprisingly, the dog's there too.

"Dude, what the hell? He said it was a secret." The dog speaks first. Grover's just humming. I can't recognize the tune. "I think you should say sorry."

"Sorry," I obey. "I'm so sorry Grover."

"Chill, Percy. I'm not mad at you." Grover stops humming and stares at me.

I become childishly eager. "You aren't?"

"Just disappointed." My euphoria disappeared. Dread filled it quickly.

"Sorry, really. It just slipped out."

"Things always have to 'just slip out,' Percy. Why do they have to 'just slip out?'" He stands up and stalks towards me, backing me up to the wall. He grabs hold of my neck and pushes me against the wall.

"I'm sorry." I gasp.

"Oh, well, then I totally forgive you. As long as you're sorry, right?" He snarls at me, sarcastically, but he lets me go. My relief is short lived, as Grover, quickly and viciously, grabs my head and slams me against the wall. I crumple to the floor.

"I think you should say sorry." Forty-seven speaks again. "I think you should beg for his forgiveness and promise to do whatever he says."

"Listen to the dog, Percy." Grover sing-songs. "Always listen to the dog."

"Alright, sorry, Grover. Please forgive me, I'll do whatever you want. Pinky-promise." I whimper.

"That's fine then." Grover is happy again, and I peek up at him to check if he's being sarcastic. But all he does is smile and offer a hand to pick me up. I take it hesitantly.

Annabeth.

Percy doesn't come back to the rec room, so I busy myself with the work that Chiron's told me to do. I've only got one thing written on my piece of paper.

My little brother - love

I consider writing, "My parents - hate" But I know that I don't really hate them. I chew on my pencil for a while before scribbling down:

Music - peace

Maybe that'll convince Chiron to give me my iPod back (which a nurse had confiscated when she saw it discarded on my table a week back). I have nothing else to write, and though I know Chiron will be disappointed, I abandon the piece of paper.

…

I was right. Chiron sighs when he sees the lack of completion on my paper.

"Annabeth, if you have nothing to make you feel, I expect you should find things to make you feel. Make yourself feel." Chiron looks me straight in the eyes.

"Is that due next week?" I simply ask.

"No. It's not an assignment, it's a choice. A dire choice, Annabeth. Please." Chiron was acting as if I were a lot more important than I actually am. He changes the subject. "How's the hospital, Annabeth? Do you see improvement?"

"Yeah. I get up every morning on time. I'm not tired that much anymore. My appetite is more or less back." Some of these statements aren't true, I say them anyway.

"Thanks, Annabeth. I needed that. I needed to know that we're making a difference in people's lives." Chiron confiding in me surprises me. Though, I did notice how stressed he was when I entered.

"What happened?" I ask, trying to be helpful.

"Nothing I should be worrying you with, Annabeth." Chiron sighs, as if debating with himself if he should continue the conversation. "I'm just worried that I can't save all of you."