Chapter 13

Jason's Point of View

"Calm down," Reyna tells me. "It's all going to be fine. And they're going to be grateful that you told them the truth."

"Calm is my middle name," I say, though I feel very far from calm. "I just- What if he already hates me? After what I said yesterday…"

"Jason, you're being ridiculous. He really, really likes you. He's just… He's at rock bottom, right now, I think. He's scared and doesn't know what to do, but he doesn't hate you.

"He will if I go through with this," I say.

Reyna and I are sitting in her car, parked a little ways down from Nico's house. We've already been here for nearly half an hour, because I keep talking myself out of doing this.

"Well we can't sit here forever," Reyna decides. She opens the door and climbs out, looking as cool and collected as ever. I don't know how she does it. "Are you coming?"

Now or never, I guess.

I get out and join her on the sidewalk. I'm wringing my hands, they way I've seen Nico do so many times.

"How are you so sure he's not going to hate me?"

"How do you think, Jason? Imagine Nico a year or two from now, fully recovered. Is he going to hate you for having gotten him the help he needed?"

"Well, no, but-"

"There are no 'buts'. Where do you think I would be if my sister hadn't told someone what I was doing?"

"Well you probably wouldn't be-"

"I wouldn't be at all. I would be dead. I was angry at Hylla at the time, but now I know that I owe her my life."

We arrive at their front door step, and Reyna looks at me. "Let's just get this over with, okay?"

I nod. "Yeah, okay."

I ring the doorbell.

Ms. Jackson opens it, wearing a huge smile and an old, paint-splattered shirt.

"Jason!" she exclaims. "And…" she trails off, looking to Reyna.

"I'm Reyna," she says with a smile that looks almost pained.

"It's nice to meet you," Ms. Jackson says warmly. "Should I get Nico? Or perhaps you're here for Percy."

"Um, actually, Ms. Jackson-"

"Oh, please, call me Sally, dear."

"Sally," Reyna continues. "There's something we want to talk to you about."

"To me?" she says, confused.

"Maybe we should sit down," I suggest.

Ms. Jackson purses her lips and nods, like she's beginning to pick up on our serious demeanor.

"Should I make some tea?" she asks.

Reyna and I both say, "No thank you" at the same time as we sit down in chairs next to each other at the table.

She joins us. "So what is this about?"

Reyna looks at me expectantly. "It's- We're here about Nico," I begin. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what to say next.

"Nico?" she asks. "What about him? Is everything okay?"

She already knows, of course, that everything is not okay. She sees how little he eats, how little he weighs, how little he smiles. How little he leaves his bed.

"We're really- We're worried about him. We're sure you've noticed that- Well, he's not- He's not himself lately."

She closes her eyes and exhales. Then she nods. "Do you know what's going on with him?"

It seems out of character to me, because Reyna is usually so reserved, but she reaches across the table and takes Ms. Jackson's hand. "Yes," she says. "Yeah. We do."

Ms. Jackson looks between both of our faces and tries to see what answers are written there.

I decide it's best to say it quickly, to rip it off like a band-aid. Of course, in this case, the pain won't stop once I'm done.

"Nico is severely depressed," I say all in one breath. "He's been- He-"

I can't continue.

"He cuts himself," Reyna finishes for me.

Silence falls over the room as she attempts to process what we've told her.

"I don't understand," she says finally. "You mean he… he…"

Reyna and I both nod.

"Why would- Why would he do that?"

I try to open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Ms. Jackson looks like she's going to cry, and while I know it's irrational, I feel like it's my fault. Again. It's always my fault.

Reyna has to answer for me. "Well there are a lot of different reasons that someone might… you know. It's become very common these days, too. We think that this is his way of expressing what's going on inside of him."

I don't know how she still sounds so calm.

Ms. Jackson begins to cry. Reyna gets out of her seat and goes to hug her. I stay where I am, frozen.

"How could I have missed this?" she chokes out.

"It's not your fault," Reyna assures her, rubbing her back and looking me straight in the eye. "He did everything he could to hide it, but it's not too late."

Hazel chooses that moment to walk down the stairs. Upon seeing Reyna and I in the kitchen, and her adoptive mother crying, her expression falls.

"What's going on?" she demands. She crosses to the kitchen and takes Reyna's place hugging Ms. Jackson. Reyna looks grateful and sits back down again.

"What's going on?" she repeats. "Is this- This is about Nico, isn't it?"

I nod, and gesture that she should sit down. She doesn't, but instead stays at Sally's side.

"I should have told you when you asked," I begin.

"Yeah, you should have. Stop stalling." For someone usually so sweet and kind, she's kind of scaring me.

She's angry at me. I'm angry at me. This is all my fault.

I can't say it. I can't. I don't know what's wrong with me.

I leave it to Reyna to be the strong one.

Hazel's mouth falls open when Reyna tells her. She looks at Reyna, and then me, and then Sally. A thousand emotions cross over her face, but she never voices her disbelief. Once the shock wears off enough for her to act, she pushes away from Ms. Jackson. She backs up, slowly, at first-

And then she bolts up the stairs.