Hello people. So, tomorrow is exciting. The House of Hades is coming! AH! So, in order to keep my excitement at a tolerable level, I decided to hurry up and write this. But yeah, (if the spoilers are true) I TOLD YOU. So in honor of the Nico spoiler, this will be a Percico chapter. Well, at least what you can consider a Percico chapter in my stories (look at SW).

Broken

Chapter 2: Free Now

Nico

So it had been about a month sense my attempt when Percy finally visited me again. I guess you could say that I had a lot of time to think about it. And you know, the more I thought about it, the more absurd the whole thing got. Looking back on it, I had tried to commit suicide because a guy didn't like me back. How stupid was that? I mean, other people have so many other problems, and they do just fine. Why did I go so far off the deep end? Maybe it was also the fear of exposure. I don't even know. Life's funny that way. Something that mattered so much, so much so that it literally seemed to be worth killing yourself over, was totally gone in less than a month. Now it just seemed so juvenile. God, no wonder Percy rejected me.

I went to the trial. I mean, how could I not? It did take some convincing of the hospital staff to let me go, even if it was with supervision. Oh well. I ended up only being able to catch the end. I remember the rush of relief when he was given the verdict. Though from what I heard, it was a pretty straight forward case. Gabe was kicking his ass again, and Percy somehow got away from him. He grabbed a knife and killed the bastard. I think the only case the prosecutor had was that he went too far. Though, with someone like Gabe, I don't think you could ever go far enough. I heard that the body was so mutilated that you could barely recognize the body. All I can say is: good job Percy!

In the end, Percy was found to have done it in self-defense, but he was required to take anger management classes/therapy sessions. He just so happened to have to go too the same one I went to. When I heard that, I got excited. Maybe I'd get to see Percy. Maybe I could talk to him. Unfortunately, we never did see each other. I guess our times were different or something. That day I waited for him outside the courthouse, along with Leo and Annabeth. We never saw him leave, oddly enough. Annabeth and Leo went to lunch afterwards. I might have joined, if I didn't need to go back to the hospital. I think that was the day I started thinking about it. Percy had saved me twice. Thank God for him. But I was definitely over him. Definitely.

I was sitting in my room, watching TV when he came. He hadn't called ahead of time, so I was absolutely shocked. "Percy!" I exclaimed. "You came to visit."

He did one of his signature half smiles. It seemed different now, almost sadder. "Yeah." He said. "How's it been?"

It was then that I noticed Leo standing with him. I made eye contact and he broke it almost immediately. I decided to ignore it. "I've been doing better." I said, "At least, I'm much better than I was when you came the first time." I chuckled.

He smiled. His eyes still seemed sad. I couldn't quite put my finger on why. While I wasn't happy that he was sad, he did look really good when he pouted. Like, really good… ok, that's off topic.

Where was I? Oh yeah. "That's great." He said. "When are you getting out of here?"

"I still have 'till the end of the week." I explained. "After the, I'll be out of here."

"Great." He said. "I'm going back tomorrow."

"Wait, you haven't gone back yet?" I asked.

"Well, I've had some trouble re-adjusting." When he said that, I knew something was completely wrong. Percy was strong. He dealt with years of abuse, not telling anyone. He shouldn't be having trouble adjusting to a free life. He had finally escaped Gabe. He should be happy. Suddenly I wasn't admiring how he looked when he was sad. I looked harder. I guess I was too absorbed in his emerald eyes to see the pain. It was like all the hope that he held on to with Gabe was drained. It honestly scared me, because that's how I looked before my attempt.

"Are you ok?" He asked. Shit, he noticed.

"I'm fine." I said hastily, "It's nothing."

He studied my expression. I believe he realized. But of course, he kept his mouth shut. Typical Percy. "So," he sputtered out, "is the hospital treating you good."

"It's kinda dull." I said with a smile. "But I can't really complain."

"You're not gonna miss it though, are you?"

"Nope. I'm gonna be happy when I get out of here." I said.

He chuckled. The nurse came in to tell Percy it was time for one of my appointments. "Alright," he told the nurse. Then he turned to me. "Well it looks like we're leaving on better terms this time." he said. "See ya later, Nico."

And with that he was gone again. Only this time he left me with more hope. At least, for myself. Now it was my time to worry about him. I stared at the door until the nurse called to me. "Di Angelo! It's time for your appointment."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." I said as I stood. Now I was gone too.

To be continued…

So this was shorter than the others. Sorry. I just wanted to get it in today. Oh yeah, I might not be able to write until I finish House of Hades. It shouldn't take too long, but I just wanted to warn you guys. So yeah. Make good decisions. Peace!