Percy sat outside the school, waiting for his cousins to show up. He left without walking with Annabeth to clear his head. He was freshly sober, and he wasn't about to screw up the good things he had going on by starting a relationship that would be doomed from the start. He told himself it was just a crush and it would fade.

"Hey leave me alone!"

"Oh, come on, new kid, we just want to talk." Percy stood when he heard books falling on the ground. A boy with crutches was being tossed around like a rag doll between Luke and his friends.

"Really Luke? You have to pick on someone who can't defend themselves. I thought you were better than that." The kid they had fell to the ground when they let go of him. Percy clenched his fists as Ethan shoved him.

"And what you think you could take us on?"

Percy met Ethan's eyes. "I'm not up for fighting. Just let him go."

Ethan grabbed Percy's shirt, shoving him against the wall. "Prissy Jackson has a nice right to it. No wonder why you needed drugs to drown out every time your old man beat-" he didn't get to finish that sentence as Percy's fists collided with his nose.

"Shut up!" Percy was on Ethan, throwing a few punches before Luke and Mark grabbed him. Percy couldn't fight them off as they punched him. He fell to the ground, and a foot collided with his face. It only stopped when a teacher stepped in with campus police.

"Knock it off!" One of them barked. Luke held up his hands as he stepped groaned as he sat up. His nose gushing blood like crazy.

Ethan was the first to yell. "He started it!"

"You were bullying someone!"

"It's true Mr. Albers Luke was pushing me around and Percy stepped in."

The middle-aged man only nodded. "Thank you, Grover. You four to the principal's office." He looked at Percy's nose and throbbing eye. "Actually, Jackson, go to the nurse first and go straight to Mr. D."

"We are not done Jackson!"

Percy only lifted a finger in response as they were escorted to the principal's office. Mr. D was about to have a field day with them.

"Oh my gods Percy!" It was Annabeth running towards him with his cousins in tow. Nico had Percy's bag and skateboard in his hands. Percy winced as he prodded his cheek.

"Ugh, I think he broke my nose. I gotta go to the nurse." Annabeth pressed some cloth to his nose, making him since.

The kid Grover walked over to him. "Thank you, Percy. I don't know what would have happened to me if you didn't step in. I'm Grover, by the way." Percy went to shake his hand, only to realize it was covered in blood.

"Nice to meet you Grover."

"It's really bleeding. I think you broke it." Annabeth said. "Okay, just pinch your nose and don't lean your head back; otherwise, you'll swallow blood. I have a quiz, so I can't walk with you."

"I'll walk with you, Percy." Nico slung the bag over his shoulder as he led Percy to the nurse. A cop following them. Great, another school to blame him for misconduct.

"Are you okay?"

Percy looked to Nico, "do I look okay? Is my nose crooked?"

"No, that was a stupid question." He squinted at Percy's face, debating whether he would tell the truth. His nose was definitely crooked. "It's a little crooked." By the time Percy left the nurse's office with an ice pack and a new shirt, he was forced to sit by the three brooding gang members.

"Are you going to be okay? They look like they want to kill you." Nico handed Percy his stuff back.

Percy rolled his shoulders. "I'll be fine. Right uh... officer Dave?"

"Go sit down." Percy nodded, and Nico slowly left as he looked back once. Percy didn't even bother looking at them as he sat down. Two cops were watching them to ensure another fight didn't break out. Percy cursed as his dad walked in, his eyes filled with rage as they landed on him. Three other adults were close behind as they all rushed in.

"Can I go to my dad or is that not allowed?" Percy asked Dave.

"Go ahead, just stay where we can see you." Percy quickly stood, rushing over to his dad."Percy, what happened?" Poseidon grabbed Percy's chin and moved his head to inspect the swollen nose, busted lip, and black eye further.

"They were bullying someone and I stopped it."

"They said you threw the first punch." Percy pulled his chin out of Poseidon's hand.

"I was shoved against a wall. What else was I supposed to do? Oh gods my nose is killing me."

Grover Underwood left the office for what seemed like hours. Grover waved at Percy, but he actually waved back. Percy's smile was short-lived when Ethan and Percy were called in first, as they were the only two sporting the evidence. Poseidon frowned at Ethan and his father, who was dressed in some fancy suit.

Mr. D sat at his desk in the ugliest purple shirt Percy had ever seen. His black hair was greasy, and it reminded Percy of Gabe a bit, and he hated every minute while he sat in one of the chairs. His head was pounding as the pain in his nose was the only sensation.

"Mr. Nakamara and Mr. Jackson, I'm sorry to have to call you from work, but it seems Perseus and Ethan got into a little argument."

Percy scoffed, "I was trying to stop them from bullying."

Mr. D waved a hand. "Either way, you resorted to violence." He wanted to scream. He hated bullies and wouldn't let someone get away with hurting another just for their own pleasure. "I saw your school record, Perseus, and let me be frank. I will not put up with your delinquent behavior, and if so much as find you with drugs in your locker, it will be the last time you ever step foot in any school." Percy sank further into his seat and shoved his hands in his pockets to remind himself he was trying to do better.

"I would appreciate if you didn't talk to my son like that. Besides he was defending someone from being bullied. I also would like to know why you seem to be holding this meeting when it was one against three. Percy is not the problem here."

The two sat in silence as Percy's mind roared at him. Ethan was smiling at him as if Mr. D had given him the most precious information. The anxiety within him made his legs bounce and his hands sweat. Why can't anything just go right in his life? His father was looking at him with what Percy could only describe as pride and rage. But the rage wasn't really directed towards him but to Mr. D and the others.

"Right, well, either way, we do not tolerate violence. Ethan Nakamura will be suspended for four days, and you, Perseus Jackson, will be attending detention after school for two weeks starting tomorrow." Percy went to retort but stopped himself as his father stood and ushered him to the door.

Luke immediately looked up at Percy, and the malice in his eyes was an unspoken promise. "Percy, wait!" Luke stood, walking over him.

"I'll be right there, Dad." His dad flicked a worried glance at him and waited by the door."What? Mad that I didn't get expelled?"

Luke smiled. "Nah, your time will come." Luke leaned over, "If you think you're going to get off that easy, think again. I'm going to make you wish you died last year but the real kicker is you'll never see it coming."

Percy backed up a step as if he was hit. His heart hammered in his chest, and he swore it would burst out. He should have died a year ago. Luke grinned and said the very damned words he knew Percy would want to hear but did want to act on it.

"Unless you decide to take up my offer, and we go back to business. See you around Jackson." Percy walked out of the building, his dad having to jog a bit to catch up.

"Percy slow down. What did he say to you?"

"Nothing. I want to go home or at least get my nose looked at. I think he broke it." Percy climbed into the car and closed his eyes.

"You may want to finally call your mom. She's worried about you."

Percy bit his lip, the cut opening back up, but he didn't care. He could feel the tears building up as he looked out the window.

"Can I invite my sponsor and my friend Rachael to the house?"

"Yeah, but first, let's get you checked out because you look terrible." He texted Charlie and Rachael, asking if, after Rachael was out of school, they'd come over. He needed someone who understood how badly he was ready just to throw the last three weeks away. He should have died that day. It would have been a peaceful death floating away into oblivion. He couldn't stop the rouge tears he tried to hold in.

"Percy, please just talk to me."

"It's nothing. They were just trying to get under my skin." He knew his dad could hear the lie in his voice. Not even his mom knew the truth about not wanting to live in the miserable world. It would kill her to learn how he truly felt about himself.

They pulled into a 24/7 emergency room, and before Percy got out of the car, he frantically wiped the tears away. Filling out the patient information made his head swim as he tried to remember his medical history. He never understood why they had people fill these out, especially because they ask the questions again with the doctor.

Poseidon was doing his best not to read over Percy's shoulder, but as Percy circled 'yes' to several concerning questions made him tense. Percy was panicking at the thought of being in the emergency room. He hated doctors and, well, anything to do with them. The last time he was in a doctor's office, it was to go through a tense withdrawal after overdosing."Percy, you can talk to me. I hope you know that, and if it's not a danger to you or someone else, your mom doesn't have to know about it."

Percy looked away. He couldn't stand to look at his father. The truth is lying there so close to the open. He wanted to thank the gods when a nurse called his name. The doctor came in a few moments later to inspect his nose.

"I'm Doctor Solace, and you must be Perseus. Man, whoever it was got you good.""Yeah I think they broke my nose."

"Did it bleed?"

Percy only nodded and winced as the doctor prodded his eye. "I would like to do an x-ray to make sure there aren't any other fractures. You are going to have one nasty bruise."Percy was on autopilot when he got the X-rays and waited for the doctor to come back. Poseidon kept glancing at him every so often. Percy looked at his hands. Dried blood crusted his fingernails, and he jumped when the door opened.

"Well you definitely broke your nose. I can reset it manually so no surgery. You also have a orbital fracture right up here. It's not displaced and your eye wasn't affected so it should heal on its own. I'm going to numb your nose and we can reset it. Fair warning it won't be pleasant and I'll pack it. You will take the packing out in two weeks." Percy closed his eyes as the doctor numbed his nose. He hated needles and was not prepared for the pop his nose made.

Percy huffed a stream of curses, and his nose began bleeding again. Dr. Solace quickly went to work packing his nose, and by the time he was done, Percy was exhausted and in dire need of a shower. "I'll write you a prescription for antibiotics and some medication to help with the pain if it's too much."

"No!" Percy practically jumped out of his seat. "I don't want any."

"Percy, it won't count against you if you need medication for medical reasons." His dad's tone was soft.

Doctor Solace looked between them. "Do you have a history with substance abuse?" There was no judgment in his eyes, but Percy felt shame all the same.

"I am almost a month sober."

"How long have you been struggling with addiction?"

Percy went back to picking the flaking blood off his nails. "About three years." He didn't dare look at his father. Not wanting to see the guilt and sympathy in his face.

"Any suicidal thoughts or depression?"

His whole body was tense as he nodded. "I tried last year but it didn't stick."

Poseidon gasped. "Percy, does your mom know? She said it was an accident when you overdosed." He didn't respond. He wasn't ready to admit that, not with someone else in the room. But the silence was answer enough.

Dr. Solace nodded. "Would you be willing to see a psychiatrist or go to counseling? I will have my nurse bring you a few brochures with resources for you. Now I want you to come back in about two weeks and we can remove the packing. Mr. Jackson, I will hand you some resources to have. And Percy, I have to ask for your safety. Are you planning on harming yourself?""No."

The car ride home was silent until Poseidon spoke. "Percy I want you to go see someone. I can't force you but you need to talk to someone."

"I really don't want to talk about this right now." Percy spat back. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through TikTok to avoid thinking about what he admitted.

"Percy this is serious. I have a card for a therapist who specializes in trauma that Mrs. Chase gave me. I'm going to schedule an appointment."

"I don't want to go." He glanced at the pamphlets that were sitting in his lap. The number for both the suicide and substance abuse hotlines.

"Can you try going? Just two appointments, and if you don't want to continue, you don't have to." Poseidon gripped the steering wheel as he waited for Percy to answer. He needed help, and Poseidon knew Percy wouldn't tell him everything or let him in.

"Fine. Can we just stop talking about it? Please don't tell mom either. It'll make her cry." He couldn't stand watching his mother cry.

Poseidon looked at his son once he pulled into the garage. "Percy, she has to know to remember what I said. I wouldn't tell unless it's a danger to yourself.""I said I don't want to talk about it! Besides I said I wasn't going to do it anytime soon." Percy exited the car and slammed the door behind him. The words soon made Poseidon's heart sink.—

Poseidon didn't follow right away as he tried to hold it together. His son had tried to kill himself and had been keeping it a secret for a year. It was his fault; he should have been around more and protected Percy. He pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Poseidon? Is everything okay?"

Poseidon sighed and rubbed his temples. "Hey Sal. We have to talk about Percy."

"Is he okay?" The question was like a whisper as if she didn't want the answer.

"Well, he got into a fight at school and broke his nose, but Sal. Did you know last year was a suicide attempt?" There was silence on the line, and a man's voice was in the background, asking Sally if she was okay. It was Paul who spoke next.

"Hey Poseidon."

"Paul am I on speaker?"

"Yeah, go ahead. We are both listening. Sally, it's going to be okay. We suspected it." He couldn't hear her response, but Poseidon explained the situation. All of them agreed he couldn't be back in New York to the group of kids who sold Percy pills, and he needed to go to a specialist."Is he still mad at us for sending him there?" She asked.

"He was, but I think he's over that. He's doing it Sal. Next week he gets his one month milestone. He's even made a few friends, and he won't admit it, but he's got a crush on the girl next door." She laughed at the last part, which warmed Poseidon's heart.

"Just don't interfere with them. If he truly likes her I'm sure he'll admit it. Poseidon, I want to thank you for taking care of him. I know we didn't separate on good terms after..." her voice cracked. "After Tyson."

Even hearing the name made his heart sink. "I shouldn't have left Sal. I was not the same after that and I couldn't drag you two down with me." He was a mess after the accident and could barely look at his family, which was broken apart. "Is it my fault? Did I cause this when I left?"

"No, Poseidon, you didn't cause this. Sure, it was rough for Percy, but he was always a happy kid. Even when you left he found a way to make the best of every situation. He's just lost. He'll find his way Poseidon. He might just need some help along."