Just Let Me Leave (Jercy AU)

Chapter 85: Piper Currently Hates Her Life And, Honestly, That's Fair

Hello, dearest readers. Sorry for taking a hot minute to update. Half of my family has covid, so I'm mentally preparing myself to get sick, I guess. Hopefully your families are doing better LOL.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter. Fun's on its way.

He couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
*****

That afternoon, Thalia sat in a small café, nervously tapping her foot against the ground and sipping her coffee. Being a responsible adult was hard enough in general, but having to tell your brother's boyfriend's mother that her abusive ex-husband's friends were harassing said boyfriend wasn't something she'd guessed would be in her future. She flinched every time she heard the ding of the bell dangling above the front door, dreading the moment Sally Jackson would be the reason for the sound.

Thalia was fairly surprised Sally was even able to meet her on such short notice. She called the woman soon after Percy had left and Jason had disappeared upstairs, and Sally quickly agreed to come help once her shift was over. Her work schedule seemed to be even more of a mess than Thalia's...

About three minutes after the time they'd decided earlier, Sally Jackson walked in, her face apologetic as she sat down across fro Thalia in their booth.

"Sorry for the wait, dear," she explained as she set her bag in the empty space next to her, "it's been quite a chaotic day, to say the least."

Thalia smiled at her, trying to repress all the nerves that had suddenly taken over her body, making her head spin and her stomach ache. "It's no problem, really. It wasn't too long, anyways. Do you want anything?"

Sally expressed interest in one of the more caffeinated drinks available and was about to go order it when Thalia promised she could do the job. Realistically, Thalia just wanted to make sure she could still walk despite the shakiness of her legs. When she returned, she was only disappointed now that she had to deal with the inevitable.

"So what did you need to talk about?" Sally blew some steam from the top of her mug after asking.

Thalia should've thought about a speech or something before showing up. She considered her options for a brief moment before sighing. "Do you know anything about what's been happening to Percy?"

Almost immediately, Sally's face fell. "Is something wrong?"

Her voice seemed calm, but Thalia didn't miss the slight quiver as she spoke. Thalia hated worrying her like this—Percy was really all she had.

"Some of, uh...some of Gabe's friends have been bothering him," Thalia tried and failed to explain. How was she supposed to tell Sally that they'd been cursing her son out every time he comes home? That Percy's hand being hurt and the missing glass vase in their apartment hallway at the same time wasn't a coincidence? That he always walked home last to keep his friends away from whatever horror awaited him that day?

Sally sighed, running a frustrated hand down the side of her face. She asked sadly, "So that's where my missing concealer is, huh?"

Thalia gave her a look of sympathy, waiting to see if Sally had any suggestions. Anything would be an upgrade from the blank Thalia had been drawing.

"I'm supposed to keep him safe," Sally muttered, clearly disappointed with herself.

"This isn't your fault," Thalia offered her support, but her sentiment seemed to have gone unnoticed.

"I married a man who hurt him every day," Sally vented, her gaze fixed on the window next to them, "and I welcomed his...his friends—the same ones that are hurting him now—into our home. And I keep letting Percy act like everything is okay at school because he clearly doesn't want me involved, but I know, I know better. He didn't even want to be alive last year."

"Hey," Thalia stopped her before she could fall any further into the pit of self-blame, "trust me when I say you're the reason why he's still here. I guarantee Percy doesn't blame you for any of this, but we need to think of ways to help him, yeah?"

Sally nodded with a frown. "We can file for restraining orders, but I can't afford another lawyer if things go south. I'll be paying off the last one until I die..."

"Leo can help," Thalia explained, "he saw it all happen the other day. It's how I found out about all of this."

"Is he okay?" Sally asked, clearly distressed, but Thalia reassured her with a nod.

The next thirty or so minutes were spent brainstorming how exactly to go about solving the problem at hand. Ideally, they wanted a plan that didn't upset Percy and that kept Jason mostly out of the picture. Thalia had a feeling he wouldn't react as calmly as he had with Gabe this time, and she definitely didn't want him getting hurt by some random drunk that knew Percy's ass of a stepfather.

Still with some reluctance, Sally agreed on filing restraining orders after work that day. Thalia offered to talk to Percy for her, but she quickly accepted the responsibility herself. She was relieved, although she tried not to show it. Now, at least, she could focus on telling Jason.

This was going to be a disaster.

*****

"You can't tell him."

Thalia sighed, glaring at Piper and Leo in her living room. "What the hell am I supposed to do then?"

Leo shook his head. "He'll make everything worse unless he hears it directly from Percy."

"That's your job then, Valdez," Thalia pointed at him, "Percy thinks you're the only one that knows."

"How long is this going to take?" Piper asked timidly. "I don't know how long I can hide this from Jason."

Leo held up a hand to stop Piper from saying anything else. "You have to, Pipes."

"And I will," she replied, annoyed, "I'm just not happy about it."

Thalia sat quietly, prepared to break up an argument between the two. They loved each other, but they definitely acted more like siblings than best friends, which meant nobody was exempt from pointless fights.

Thankfully, they both seemed to have given up on the conversation. Piper left to do some homework (although that may have just been an excuse to leave, Thalia thought) while Leo slumped into his chair, directing his eyes to the muted TV.

Thalia felt guilty about forcing them to lie to her brother, but at least they understood why. They could tell Jason the whole story when Percy was safe. She feared he'd be too impulsive otherwise, and Jason didn't need to end up like their father. She'd make sure that he didn't.

"You're doing the right thing, Leo," Thalia told him quietly. Leo sighed, standing up and grabbing his bag. He planned to be gone before Jason got back, so it was no surprise that he was leaving.

Leo smiled sadly. "It doesn't feel like it."

This chapter definitely isn't my best content (and it's kind of short compared to recent ones, honestly), but the events needed to happen LMAO

Hope everybody had a lovely January, since it's almost over. I'll see you next time!