Haunted || Leo Valdez

74 - It Is Time To Split

As quietly as she could, Rebecca reluctantly slipped out of Leo's arms, trying not to wake him. She knew she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, so if she wasn't going to sleep, then she needed to be doing something productive.

Rebecca left Leo's cabin and emerged on deck. Everyone currently on watch was milling around, bored but still prepared in the event of an attack. Nico was up in the rigging, keeping watch. Rebecca decided to join him up there, so she climbed the mast.

"Go away, Anne, I don't care if you want someone to sulk with." Nico mumbled when she got up there. He looked up, scowling, until he noticed it was Rebecca. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay," Rebecca said. "Since when does Anne need a sulking buddy?"

"Since right before the turtle incident."

"Ah."

Rebecca observed her little brother. He looked much better than he had when they'd rescued him in Rome, but there was still a long way to go.

"Have you had any sleep?" Rebecca asked, brushing back the hair covering his eyes. "I know there's been a lot of excitement lately, but..."

"Yeah."

"Yeah, there's been a lot of excitement, or yeah, you've slept?"

"Both."

Rebecca frowned. "Have you been sleeping well?"

"Sure."

"Nico–"

"I'm fine, Rebecca!" Nico snapped. "Gods!"

"I'm just trying to make sure you're okay," Rebecca said coldly. "Gods forbid I try to interact with you."

"You asked if I've been sleeping. I told you yes. I'm fine, now can you just screw off? Please and thank you."

"You're not fine," Rebecca said. She sighed and tried to backpedal. "Look, why don't you go get some sleeping potion from Anne? I'll keep watch from up here, and you can sleep in one of the empty cabins downstairs in the stables."

"No, thanks."

"Nico, you can't not sleep."

"Watch me."

"Nico–"

"Look, I really appreciate you looking after me, but I'm fourteen damn years old. I can take care of myself, now can you go back to ignoring me?"

"Ignoring you?"

"Yeah. You've been spending all of your free time with Leo, and that's completely fine, because you're your own person and we might die, so you need to spend as much time as you can with him, and all."

"I haven't been spending all of my free time with–"

"Bullshit."

"Nico–"

"Look, it's fine! Just go back down. You care more about him than you care about me, anyway."

Rebecca couldn't help feeling hurt by Nico's words. Sure, she spent a lot of time with Leo, but that didn't mean she didn't care about Nico.

She had no idea what to do. Did she stay up here with Nico and risk antagonizing him, or did she leave Nico alone, give him some space, and go back downstairs to Leo's cabin, which would only prove Nico right?

She wished she had Bianca with her. Bianca had always been better at understanding Nico than Rebecca ever had.

Rebecca must've looked incredibly torn or hurt, because when Nico looked over at her, his gaze softened.