[̲̅B][̲̅u][̲̅t][̲̅t][̲̅e][̲̅r][̲̅f][̲̅l][̲̅y] | Percy Jackson x oc | PJO x HP |

Chapter 14 | We All Have Our Dam Issues |

    I know I was never a fan of the choice Bianca made, but that didn't mean I wanted her to die. That was even worse. Now, Nico was abandoned by his sister, and they could never talk it out and understand it. Nico was a ten year old...technically about eighty, but he still had the mind and body of a ten year old. He was rendered without a family, and that wasn't fair. What's worse is that Bianca died getting the one statue Nico was missing...

    ...Can I adopt a kid at fourteen?

    "It should've been me." Percy said, downtrodden. "I should've gone in the giant."

    I broke out of my thoughts looking up at him. We found a tow truck at the back of the dump. It had a full tank of gas and worked okay, so we took it. Thalia was the least distressed out of us, so she decided to take the wheel. Zoë sat up front with Thalia, while Percy Grover and I sat in the back.

    "Don't say that!" Grover said, jumping to freak out. "It's bad enough Annabeth's gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if...Do you think anyone else would be my best friend?"

    I raised my brow. "And...I do not exist?"

    "No!" Grover jumped to say. "No, no, no, it's just...Percy and Annabeth...they-"

    "Grover, you can stop." I said, a grin finding its way on my face. "I know they're irreplaceable." Grover let out a breath of relief. I looked over at Percy who still looked pretty down. "And you," I said, looking him in the eyes. "Don't you dare say something like that again because I know you don't mean it. Bianca died. What's done is done. So you can either mope about it, or finish the quest she died for."

    "Well said, Butterfly." He smiled lightly, giving me a small hug.

    And then the car sizzled. It had run out of gas. Might as well have, it was a dead end. All desert with a canyon smack dab in front of us, a river down towards the bottom.

    "There's a path," Grover noticed. "We could get down to the river."

    "That's a goat path." Percy said, and I realized what Grover was talking about. This tiny ledge that was very steep that had rocks that would stab your eyes out if you fell along the edges was what he wanted me to climb down.

    "Oh no, Grover, I am not going down that." I declared, stepping back.

    I was not afraid of heights like I knew Thalia was. I was deathly afraid of falling on rocks that would smash my brains out if I did fall. Seriously, if it was dirt, mud, sand, and water. I would do it. But rocks? Nope. I'm out.

    "We can make it," Grover insisted. "I think."

    "You can go down your dangerous little ledge, but I'm going that way." I pointed upstream. There was no way I could manage walking down that ledge without having a panic attack.

    "Yeah." Percy said, tossing his arm over my shoulder. "I don't think it's wise to split up. It's just a little walk."

    Grover reluctantly agreed. We walked along a river for about half a mile. Along the shore, there was a canoe rental shop. It was closed for the season, so Percy left a stack of drachmas and a note saying IOU two canoes.

    I was in the one with Thalia and Grover. It's been a while since I've had a good conversation with Thalia. Nowadays, it seemed like my life revolved around Percy. I didn't want to lose her. I would still pick her over Percy any day. She was my friend first.

    "Hey, Lia...do you ever think that...that I'm abandoning you?" I asked, folding my arms nervously. I don't know why I felt like I was leaving her behind for Percy.