Hearing words in the silence

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and his friends. Enjoy

Chapter 6

"Nico! Sorry, I was with a patient."

Nico shrugs his shoulders, a warm smile gracing his lips. "It's okay, Bianca, really. How was the session?"

His sister sighs, her shoulders drooping a little. "I don't think he was listening to me at all. And he's really hard to get through to. I mean, I need him to open up to me if we can even start getting to the bottom of him... But if he won't even open his mouth, I don't see how that's possible."

Nico's always liked the steady relationship he and his sister have. They can talk about almost everything, and he never feels the need to hold back. She likes to talk about her job with him, and Nico likes to help out. He offers advice where he can, and occasionally she introduced him to the patients - A lot of them are the same age as him, and are more willing to open up to a fellow teenager than a woman they just met.

Her new patient seems fascinating, and Nico follows her to the car, their conversation still going forward animatedly as they climb in and buckle up.

"So he's shy? Stubborn?"

She shakes her head, looking at her brother with a sigh. "No, nothing like that. This is his problem in the first place. The kid doesn't talk. His parents want me to find out why, but the problem is he doesn't want to let anyone know, from what I can tell."

Nico smiles, slowly, surely. "You don't mean Perseus Ugliano?"

"That's him alright. You guys know each other?"

Nico shrugs. "We don't know each other, per se. It's not like I can tell you why he doesn't talk. I met him in the foyer this morning. He was waiting to go in and see you."

Bianca nods a little distractedly as she navigates the car into the driveway. "He seems like a nice kid and all. A little odd, but nice enough. I just wish he'd make some effort to communicate. The kid won't even write notes."

A frown smudges Nico's lips as he remembers the way the boy was hesitant when Nico told him to bring paper and pen. So he wouldn't speak, he wouldn't write...

"Maybe it's not just talking Perseus has a problem with, then. Maybe it's just the idea of communication in general?"

She nods thoughtfully, and they're making their way into the house, still chatting mindlessly about a boy neither of them know, but are dying to understand the mysteries of.

Nico sits himself down at the dining table as his sister flitters around the kitchen, making them both cups of coffee. It's almost become a ritual ever since their mother died. Nico will go down to her office to wait for her every afternoon; they come home, drink coffee at the old table and discuss her patients, and whatever else they feel like. Nico likes the comfort of routine. He knows that most kids his age would despise the idea of sitting and having a friendly conversation with the person raising them, but Nico and his sister have grown impossibly closer since their mother's death, and if he's being honest, he loves talking to her.

"Well that's what it would have to be, right? I mean, he doesn't even communicate with his own mother. I had a talk to her and she's completely lost; has no idea what to do with him anymore."

"Start with the basics. Parents still together?"

Nico keeps the tone light; he knows she doesn't like to be reminded of their own father.

"Yes, the mother told me. She seemed a little edge though. I think there might be something more to it there."

"Okay, so don't rule out domestic issues. Maybe that's why he's taken his vow of silence," Nico grins.

"School life? He goes to the same school as you, right?"

Nico frowns, wracking his brain for a memory of seeing the kid at school and coming up short. "Not sure. I don't remember ever seeing him around, but it's not that small a school, and well, he's not exactly loud."

She gives a short laugh, sitting down across from him and passing her brother his coffee. He takes a sip, letting the hot liquid slide down his throat.

"He seems like a nice kid, Bianca. I'm sure he'll open up."

"Yeah, you're right. I have another session with him tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes."

"So soon?" Nico frowns. Normally, the patients only come once a week, at most.

His sister scowls, glancing at her coffee before her eyes pierce Nico's. "I get the feeling that his parents don't want to deal with him... Like, at all."

"So they send him to a therapist every day instead? That's a bit harsh... No offence."

She laughs, shaking her head. "None taken. You know what's strange about him? He shudders every time I say his name."

Nico nods, remembering that the boy had done the same thing. "I asked if his name was Perseus Ugliano and he freaked out and started shaking his head."

"Maybe he just hates his name?"

"His name's Ugliano. I don't blame him," Nico snorts, covering it up with by downing a gulp of coffee and scorching a trail down his throat. He splutters a little, his eyes watering as he tries to choke out his next words. "- But again, I reckon there's something more to it. He really hated it when I called him that."

The two fall into a casual silence for a few moments, not uncomfortable, merely lost in their own thoughts involving a young boy who doesn't speak. And no matter how hard either of them dwells on it, they can't seem to formulate a suitable reason for why a seventeen year old boy would just... Stop speaking.

"How long has he been silent for?" Nico asks suddenly, and his sister's gaze snaps to him, answering on reflex.

"Three years."

"That's a long vow of silence."

"Tell me about it. Do you think you could come to the office a little earlier tomorrow? Have a chat to him; see if he'll open up to you a little."

Nico can see the frown lines wrinkling her forehead, the way her eyes narrow and she bites her lip, and he knows how much this means to her. It's been a while since he saw her so caught up in one patient, but Nico isn't surprised. He's just as caught up in the mystery of Perseus Ugliano as she is. He wants to know just what it is that made the guy condemn himself to such a long period of silence. He wants to know whether it really was self inflicted. They've reviewed his records, his medical file... the boy can speak, Nico knows. He just chooses not to.

But why would anyone choose not to speak?

Freedom of speech alright... gives the freedom not to exercise it, no matter what.

"Sure Bianca, I'll talk to him," Nico agrees, and he knows he's not doing it just because she asked him to. He would've shown up early regardless. There's something about the boy that intrigues him, something even beyond the refusal to formulate words. There's secrets hidden behind those eyes that Nico wants to unravel, stories he wants to be a part of, memories he wants to create and bask in. He's never felt so attached to one person in such a short period of time, and it frightens him a little, but he shrugs it off.

"Oh, and Nico? I know it might be hard, and I'm not asking you to lie or anything... Tell him if he asks, but... Don't blurt out that you're my little brother, okay?"

Nico understands. The chances of Perce opening up are ten times more likely if he doesn't know that Nico is his therapist's brother. It's easier this way for all of them, and Nico doesn't see the harm in it, really. He's not lying to the boy; he's just not telling him his life story. And besides, he thinks wryly, Perce should be able to sympathize. It's not like he's telling them anything either.