How to Care for Percy Jackson 2 // Jercy

Step 8: You'll Need Him Too

Step 8: You'll Need Him Too

Small Bob hated this, he hated it so much. This empty feeling inside him, like something was missing, like something had been stolen.

He'd been happy at first to be returning home, to see the salt man, the sugar woman, the potato baby Tyson, and of course Mrs O'Leary again. But upon arriving he knew there was something wrong, Mrs O'Leary wasn't there.

She was gone. Forever.

Her scent was beginning to fade ever so slightly, the hairs from her shedding had vanished, her bed sat in the corner, alone and empty. Small Bob felt like a hole had been ripped open inside him, his best friend was dead. Why did she have to die? Why couldn't he? He knew that all creatures grow old and passed away but Mrs O'Leary had always seemed timeless, she had always been too great to be affected by ageing.

"Mum, I'm worried about Bob." Percy said to the sugar woman about three days after their arrival, Small Bob lay in the corner of the couch, unresponsive to anyone, not even Percy's comfort.

"Maybe he's sick, love." The sugar woman said, Percy looks to Small Bob who gazes back miserably at him.

'You don't understand human.' He meows weakly, but of course they didn't understand him. They never did.

Percy took him to the scary place that smelt terribly with the scary people called 'vets'. They said lots of long and boring words but then sent Percy and Bob home without any horrible med cine (thank cats). Percy looked at him so lost and confused still as they sat in the broom-broom car.

"Bob wants wrong?" He asks petting Bob in his favourite spot behind his ears but that didn't matter, Small Bob was too sad to purr. So instead he simply turned away and said nothing.

It was at night when Small Bob finally broke, he was wondering around the house when no one was awake. Feeling very small and useless when he sat in front of Mrs O'Leary's bed. He sat there for a very long time before eventually stepping inside and curling up in a ball. When he was a kitten, he would sometimes sleep in the pocket beneath Mrs O'Leary's head and feel safe and warm while he hummed songs to him.

But now, even though he was full grown he felt very small indeed.

Percy found him in the morning and started crying, Small Bob didn't understand why he was crying but when he sat inside the bed and cradled Small Bob in his arms, he realised that maybe Percy had finally understood.

Oh wow, I feel like a monster.