𝑃𝐸𝑅𝐶𝑌 𝑅𝐸𝐼𝐷 thought the worst thing he would have to live through was his mother's death but life deals him a new hand, something he would have never expected, it takes away his father.
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MAYBE ALL HE NEEDED WAS TO GO FOR A LATE-NIGHT SWIM, that was what Percy thought when the cab stopped at Sandy State Park. The drive was long and exhausting, but he still had some of the cash his dad gave him for emergencies, and this felt like an emergency. He wore his wet suit underneath his pajamas which he laid down on the sand with his phone before he walked into the water, it was icy cold when he put his feet in, but he kept walking. Percy wasn't known for being wise but this was a new level of stupid that Annabeth would probably scold him for it.
Percy needed to be in the water, something inside him craved to be in the water. He had seen pictures of his mother at the beach, her in different colored swimsuits, pictures of her on surfboards, her blonde hair wet as she smiled over at the person taking a picture of her. He knew Spencer was always the one behind the camera, he was always on the sand, waiting for her but when Percy looked back, there was no one there waiting for him so he went deeper into the water so when he looks back, he won't feel his father's absence.
The deeper he went into the water, the more peaceful he felt, he took in a deep breath, letting the water pull him underneath. Percy didn't want to die, he didn't want to drown but going up to the surface meant having to face the real world which was something he was getting bored of, it became a bitter taste in his mouth. He liked life better underwater, the deeper he went down, the less control he had but he preferred it that way until he remembered he needed to breathe, and panic came over him like a wave. He fought to get air, but the waves kept crashing over him. After a while it felt like a losing battle and he stopped because if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound and if Percy Newton-Reid has to go home and there's no one there waiting for him, will anyone miss him?
When Percy stopped breathing, it felt like his life began and when he opened his eyes there was someone waiting for him on the other side. He opened his eyes and he saw her; he immediately recognized her from the pictures and the videos and from the moment he was born. "Did your dad not teach you to swim? I feel betrayed." She had a grin on her face as she extended her hand out to him, and he took it, feeling her flesh against his. "Shit, am I dead?" That was all he could think when he stood up on the sand, he did not think the afterlife would be on a beach. "Dead is a strong word." Delaney looked just like she did in the pictures, it felt too real, and he hated it but at the same time he didn't want to leave.
"That's not exactly an answer." He realized then that he hadn't let go of her hand, he couldn't make himself let go. "You're gonna be fine," She gave his hand a firm squeeze, "I'll protect you." He believed her, he didn't even know her, but he would put his life in her hands. His chest ached; he was drowning but he was fine with it if he got to hold her hand. "Isn't my life supposed to flash before my eyes by now?" The ocean was restless in front of him, the waves were eager to reach him, but he never stopped looking at the woman beside him, he wasn't scared. "What life?" She chuckled, her laugh was something he had heard many times, but it always came out of his mouth, "You just started living." That didn't feel entirely true, Percy was barely fourteen, but he felt like he had been on the earth for too long.
"Did you live? Twenty years, you couldn't even drink." Percy didn't mean for the words to come out harsh, he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but she barely got to live, and it was because of him. "You know when I found out what happened to you," He paused, he had wanted to talk to her for as long as he had been alive but now, he was speechless in a way. What do you tell the person who died for you to live?
"When I found out what I did to you, I would wake up every night screaming. I told dad that I wished whatever God was in the sky took me instead." Percy had been haunted by Delaney Newton for as long as he could remember, he couldn't escape her or be with her. "Dad needed you, not some brat that he didn't even know." Delaney finally turned her gaze away from the ocean, her eyes met his. Percy noted that they were the same shade of blue as his, he had been a clone of the woman who stood in front of him. What an awful thing it is, to kill your mother and still force your father to look into her eyes every day.
"He doesn't see you as a brat which is strange because you're just like me," Delaney's eyes were clear, she wasn't sad or mad, she was just happy to see him. "And I was a total brat growing up." Percy laughed, surprised when it sounded wet in his throat.
"From the moment you were born, you were his world. You were my world, it felt like my entire existence had led to that moment, like he and I were born to be your parents." She was supposed to be there with him, Percy thought but he didn't say it. If the universe had chosen Delaney and Spencer to be his parents, why did it take them away from him? "But you died, and I never had a mom." He deserved better, she deserved better. The universe handed them both a bad hand, the only difference was that Percy stayed in the game and she was gone and some days he wished he went with her. He wished the umbilical cord wrapped itself around his throat, that he had always been with her.
"I wouldn't say that," Delaney's smile grew, it felt like he was bathing in sunlight and suddenly the water didn't feel so heavy anymore. "She left me." Delaney didn't have to say her name, Percy knew who she was talking about. His mind immediately went to her, she would be expecting him to go back home tomorrow, the disappointment of losing him would be something that she could live with. She had already left him once, maybe it was his turn to leave her but in the back of his mind, he could hear her calling his name. "She didn't leave you; she left your dad. You know, for a genius, he's a bit of a dumbass."
"So you've been watching us?" Percy felt a comfort wash over him, knowing she was always there, it made him feel at peace or maybe he was just dying and that was fine. "Your dad misses you, he didn't want to hurt you, neither did Elle." But did it matter, "Holding your hands up and saying 'I didn't mean to' won't fix me."
"Who says you're broken, you're a lot of things but broken is not one of them." She pulled him into her arms so fast that he lost his breath, he the water in his lunges felt like it was on fire. The water, the pain and the guilt were heavy on his chest, "And you were right, I never got to live but you still have so much growing to do." The water reached his feet, soaking him when Delaney pulled away, her hands on his face as a storm started raging around them, raining falling from the heavens. "I'm not gonna let you die today, I always hoped that one day we could be together but right now, you need to survive." She kissed his left cheek, then the other one and when he opened his mouth, water flooded out of his lips. "Everything." She whispered to him, and the water kept coming, she wasn't scared, but Percy thought about the future he would have if he survived, he would have to live with her ghost again.
"What do I with all the water in my lunges?" It kept going, tears now spilling down his cheeks as he struggled to breathe. There was a light in his face, Delaney was the only thing that blocked it from blinding him. "Throw it up or embrace it, do whatever you need to do but just live."
"Everything." Percy touched the hand she had to his face, and she pulled him into her embrace again but when he opened his eyes, she was gone and he was on the beach, coughing up water with someone rubbing his back. Panic was visible on his face; he placed a hand to his chest and his heart was pounding but that meant that he was alive.
"You're not dead." He felt arms wrap around him, someone hugging him from the back. The embrace felt familiar, he was shivering but she was warm like the sun, "I thought you were dead." He had never heard her voice that fragile before, never felt her hold onto him that tightly before. "Please don't leave again." He felt his arms go around himself, it was the closest he could get to hugging her back and he knew that she wouldn't let him go. "I promise, I'm staying. I'm never going to leave again." Elle swore, still not letting him go but he didn't mind.
"How did you find me?" He asked when he finally caught his breathe, "I don't know, I got up and I just knew you were in trouble." When she woke up and her chest was on fire like she was drowning, she knew something was wrong. She knew she needed to find Percy; she knew he needed her. "I'm not dead." Percy felt something heavy lift off his chest and for a moment he just let Elle hold him and he knew he would be alright.
