Red

My parents wouldn't let me go to camp. So I decide to call Percy. Ask how it's doing. He'd know.

"I have no idea." The son of Poseidon told me. "I'm at home. I was sent home for the summer. Nico's here, too."

"Why?" I was curious and I always have people on speaker.

I didn't know my parents were at the door and could hear him.

"I started having troubles breathing." He told me. "Coughing up crap or whatever. Apparently it was a metastasis in my lungs and the. It got worse when they found a tumour growing along one of my lungs. Which they found out I had Stage IV Adenocarcinoma I believe it's called. I've gone through two rounds of chemo, so I'm fine right now. The tumour shrank a little. But they put me on oxygen and sent me home. Nico's here because my parents work and and if something ever happened."

"Yeah." I saw their point with sending a demigod home with him. "But oh my gods... That's horrible."

"Eh." He remarked. "I'm starting to get used to it. The one thing that sucks is stairs. I barely made it to the apartment."

I suppose he is on the 3rd floor.

^^^
Percy

I was curious.

"Out of all people." I remarked. "The guy who hates me most on the council volunteered to go. Why is that?"

He shrugs.

"Nobody would offer." Nico answered. "I'm not heartless, even if it seems that way."

Okay, whatever. I can live with that. It'd make things a bit easier.

A few days later, my parents once again at work, I thought Nico was in the shower. Not the room next to me, where's he's been staying.

I was singing a song of my own. I can sing and what not, but it's performing and all that I can't do. And even singing I have to take a break after a while.

I used to have a brother. And I'm not talking about Tyson.

A twin brother. We were identical. The only difference is that he was born with a defect of six fingers, but we never cared. I mean, he got mental advantages, I got the physical. We were best friends.

But Gabe beat him to death Christmas of 5th grade.

I don't talk about him or the situation for that reason. Me and Mom don't celebrate Christmas on a happy note for that reason.

Perseus and Augustus. He was named after Octovain Augustus and I was named after Perseus.

That's one reason I try to stay away from the descendant of Apollo at Camp.

Paul obviously knew about it. He asked why we were so down the first Christmas we were all together and we told him. He understood. Felt bad.

We have old photos still hanging up. One being Mom and Gabe's wedding photos. A few of them. Or at least a few of the four of us, a few of three of us, then there was two, and then three again, and with Nico here were back to four. I have a photo of me and my brother on our 11 birthday at Minotaunk. Our last birthday together...

Nico noticed one of the photos with my brother. With Augustus.

^^^
Nico

I went out to get some food, a snack, and I noticed something.

A photo on the wall. A polaroid. Two little boys. Twins. About a year or so old. It was kind of cute.

And then I looked at the the description below.

Perseus & Augustus
1 year

If that doesn't make you feel bad you're heartless.

I mean, just look at them! They're adorable as all hell.

But now there's only one of them.

And they continued the polaroids for every birthday.

After the 11th birthday Augustus stopped appearing in the photos.

I felt horrible.

I always assumed it was always him, Paul, and Sally. Maybe Paul wasn't always there, but it was always him and Sally.

I never considered he'd ever have another sibling he didn't talk about.

Especially a twin.

The summer went by and I stayed here. But one day while Percy was in for chemo, Leo, Jason, Frank, and then Hazel were visiting.

Later on Octovain and Reyna showed up. They were all heading to Camp Jupiter. Stopping by on the way. No big deal.

So Reyna noticed the polaroids on the wall. And she noticed Augustus's name.

Octovain's middle name is Augustus.

"Well this is depressing..." She says, noticing the difference from ages 11 to 12.

"That's what I said." I tell the daughter of Bellona. "I've been debating if I should ask or not. Like... I'm not sure how well he'd take it."

Jason assumed it was about me liking him.

"Ask him already DAMMIT." Jason tells me. "You've been living here for almost 3 months."

"Not that, Sparky." I pick on him right back. "Something else. Photos over there if you're curious."

Of course they're all curious.

And I wouldn't doubt that's one reason Percy never have Octovain a huge chance like he usually does with everyone else.

He reminded him of his brother.

Looking at the photo of when they were about 4, Octovain made a remark.

"At one point I had a twin." He remarked. "But he ran away. We were 14, left the house for a friends. And just never came back. Friend claimed he was never even there. But hell, that was 11 years back now. Almost forgot about him..."

And confession started.

"My aunt tried killing herself this summer." Leo informed us. "I was called late July. Few weeks ago. Her whole household all did mass suicide. Only one that lived was my aunt. And from what they told me, she hasn't been the greatest."

"I never knew my mom." Jason said. "I don't remember anything about her. Hopefully, maybe one day I'll find her."

"Sorry." I told him now.

"For what?" He asked me.

"That's not happening for a while." I tried to explain nicely and indirectly.

"What does that mean?" Now everyone's curious.

"Back in 2005..." I explained. "I wasn't a camper, Thalia told me when they recruited me. But um... Your mom got into a car crash. The other guy was killed, your mom got our but ended up dying in the hospital a few hours later with her throat swollen she couldn't breath and... Yeah... I don't know much about her death. But nobody at Camp really does."

He never knew her, he didn't take it that hard.

Frank remarked that his mom was over in the middle East, maybe dead, which terrified him. Hazel made a remark about somebody from the 30s and it was the first time I mentioned it to somebody who never knew.

"My sister's been dead for 3 years." I said aloud. "My mom died when I was 2."

Well the next night Percy was back and by now Sally and Paul were asleep. I was relaxing. It was about 11.

I thought I heard something so I peek my head out and sure enough Percy was in the bathroom. The door was open.

The cancer hasn't done anything good to him. Especially emotionally and mentally. I don't notice often, but he isn't as positive as before. I just normally assumed Tartarus did that to him.

And he just lost it.

The son of Poseidon store at himself in the mirror. Of course with his oxygen tank on him, and he'd open his mouth and words failed and he did that a few times, getting more upset every time it faltered him and he lost it. He flipped out.

Basically he shattered.

He punched the mirror, which didn't do much. Just a few cracks. And he slowly sunk down down his knees, crying. Trying to stay as silent as humanly possible.

It didn't last long though, before he left out a yell. It didn't wake his parents, but it got me over to where he was. Bawling.

I've never seen him cry.

I've never seen him actually sad.

But here he was. Bawling.