Blind Swimmer

Chapter 17: Trust

Percy POV

I swam through the water quickly. My muscles were aching after a long day of practice, but I didn't want to get out of the water. 

As soon as I felt the tap, I flipped and kicked off the wall again. 

My flip turns had power, and I was able to simply glide underwater for several seconds before starting the freestyle swim again. 

A loud whistle interrupted my actions. 

I stopped and tread water until my arm extended out to hold the lane divider. 

"All right, Jackson, that's enough for today. It's been hours," Coach Hedge exclaimed. 

I sighed. I was expecting a forceful stop soon. 

I made my way to the shallow end of the pool and climbed out. My walking stick was waiting for me at the edge. 

"Good practice today, Perce," Jason said as he slapped my back. His other hand put the towel into my right hand. 

"Sorry if it was too long for you, Jason," I said earnestly. 

"Dude, it's not a problem. Besides, we don't have a football game today, so I had nothing to do," Jason explained. 

"Usually, you'd be with Piper," I said with a smirk. 

"Bro, you know that I'd rather spent time with you," Jason said. I could imagine the small smile on his face. 

"She was busy today, wasn't she?" I asked slyly. 

Jason simply chuckled as we walked into the locker rooms. 

"All right, I'll wait for you at the car while you get showered and ready," he said. 

"Sounds good," I said before Jason left. 

I heard the soft click of the locker room door, indicating that he had gone outside. My hand was trailing against the wall as I walked towards the showers. 

My head healed pretty quickly after my injury. 

I was trying to piece it together in my head. For some reason, Annabeth and Chiron both didn't seem convinced that I slipped up and crashed into the wall. Wise Girl was the smartest person I knew while Chiron was very intuitive, so I was kind of alarmed about what went wrong. 

Did I not feel the tap on my back or did it not even come? 

"Hey, Jackson," a gruff voice interrupted my thoughts. 

I practically jumped in surprise. I hadn't heard anyone come in. 

"Who's there?" I asked defensively. My hand fumbled around the knob to turn off the shower. 

"It's Luke. I just came to talk to you," Luke said firmly. 

I didn't trust Luke much. Even before I lost my eyesight, we didn't get along. We were teammates, and yet, I never got a good vibe from him. 

"What do you want, Luke?" I asked. 

"I guess that I'm not a fan of you being back on the swim team," Luke said.  

I simply gazed in the direction of his voice. I knew that he probably didn't want me back on the team. Luke was the next-best swimmer and the captain now. 

I sighed. I was supposed to be captain this year. 

"Well, I am back on the team, Luke. I love swimming, and I'm so glad that I can do it even after losing my vision," I said firmly.