MASKS

Chapter eight.

Hey, happy new year.
Oh and before I forget this chapter contains abuse and slurs skip till the next break if you may be triggered or offended.

:::::::::::::::

Percy
"You good for nothing worthless brat!!" Gabe yelled as he threw a beer can at me. It had been a week since my hair dyed itself in my sleep and Gabe was still mad about it. I'm set to open school next week but in the meantime, I have to survive this week of toucher.

He was still mad about my hair by the way. He thought that I stole money to get it dyed because it looked ' professional ' so there was no way I could have done it myself so he decided that I needed to be taught discipline before I join up again.

"You had one fucking job," he was above me now. I was crouched by the fridge my hands around my head trying to protect it from his hits.
"All you had to do was carry the food from the kitchen to where I was but you spilt it all over the place ruining my game, I WAS GONNA WIN TOO." I wanted to yell for him to stop but I couldn't as he punctuated every word with a kick or a punch. I wasn't looking at him but I heard him throw his glass beer bottle to the ground and jump a little when I heard it shatter as he yelled how that was also my fault.
I could hear the blood in my ears and my heart beat so fast I could feel it against my aching rib cage, breathing was getting harder. It was always a possibility that each beating could be my last.

I woke up everyday prepared to die. I saw my mum out the door ready for that to be my last ' I love you ' from her and I knew it was more likely to be killed by Gabe than everything else. It was very sad that a nine year old thought about the statics of their death but zoning out was the only way I could think of to block out the immediate pain. I mean I'd feel it when it was done but I wouldn't feel it now it was a small grace.

" Your good for nothing slut of a mother would be better of without you, you are a waste of time space and money you good for nothing stupid piece of shit!" He spat at me, literally  I could feel his spit on my hands and hair.

At least we agreed on something but no one calls my mum a slut ( I wasn't totally sure what that was but I didn't think it was good).

"Don't talk about my mum like that!" I yelled and uncurled myself. I glared at him while I struggled to stand on my two very unsteady feet. His face grew redder(I didn't think that was a colour a human body could achieve) then he bent down and picked up a large piece of glass,

 "Did I say you could talk?" He asked meniacingly as he stalked closer to me, "I can call her whatever the fuck I want. It's my goddamn house I could do whatever the hell I WANT!"  He was close enough for me to feel his breath on my ear as he whispered. A shiver ran down my spine as he stuck the piece of glass in my stomach and slapped me so hard I was carried by the force and hit my head on the wall.

My vision was swimming in and out but I heard him stalk away as he yelled to clean up the mess and not to let the blood stain his floor. I don't think anyone would find it in the current stains but okay. I held my hands tightly against my stomach hoping to staunch most of the bleeding with my shirt, at least I don't think he hit anything important and I was able to drag myself to the upstairs bathroom before I passed out.

::::::::::::::::::
Hermes
Being messenger of the gods was a hard job, there was always someone with an urgent message. Everyone thought that whatever message they were sending needed to get there ASAP and by godly standards that meant at that second no later. I ended up stretching myself thin but some days it was worth it when something was really important and I got to see that smile on someone's face when they receive that one parcel they've been waiting for.

Today, unfortunately, was not one of those days. I had just done my last delivery for Zeus when I left the temple and bumped into the least likely god to be on Olympus (he's been the reigning champion for three centuries in a row) Triton, crown prince of Atlantis.

It was rare to see this fish out of water and even rarer to see him in Olympus, so of course I had to get the gossip first hand, "Triton," The called walking to him with a big smile and I could tell it unsettled him which made me smile bigger, "what brings you around today?"

"Hello Hermes, it's been a while, how have you been?" he asked politely. I always thought his life was hard. Always have to be proper, the face of the kingdom. I couldn't take it if it was me, I wouldn't be allowed to do anything fun; I wouldn't survive.

"I've been good nothing to do just busy, but you haven't answered my question what brings you to Olympus?"

"Nothing much, father and mother are currently fighting about one thing or the other so I thought I'd use it to my advantage and visit Olympus since I haven't been here in a decade; nothing has changed, I just saw Apollo with a trail of women," he rolled his eyes and shook his head here, "and since I don't want to go home I'm going to explore New York in hopes that the mortals can entertain me."

I was distracted before he could even finish his sentence, I rushed the conversation so I could head out to Apollo. It would be three years later before I realized he'd tricked me.

::::::::::
I stood on the balcony of one of my temples looking down at the different gods, nymphs, dryads and other magical creatures as they treaded through on the golden pathways.

Apollo was one of them and he was my main focus. It was a bad day, I could always tell. His shoulders where sagging, his eyes were duller and his hair not as golden. His smile was big but fake but of course all his adoring fans couldn't tell. The last tell was the number of women and men around him. Apollo tended to hid behind the crowd when everything got too much.

The crowds drowned out the voices whispering in his mind and the flirting blocked out the pain. It was hard watching your bestfriend die from the inside. He wasn't himself but then again he hadn't been himself for a very long time.

I watched as he went on as he said the right things in the right way to the right people at the right time. By the time he'd be done he'd have them eating from his palm, I sighed.

"Hello Aunt Hestia," I said when I felt her presence next to me.
"Hello Hermes, how were the rounds?" She asked. She was the only one who ever really asked how I fared, I always found myself cuddling into her side as I ate cookies while she stroked my hair after a long day.
"They were good nothing out of the ordinary," I answered.
"I can feel your hope, he will be saved. There is a like soul made for him and when they find each other he will be healed," she said it with such confidence and firmness that I believed her and when Apollo cast his eyes to me and I could see the pain behind the facade, I prayed for it, I didn't know who I was praying to but a new understanding settled in me- I wasn't meant to save him, I was there to hold him untill his destiny arrived and with that I left the balcony, I was done watching.

::::::::::::::::::::
Hello, my beautiful fantastic people, I wrote this seated waiting for my dl and I did it on my phone, hope it's worth it and I hope you enjoy it, have a beautiful day/ night /morning/afternoon/evening untill next time😘

As usual, love
anglevil😈😇