Losing Games

14.

14.

The New Girlfriend

~*~

Percy POV

Three days of living here was absolute torture.

Gabe had brought me back to the house I grew up in. My childhood home.

Now I knew who was following me that night.

It was him.

And the worst part was that he knew how to get under my nerves. He knew how to scare me. He knew how to torture me. He knew how to make me work for him.

So here I was, on a Tuesday when I should've been in school, cooking and cleaning. 

He was having friends over today and he needed the food. 

He knew he couldn't keep me from school for long because that would mean that I'd miss important interviews, recording sessions, etc. 

Gabe had said that for the first week, I'd have to work and then he'd let me go to school because otherwise people would get suspicious. 

He threatened to hurt my friends. He knew where Silena lived now and I hated it. 

I wanted to scream. It was because I was there that he knew. If I wasn't there he never would've known.

"Hey, punk," Gabe said, coming into the kitchen where I was making food for him.

I was making some noodles because our fridge was almost empty. I sighed. I had to go shopping soon.

I turned. "Yes, sir?"

"I got you a job," he said.

He... what?

"Yes, sir," I said. "Where is it?"

"I actually got you two so be grateful boy. The first one is at McDonald's and the second one is at a coffee shop."

McDonald's... my eyes flared as I read the location.

It was Rachel's McDonald's. 

I almost sighed in relief. I wouldn't have to be alone.

"You are to be there at six every morning. No later or you'll be punished."

"But how am I supposed to be at both of them at the same time?" 

Gabe smiled cruelly. "Well McDonald's is at six and the coffee shop is at seven. School starts at eight thirty so you can get there in time."

The problem was that the coffee shop was close to here which meant that Goode High was almost an hour walk away.

Obviously Gabe knew I had a car. He also knew I had money but he decided to torture me even more. 

"But it takes a 45 minute walk to get from that McDonald's to the coffee shop!" I protested. "Can we swap the schedule around?"

"No," Gabe said shortly. "And you start next week."

"I'll be late for school-"

Gabe's hand came up and smacked my cheek--hard. "You listen to me and no one else, understand?"

I averted my eyes. "Understood, sir."

That's when I smelled it. Burning. 

"What's that?" Gabe shouted and I turned around in horror. 

The noodles were overflowing.

I instinctively tried to turn the stove off but ended up burning my fingers.