Piercing Needles

Waves

A/N: yes it finally happens here, also content warning for mentioned abuse and injury

Pulling up to Percy's apartment building I check my face in the rear view mirror. Some of the bruises were too dark to cover  completely but I did everything I could. My lip and eyebrow are both split open and I overall just look like, well, like I had taken a beating. I had to take out the lip piercing, or rather it was taken out for me.  The passenger door opened and in slides Percy and his metallica blanket. I can't help but shrink away and hope he wont notice.

There was silence for a few minutes of the drive, all of which I'm tilting my head so he can't see. but the silence was short lived. In a voice so small I almost couldn't hear it, "You didn't text me all weekend... not even when you got home.."

I couldn't say anything. I couldn't speak. If I tried everything I'm holding back will flow forward and the wave that would come crashing down would be worse than the one in the library that night.Without thinking I glance towards his and only after do I realize my mistake.

"Jay, what happened to you?" his voice is still whisper quiet but cracks at the end of his sentence. "Please let me help you."

That was it.

That was the final crack in the dam that caused the flood. I couldnt hold it back anymore. turning on the hazard lights and slamming on the breaks so hard they locked up and we slid, i veered over into the grass by the side of the road. As soon as we were stopped everything became weird. I broke down, I know I did. But it was like I was watching myself in third person. Watching how he moved the center console, how he stopped me from beating my head on the steering wheel more,  watching how he pulled me completely over so I was laying on top of him with his arms wrapped around me and just holding me with his own silent tears on his face.

Listening to how I screamed; not only words of what was happening to me but also just the pure and inhuman sobs that wracked me. I screamed about my parents and how I am simply   I watched for what felt like forever, the sobs becoming ever slowly quieter but his arms never loosening, still holding me in the tight embrace.

After a very long time I come back to my own body. I wiggle from the uncomfortable position my legs were in, shifting myself onto my side. I don't have the energy to feel shame about anything right now. I don't care that percy's shirt is covered in tears, snot, and smears of blood. I don't care about the fact that I'm laying between Percy's legs curled into his chest. All I care about is that finally someone else knows. I'm not alone. 

One of his hands had moved from my back to the hair on the crown of my head, swirling it and lightly tugging every few seconds. Hes whispering something but I have to really listen to hear it.

"The freedom of falling

A feeling I thought was set in stone

It slips through my fingers

I'm trying hard to let go

It comes and goes in waves

It comes and goes in waves

And carries us away"

What I did next was probably one of the stupidest yet best decisions I've ever made, and I didn't even realize till I had already done it.

I didn't realize what I had done until my hands were underneath me  holding me up.

I didn't realize what I had done until his scent overwhelmed me, filling up all of my senses.

I didn't realize what I had done until I felt how our noses tucked together.

I didn't realize what I had done until I drowned in the sortness of his lips, edged with metal and sugar.

----

After moments that felt like hours we parted, our breaths still mingling. I just did that. I kissed him. I finally kissed him. Hearing a chuckle, I sat back down on my heels.

"I've been wondering how long it would take you to finally make a move." He leans up pulling his hoodie sleeve over his hand and dabbing at my face. As he does this I realize the red smeared across his lips, dripping down his chin. I open my mouth to speak but was cut off as usual.

"Dont apologize for doing nothing wrong. Your lip split back open, are you alright?"

"I think so, everything hurts so I don't even know anymore." the face he makes shows how little humor he finds in that. "I don't know why this keeps happening."

"It's not your fault or doing. It's them. Does anyone else know?" his eyes started to glitter like hes trying not to cry on my behalf.

"No but that's not what I'm talking about." breaking eye contact I turn back forward and turn the key, hearing how loud and familiar the engine turns over and sends thick vibrations into my bones. "I mean all of this. I was becoming ok again, the panic attacks were few and far between, the nightmares not as bad," pulling onto the road once again Percy shifts to sitting properly. "I feel like I lost my grip. I've been dealing with this by myself since my sister left and now I'm not. I'm thankful, don't get me wrong, really I am, but its weird. I'm not used to it anymore," pulling into the parking lot of the school I park and cut the engine. Looking out of the corner of my eye I scan see him silently wipe his cheeks. Shit I made him cry. 

"Shit I'm sorry I didn't mean to make y-"

"My old step father was like that. Like them." My mouth freezes. "I know what its like. I'd have to go to school looking as rough as you do but everyone assumed I was getting into fights. I was a troubled kid, no one bothered to question it. He would do it to both of us." He holds his blanket to his chest. "Then he tried it in the wrong night. Mom was done with it. He was killing me, or that's what it felt like. I woke up in the hospital. I wasn't allowed to see my mom for a while so they put me with a foster parent. Eventually I went home. I only learned years later what happened."

He goes quiet for a minute. I want to know what happened but I can't ask. 

"She was being held in jail. Going to court. She was the one on trial." we pull into the parking lot and he points out our favorite parking spot. twisting around he grabs 2 monsters  and from the glove box he pulls out some beef jerkey and cracks it open between us. We sit in silence for a minute. Our usual breakfast we have every morning, in between the coffees I bring to get me through the day.   

He leans back against the door, finally looking at me. He still has a faint orange smear next to his mouth from my blood. Looking back at his blanket he picks at the fluff. "my mother was put on trial because she killed him." he glances back up at me, his oil slick black and green hair only showing slivers of his eyes. "He was killing me. I did die, according to the doctors, but only for a little while. She killed him. She beat him with a concrete medusa statue she made in the year of college she did." running his fingers through his hair away from his face he locks eyes this time. "My story may be different. But I still understand. And I won't let it happen again." 

He rushes forward and kisses me again, curling his hand around  the nape of my neck. As quick as he came, he was gone. The door opened and he jumped down, pulling his bag after him. smiling at me he shut the door and ran at the doors of the highschool. he pauses on the sidewalk, doing something on his phone. My phone dings and it's him. 

Percy: Stay in the truck today. You don't want people staring at you. Plus you should take a nap. :-* ill be back in a few hours and then we can get chinese from that place you like

Me: ok, but you may want to wipe the blood off our mouth before you go to class :)