the Summer House

8 - Gabe-Bomb

Percy

Can't a guy enjoy the weekend? I guess not.

"Get up, boy!" Gabe said, shaking me. He was looked sober, but even sober Gabe was an ass.

"What?" I groaned.

"Go buy me some beer."

I sat up in bed. "I can't. I'm not old enough."

"I said I wanted beer! I don't care how you get it, get me some beer!"

Did I say Gabe was sober? I meant he was partly sober. He'd probably been drinking all night. Mom deserved better.

"I can't get you beer," I stated. "Get it yourself."

"You ungrateful son of a bitch!" Gabe punche my chest, knocking the air out of me. I hunched over.

"Okay, okay," I said between coughs. "I'll get you your stupid beer."

That meant, run. I stood up and changed into jeans and put in a sweatshirt. After making myself presentable, I left the house, making Gabe think I was getting beer. I'd come back home mid-day.

This happened all the time. Gabe would tell me to get beer, I'd leave the house for the day, he'd forget. I'd take some money and my phone and do nothing productive. Yay.

I walked to the nearest McDonald's to get myself some breakfast. Then, I went to the nearby park to kill time. I walked over to one of the picnic tables, and sat down with my food.

I guess I fell asleep, because someone called my name, telling me to wake up.

"Percy, why are you sleeping here?" Annabeth asked, patting my back. "Are you okay?"

"What? Hm, yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened to you?"

"My step-dad was being an asshole. He woke me up early in the morning and I just left to get away from him. Anyways, why are you here?"

"I'm with my brothers. They dragged me with them to the park."

"At least you got a good night's sleep."

"Oh, sorry for waking you. See ya," she said, turning around.

"No, no. I'm awake now. Do you know what time it is?"

"It's noon."

"I've got time to kill. Wanna hang out here? I'll keep you company while your brothers play."

Annabeth smiled. "Thanks, Perce. They can be a pain sometimes."

"I wish I had siblings. I have no one to hang out with at home. My mom's always working and Gabe, my step-dad, hates me."

"I know how you feel. Bobby and Mathew aren't a picnic in the park."

We sat there in silence.

"Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you move here because of your step-dad?"

I smiled. "That's not how I play, Wise Girl. Why didn't you come the next summer?"

Annabeth bent her head to look at the ground. "My parents divorced, and my dad didn't have the money to keep our summer house. I felt awful, Percy. I thought about you a lot."

I grinned. "So you had a crush on me?"

Annabeth's head shot up and she punched my shoulder. "You kissed me."

Yeah, I did, didn't I.

"Well, you liked it."

Annabeth blushed. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain. So what if I did?"

"Then you wouldn't mind kissing me again?"

Did I push it too far?

"No, I wouldn't mind it," Annabeth said. "But don't expect me to kiss you right now."

"I don't, but I wouldn't mind if you did."

Annabeth laughed. "Tell you what. Let's actually hang out. Not at a park while I'm babysitting my brothers. Then we'll see."

"Deal. You can come over to my house tomorrow. My mom is home on Sundays, so you can eat dinner with us."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Seaweed Brain."

Annabeth called for her brothers, and they left.

I just had to make sure Gabe didn't kill me beforehand.