Abused Percy Jackson

Chapter 52

Percy's POV:

I was still upset about the news interview. However, it was bound to come out eventually. I just didn't expect it to end up on the news. I heard my phone going off. I had it face down on the table. Leo grabbed my phone to look at it. 

"Do you want to know what it is?" he asked. I shook my head. 

"No, just mark them as 'read' for me," I sighed. He nodded and swiped away the notifications. I could feel him tensing as he read them. 

"How mad would you be if I punched these people tomorrow at school?" he asked. I laughed.

"Pretty upset," I said smiling. "I found it's best to just ignore them."

Leo sighed and nodded. My phone started ringing. Looking, I didn't recognize the number. Leo hit decline and continued getting rid of the notifications for me. I didn't want to read them, so he was doing it for me. 

"You're amazing," I said, laying my head against his chest. 

"I don't understand how you deal with this shit," Leo said. I laughed. I was about to speak when he cut me off. "I know, I know. 'Practice'."

I nodded and laughed again. "You're learning."

He set my phone on the table and sighed. Ms. Valdez walked into the kitchen and started pulling out pots and pans for dinner. 

"Are you going to be staying for dinner?" she asked. 

"If that's okay with you," I said. 

"Of course," she said with a smile. My phone went off again. Leo grabbed it and looked at it. 

"You should probably answer this one," he said, passing the phone to me. I looked and it was a text from Poseidon.

Po (6:27 PM) : I'm guessing you saw the news...

Per (6:27 PM) : Yeah

Po (6:28 PM) : How are you doing?

Per (6:29 PM) : I'm fine.

Poseidon didn't respond. I looked at my screen, feeling a little guilty for lying. Another text came in, from an unknown number. I didn't read it, I just marked it read and swiped it away. 

"How are you doing, Percy?" Ms. Valdez asked. I shrugged. I didn't know how to describe my feelings, they were all sorts of jumbled. 

"Tomorrow is going to be hell," I said. Leo put his arm around me again, giving me a small hug. His mother nodded. I didn't know how much Leo told her, if he told her anything. 

"You'll get through it," she said. I smiled. 

"Don't worry, you have Thalia and Piper on your side," Leo said. "They take shit from absolutely no one."

"True," I said. We sat in silence as his mother made dinner. I was laying my head on his shoulder, keeping my eyes closed. I felt him kiss the top of my head. If we were on softer chairs, I would have one hundred percent fallen asleep. 

I listened to Ms. Valdez moving around the kitchen. It was relaxing hearing the chaotic rhythm. I still found it odd having houses sound this quiet. That would be something that stuck with me for the rest of my life. Silence was just unnatural. 

I felt Leo rubbing small circles on my back. He was the only person that I was fully comfortable with. Even then, every once in a while, I would still instinctively flinch over his sudden movements. 

"Dinner's done," Ms. Valdez said. I opened my eyes and sat up. She started setting the table. 

"Do you need help?" I asked. She shook her head.