When It Fades To Black: Percabeth AU

Do and Don't Deserve

(All story line rights go to ChasingFreedoms)

Percy POV

After dropping off Annabeth, I feel awful. Like I betrayed her by taking her back to that house. I want to help her so much. But I should've known that it would take longer to breach all the walls she'd put around herself. I'm just so worried she'll lock up all that emotion, that it'll build up inside. And that when she finally lets herself feel the full weight of all that hurt, pain, loneliness, and betrayal; it'll lead her to the edge of a bridge. 

Annabeth POV

Percy dropped me off, after trying to convince me not to go in. I just ignored him and left. Worst mistake I've ever made.

As soon as I walked in, my dad was waiting, belt in hand, but he didn't use it immediately. Instead, he waited for Percy's car to leave, and then whispered, "No one to save you now." He runs over to me and rips off my shirt and then starts hitting me with the belt buckle. He'd never hit me with my skin bare before, and it was way worse than even the thin layer of protection my loose sweaters gave me. Eventually, he stops and looks at my thin, pathetic frame. "Have you been eating?" He yells angrily. I have, but you wouldn't be able to tell. You can still see the outline of most of my bones. So I lie, hoping he'll believe me. I shake my head. "You liar!" He screams, "You'll pay for lying to me!" He runs into the kitchen, and comes back with a knife. I realize I'm losing consciousness too late to wake myself up. The last thing I see is a flash of silver.

I wake up in the morning, expecting to be laying, broken, in a pool of my own blood where I passed out last night. I'm not. No, I'm in our basement, in the old dog kennel. My blond hair is splayed out on the worn green blanket beneath me, and my dad put me in an old maroon tank. I'm freezing, and begin to shiver. I pull out my phone to see it is 6:30 am. I undo the latch on the kennel easily, since it wasn't made for aposable thumbs. 

I pull myself off the floor and go upstairs, showering to get the dried blood off my body. I look in the mirror. The damage is really bad this time. Over each of my very, visible, very prominent ribs a shallow long scratches. My stomach is the worst. On it, my father has carved the word "FAT." I sigh and bandage the cuts, and apply a salve I made from petroleum jelly lotion, honey, and chamomile tea onto the welts left by the belt. I had made the salve with whatever I'd had at the house, and it actually worked okay. I throw on a really loose sweater like I always do and grab my book bag. 

I wait in the driveway for Piper and she finally shows. She begins to greet me when I climb into the truck but I silence her by not responding. Along the way I keep telling myself, You deserve this you worthless bitch, this is your fault. But each time I think it, I can hear Percy's voice telling me just the opposite. Still, I go through my day like the living dead. Percy and Piper both try to take me aside at lunch, but I ignore them. To my broken soul, they do not exist. 

Nico di Angelo takes me aside at the end of fifth hour and says the words I desperately need to hear. All he says is, "I've been there, Annabeth." This is all it takes for me to cry into his shoulder for a moment, but he holds me while I do it, and takes me home. 

It felt good to be understood. Because he understands why he can't save me. To save you from the monster under your bed, first you must escape the devils in your head. And I wasn't there yet. Because I still deserve it. 

Nico POV

She still believed she deserved it, poor girl. But until she stops believing that, no one can save her. But maybe I should help them try. Everyone deserved to be loved, to be saved. Reyna and Gleeson taught me that. Maybe her friends could show her that too. I might just help.