Love At First Sight

Abuse

Percy

My dream that night was interesting. It was about Annabeth. She was on the floor with blood surrounding her body while Gabe tortures her, giving her a "lesson" as he does me. I tried to punch, scream, or hurt him in anyway possible but my arms and legs wouldn't budge. And my voice was silent. There was only whimpers of fear. Then Gabe grabbed her and took her out the door while she screamed for my help. She looked at me with watery eyes like all her pain was my fault.
"no. no no no no this can't be happening no-"
"Percy. Hey. Its ok."
I opened my eyes and Annabeth's grey eyes looked at me with worry.
I let out the breath I had been holding and sat up. I let my heart race slow and my breathing come back to normal.
"Are you ok?"
"It was just a dream."
"Was it about Gabe?" Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were wide.
"Partially."
She half smiled.
"Need a hug?"
A smile tugged at my mouth and we hugged, my chin on her head and hers close to my heart.
"Better?" she asked.
"Better."
She pulled away slowly and blushed a little.
"We should get ready for school."
"Uh- Yea we should."

I helped her with the blankets and pillows, then headed back to my house. I walked in my room as quietly as possible, hoping that Gabe was asleep on the couch. I was right. I mentally wiped sweat off my forehead for that relief.
I changed into a greenish t-shirt and some jeans and grabbed my jacket and backpack from my desk chair. I walked down the hall and Gabe stood from the couch groggily, his words slurring as he spoke.
"That girl yesterday. Who is she?" 
"No one Gabe. Just a friend." I looked behind him hoping that I could find a moment to get out the door before Annabeth leaves.

"Well for your behavior with this girl, and for punching me, I hope you understand a lesson is in order." A smirk grew on his face showing his gold tooth.

"After school Gabe." But that was a stupid reason to Gabe. He didn't care. With all his anger, he threw me to the ground, punching me and shouting some.... not so sensitive words. I fought hard against his arms but I couldn't. Tears welled in my eyes as my voice stayed silent through all the pain. He whispered in my ear. "Don't defy me again Perseus. Or we will have another lesson." He got off me and kicked me again just for good measure, before hobbling off to his bed with a evil smile on his face. I slowly rose to my feet, going into the bathroom and looking at my bruised and beaten face. I grabbed the theater makeup out of the cabinet and covered the purple and red marks. I looked at myself again. The marks looked gone and I tried for my best fake smile. I stepped out of the bathroom and grabbed my backpack off the floor. I walked to the door, turned the handle, and stepped outside into the cold New York air. Annabeth was sitting on the bench waiting for me. Her head looking down.

"Hey Wise Girl. You ok?"

"Yea just tired." Her eyes were puffy, like they had been crying, but who knows what Gabbie did to her when she got inside. I decided to go with the "make her smile" approach.

"Shall we?" I bowed and offered my hand to her which made her laugh.

"We shall." She half smiled and took my hand before standing.

Then we were off to school. Away from the torture behind us.

(Turn back the clock. This is Annabeth's perspective after leaving the tree.)

Annabeth

Percy helped me carry the blankets and pillows inside my room, before climbing back to his window.
I put on some jeans, and a yellow and white top before heading to the kitchen to make a lunch.
And standing there, beer bottle in hand, was Gabbie.
"Morning." My voice was stern but my hands and feet vibrated like sound waves, sending shock to my shoulders and spine.
"Morning Beth." She lifted the bottle like a baseball bat over her shoulder. The words sounded like poison dripping from her mouth with a snake like tone.
"Care to explain where you were yesterday?"
"School." I said as if it was obvious.
Bad move.
She threw the bottle at me suddenly, it breaking on my body and shredding my arms and torso. Tears welled in my eyes as pain sheered through my body.
She pushed me into a wall and slapped my face before punching me in the stomach, causing me to double over and onto the floor. She kicked me again, and spat out some curse words, before heading out the door. I heard a car engine start and the cars hum get farther and farther away as I struggled to stand.
With tears rolling down my cheeks, I stepped into the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. My eyes were puffy and red, and my shirt was soaked with tears and little red dots of blood.
I grabbed a washcloth and soaked it with warm water to get my tears in order, and went to get a new, blue top on. I looked back at my scars and bruises. Makeup.
After thoroughly covering my beatings, I looked at myself again in the mirror and whispered.
"I'm ok. This is fine." I knew it was a lie. Nothing about this was fine. But it's better to be positive right? At least that's what I'm going with.
I grabbed my bag, and opened the door, letting in the cool air that nipped at my nose and fingers. I stepped out and looked around for Percy.
He wasn't outside yet, so I decided to sit on the bench across from the building and wait for him.
About 10 minutes later, he came out of his building.
"Hey Wise Girl. You ok?"
"Yea just tired." I lied.
I could tell he wasn't buying it, but he didn't ask about it. Instead, he bowed in front of me and stuck out his hand.
"Shall we?"
A smile grew on my face and I laughed a little before responding, "We shall."

DANG THAT TOOK SO MUCH LONGER THAN EXPECTED. And I know that the first half is not great I was in HEAVY writers block. Im so so SO sorry for the wait.
(Ken- oh sorry. AMARA, you can stop bugging me now)
P.S The thing about Amara is a joke with a friend.
Anyways, special thanks to @5000stars for reading! She has an amazing novel Curiosity and its really good so check her out!
Also, if you want to include your story in a competition, check out The Waterfall Awards hosted by @galaxy_away! You can find more about it on her message board if you are interested!
Thank you so so SO very much for reading! In the time it took for this chapter to be written this story has gotten to over 500 reads! I truly appreciate all of you! Have an amazing day loves! Bye! ❤️