Read and Review. All rights go to Rick Riordan.

"Annabeth!" I heard my uncle yell. He sounded really angry. Not good.

I barreled down the stairs, wincing as the bruises decided to hurt. I walked into the kitchen to find Uncle Jack glowering at me from across the island in the middle of the room.

Before anything else, I'll give you a little history. My mother left my father when I was a baby. Six years later, he married another woman and they had twins, Matthew and Bobby. My stepmother hated me. She would lock me in my room at night and blame me for every single mishap that went on around the house. The spilled wine, the minuscule rip in the curtains.

My dad never even stood up for me. I ran away when I was seven. I spent a year and a half on the streets, stealing food and clothes and hiding out in abandoned buildings or alleyways. One day, a man found me and asked who my parents were. I told him I didn't have any. He brought me to his house and said to call him Uncle Jack

He seemed so nice the first couple of months. He fed me, bought me clothes, tucked me in at night, and acted like the fatherly figure I craved.

But I should have known that my happiness wouldn't last. Everything began going downhill. If I made the slightest mistake, he would hit me. I tried to run away when I was ten, but he nearly killed me. I sat in the corner the rest of the day, unable to move, all bloody and bruised and in pain.

He often starved me. I was lucky to get a a decent meal once a week.

Now here I am, sixteen years old and still abused. It had become a routine. Wake up in the morning, get a beating. Skip breakfast and head to school. Come home from school, get a beating. Finish my homework, skip dinner, get a beating. Shower, go to bed, repeat.

It kept getting worse and worse. In the beginning, they were just slaps. That gradually became punches and kicks as well, now he's resided to using household objects as weapons. Beer bottles, broomsticks, even his old baseball bat that he tells people is a collectors item.

So, life is terrible. But I'm used to it. This brings us back to the present.

Uncle Jack was glaring at me from behind the island. "Get in here," He growled.

I calmed my nerves and stepped towards him. He slapped my cheek. I clutched it and he grabbed my wrist. He brought his knee up to my stomach. I winced as he hit an old bruise that was just beginning to fade. I was thrown into the wall and kicked in the ribs. I was punched an slapped and helpless. I didn't scream or cry. I was going to be strong. That's one of my strengths. Annabeth Chase does NOT cry.

Uncle Jack pulled me up by my hair. "What is this?" He asked me menacingly. He steered me to look at the countertop where I had left my water glass.

"I… I left my glass on the counter."

He punched me in the stomach. "The heck you did!" Okay, he didn't say heck, but whatever.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Jack. It won't happen again.

"Good. How hard is it, Annabeth, to just do something as simple as put away your glass? First of all, I didn't even say you could have it. Second, you couldn't get off your lazy butt and clean it up!"

I grimaced. Oops.

Uncle Jack dragged me into the living room. He threw me into the wall again and stalked out of the room, giving me a don't-move-or-you're-dead look.

I sat on the ground, catching my breath for a moment. This was the story of my life.

He returned with his trusty baseball bat, hitting his palm with the end of it. I shrunk back, He raised the bat above his head and brought down onto my stomach. He hit my sides and my arms and my legs. "Did you know," he said, "that I was a baseball champ in high school? Best hitter on the team. Of course, I had to give up that dream when I dropped out." He was about to strike me once more but the doorbell rang. He glared at me. "We'll finish this later."

I nodded and hobbled up the stairs to my room. I looked in the mirror and sighed. There were thick, finger shaped bruises on my face and neck, fist marks on my arms, and I didn't even look at my legs. I fumbled around a bit, searching for my makeup. I found it and coated my face with it.

I changed out of my pajamas and into dark blue skinny jeans and a cream colored turtleneck sweater. I brushed my hair and positioned it to cover the part of my neck that peeped out from under my collar. I was glad it was the middle of winter. Now I could wear long clothing to cover everything.

I headed down the stairs and heard my uncle talking to someone.

"No, I don't want to come to the restaurants grand opening!" He said. "It's too expensive!"

I stepped into the hallway to see who had rung the doorbell. What I saw made my breath hitch.

It was a boy around my age, possibly older. He was around six feet tall with messy, raven black hair swept across his forehead. His enchanting sea green eyes were just visible under his hair. His skin, much like mine, was naturally tan. His build was lean, but muscular. A swimmer, maybe?

He looked at me and we made eye contact. Green on gray. The sea and the cloudy sky. He seemed to forget what he was saying and appeared to be catching his breath. He gave me a goofy, lopsided smile. I blushed and returned it with a small but genuine smile. He faced my uncle again and kept talking, but he kept glancing at me and trying to remember what he was saying.

"But sir, if you come to the restaurant, you'll get a discount on your next meal."

"Really?"

"Yes, sir."

Uncle Jack seemed to consider this. "Let me think about it." He began to close the door on the boy but I rushed foreword and held it open. "Uh, Uncle Jack, why don't you go have a drink or something and relax? I'll handle this." My uncle's nostrils flared and he looked about ready to hit me right then and there. However, he just shrugged and gave a phony smile.

"Sure thing, sweetie." He retreated into the kitchen to get some beer.

"Uh, sorry about him," I told the guy in front of me. "He gets in these… moods sometimes." I smiled.

He returned it. "Ah ha. I was just offering a job at that new restaurant opening just down the street from here. I'm going to be a cook there. It's got good pay."

A job opening? I could sure use a job. I love to cook, but even if I was simply waiting on customers I would be happy. Plus, I would be able to get out of the house.

"I'd love to." I blurted. Then I realized he was talking about Uncle Jack. I slapped a hand over my mouth.

The guy laughed. "It's fine, I'm sure my boss would love to have you. I'm Percy, by the way. Percy Jackson."

"Annabeth Chase," I said.

"Annabeth," Percy said. "I like that name. It's got a ring to it."

He was very upfront. I liked that.

I blushed and said, "Thanks, I guess. Yours isn't so bad either."

He smiled. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here?"

"Yeah," I said. "We just got here, as you can see." I gestured to the boxes that I still needed to unpack.

"Right. My mom said something about new people. I'm actually in the apartment building right next to yours."

"Neat." I said.

"Yeah. Which school will you be going to?"

I thought for a moment, trying to remember the name. "I think I'm attending… Goode? Yeah, I'll be a junior this year."

Percy's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Awesome, same here!"

"Oh, good," I said, relieved. "I'll actually have a friend there."

"And I'll have a pretty girl with me for the ride." He winked. I blushed for the third time since he had been here.

He smirked. "Well if you're interested in that job, I should probably get your number," He said. "For the boss if he decides to call you, that is."

"Mmhmm," I said. Do you have a pen?"

"Uh, I don't think… oh! Here." Percy handed me a blue pen. I grabbed his arm and scribbled down my cell phone number. His skin was warm. Awkward, I know, but hey. I was totally crushing on this guy.

"For the boss." I smiled and he winked once more.

"See you around, Annabeth Chase." He brought up his hand and I flinched, only to realize he was waving goodbye. He didn't seem to notice, though, so I smiled nervously and waved back.

"See you on Monday, Percy Jackson."

He gave me one last smile and walked away from the door. I closed it gently and slid down it, sighing. I momentarily forgot about the beating I would get later. I had something else to worry about. I was SO crushing on Percy Jackson.

Hi! It's me, Rose! Not too bad of a first chapter, I guess. We just needed somewhere to start. What do you think of this? Tell us in a review!