Hey guys! Hope you enjoy my story

Disclaimer:All rights go to Rick Riordan!

Percy POV

Why did life have to be so hard…why did my family leave me….why am I stuck with my evil step father…..why does he beat me….why can't I run away…..why can't I sit in a hole and die…why, because I can't, as Gabe says 'life's not fair kid, suffer like a man and get over it!'

I'm Percy Jackson and I'm 12 years old, I live with my step father Gabe and my god sister Rose, she's 4 months younger than me. Rose came to live with my mum and me when she was 5, when her parents died in a car crash. It was fun for a while, then my Mum met Gabe and everything went down hill.

My Mum soon died in a Fire at work, when I was 8 and Gabe got lots of compensation. Gabe took out his anger on us.

At night we get locked in our shared bedroom and try and fix our wounds. He seemed to hate Rose more than me, he would kick and punch me till I was black and blue, but he would kick Rose to the ground and use his belt on her.

I try to heal her long scars across her back, but it didn't matter, more always came. He's only used the belt twice on me before and it was excruciating pain. But somehow Rose takes the pain, she never cries out because we both know that if we do he will just beat us more.

Every night Rose cries herself to sleep, she cannot lie on her back and if she flips onto her back in her sleep, she starts to cry again, very silent sobbing. I try to comfort her, stay strong myself and don't cry but sometimes it's just too hard.

Rose and I start high school soon, Gabe doesn't normally let us out, at all. But today he seemed in a better mood. Gabe gave as £50 to share to get our new school stuff, I thought I could maybe also get some cream or something for our scars, well mainly Roses.

People gave us weird looks as we walked through the mall. I guess you don't see two filthy kids everyday. Rose's long blonde hair was tangled and messy and my black hair was always a mess anyway. Not once has my hair met a brush, even before my mum died. I looked into one of the shop windows and Roses stopped beside me.

I stared at our reflection, our clothes we tight to our skin several sizes to small, it showed of our skinny body's, a skin was covered in a layer of dirt, I had a small cut above my eyebrow and Rose had a cut on her cheek. My bright sea green like the ocean and her bright sky blue eyes sparkled with hope that someone would help use. If someone looked at us they would see two kids that were probably playing in the park and a little accident not two abused kids. I dragged Rose away from the window.

I saw other kids with their parents, probably getting their new school stuff but end up getting the latest toys. I had no toys, such a word wasn't used in our 'house', we weren't ever allowed to watch the TV or touch the remote. That was just the way life was for us.

I got a plain green school bag which came with a pencil case, Rose got the same in blue. We were walking past the shops and I saw a sign saying '50% off'. I dragged Rose towards the shop and got us some clothes that actually fit as well us a pair of trainers each.

I found a shop that sold pens and pencil and got us enough to fill our pencil cases. We passed the food court, the smell made our mouths water. Rose went up and got us a double cheese burger each. It was one of the best meals I had ever had.

I don't know how we had enough money for all the stuff we bought, I even got a small amount of cream to fix some of our bigger scars. It must have been 4pm by the time we got 'home'. The house reeked of alcohol and smoke. Gabe was sitting on the couch focused on the TV. "About time you two got home," Gabe said still watching the TV, "thought you two might have run off again!" We didn't answer, we both knew better. We both tried to run away twice before, both resolved in a painful beating. Since then there's has been locks put on every door and window and all sharp objects have been put out of our reach.

"Go two your room Percy, I'll speak to you later. Rose you stay here I got a job for you." I looked a Rose, silently asking if she would be alright, she nodded slowly. I walked towards our room, I turned around at the door and gave Rose a smile, she smiled back. I walked through the door and shut the door behind me; it locked on its own.

LINE BREAK

"Now, Rose I have a job for you," said Gabe, his eyes twinkling with evil and a smug smile on his face. I knew what that look, he has that same look before he slips of his belts and pushes me forcefully to the ground. I closed my eyes and bite down on my lip so i don't scream and waited for the pain to come, but Gabe had different plans.

Gabe dragged me out the door his hand firmly gripped around my wrist. Gabe roughly pushed me into the back of his car and started driving down the road, rather fast.

"Where are we going?" I asked timidly.

"You're going to start earning money and if you don't, I'll get your brother to do it." Gabe replied as he threw a plastic bag full of small orange tablets into the back seat.

"You want me to sell drugs?" I chocked out the words.

"You got a problem with that?" Gabe asked, finally turning around to look me in the eye.

"No sir," I stuttered.

"Good," he said, as he turned back around to watch the road, still not dipping from 110MPH in a 70MPH zone. I sat back in my seat with no seat belt. The seat-belts broke a few years ago and Gabe didn't bother to replace them.

I stared out the car window gripping the door handle tightly for 2 reasons:

1. The door sometimes fly's open when Gabe drives really fast, and with no seat-belt I would fly right out into oncoming traffic.

2. I can see out of the window better, when the handle holds me upright.

Percy's all been the tall one even when we were little, right now he is 5ft6 and I'm only 5ft0, and he loves to pick on me for it.

Gabe stopped the car suddenly, in a dark alley. "Get out," he hissed at me. I quickly scrambled out of the car, while Gabe stayed in. he rolled down the window, "Walk to the end of the alley, turn left, walk about 2 blocks and you should meet Eddie he'll take you the rest of the way. Now no running off or you'll know what will happen," and with that he drove away leaving me in the dark.

Eddie was on of Gabe's nicer poker buddies, but now I know he wasn't nice natured, he was probably just high all the time.

I started to walk out of the alley. I realised it was darker than before, it was probably 7 or 8 o'clock by now. Its strange how time travels, it travels fast when you've had a great day with your brother, but take decades when you're getting a beating from your guardian.

I came to the end of the alley, was it left or right again, let's say left I thought as I turned.

When I thought about drug dealers, not that I thought about them a lot, manly in the hour or so, I always thought it would be in roughed up neighbour hoods, not regular streets with perfect lawns and family cars. It would be nice to live a house, not an apartment. It would feel like a family home then I started to laugh, family, home, I haven't heard or even used that word for so long. It felt strange on the tip of my tongue.

I looked back at the houses as I walked past, children's toys were left over the lawn. There is another word I don't use toys or even have any for that matter.

I saw Eddie ahead leaning on a lamp post, drinking a bottle of bear. He was a large man, fat but not seriously overweight unlike some of his other poker buddies. He wore baggie jeans, an old band t shirt from probably the 70's that I'd never heard of. He had a massive leather jacket that if I put on, it probably would do way past my knees.

"Hey kid," too late to back out now.

So there you go, not as long as other chapters I've done but hey what can you do.