Skyler
The second I wake up, I open my eyes and search for my best friend. When I catch sight of him calmly perched on the edge of the bed I was lying it, chatting with a Percy, I tackle him to the floor, where after a few seconds of disorientation, pins me down.
"Okay," He pants. "I get it. You're pissed." He pauses and swallows nervously. "Admittedly, you have every right to be."
"No shit!" I hiss back, furious. I'm thrashing in his grip, and he straddles me to keep me from kneeing him where it'll hurt, since he knows better than to leave that open.
"Can I at least explain?" He pleads, fingers tightening just as I was managing to slip through his vice-like grip. I stop struggling, settling for a venomous glare. He chews on his lip for a moment, eyes dancing somewhere to my left as he debates something. The sound of Percy's foot tapping makes him curse under his breath, before meeting my glare reluctantly.
"What would you say if I told you I wasn't a hundred percent…human?" He asks slowly, gauging my reaction. I snorted.
"I'd tell you to stop watching those shitty old sci-fi films and let me take you to a real movie for once." I shoot back easily, even more pissed that he's joking at a time like this.
He head drops, and he sighs. A prick of uncertainty flows through me at this, as he's rarely this serious. When he looks back up, his eyes are sad.
"Skyler, I'm not who you think I am. I've been lying to you this entire time, and I'm sorry. I wasn't lying about how I felt, or what I did, only who I was. I know this doesn't make any sense, but it will. When we get to Camp. I'll explain on the way, but you need to trust me, and please, promise to try and forgive me once you understand?" He's breathless at the end, and he sucks his lip back in his mouth afterwards, playing nervously with the piercings as he waits for my response.
I stare at him incredulously. I want to believe he's joking, but he's a terrible actor and he's watching me apprehensively, eyes growing steadily wider and desperate. I can't take it anymore, and I squeeze my eyes shut and turn my face away. I'm so confused by what I remember, I don't even know where to start.
Sensing I'm no longer a threat, he releases me, letting me curl up into a ball and consider my sanity. I can hear Percy say something, and Nico reply, but I don't bother listening. Instead, I pick idly at a crack in the hardwood floor of my bedroom.
It's that thought that sends me shooting into a sitting position, eyes flying around the room.
"No," I breathe softly. "Oh, no…" I draw out the vowel, almost wailing. Nico's at my side in a millisecond, but I'm already standing. I pull him quickly to his feet, propelling him to the door.
"We can't be here. Oh my god, we seriously can't be here. Why are we here? We can't be here!" I ramble frantically, grabbing Percy next and shoving him out of my door and towards the front door. "Go, go! We have to go!" I scream, pushing both boys forwards. I ignore the pain of continuously stepping on what had been a healing ankle, and we're almost at the door when I hear it.
In between both boys' questioning, I hear it.
Over my labored breathing as I begin to hyperventilate again, I can still hear it.
The unmistakable sound of a key in the lock.
I freeze, clamping a hand over each boys mouth. I hear the tumblers click, and I gasp out a curse before stumbling back the way we'd come, dragging them with me. I press a finger to my lips, locking my bedroom door behind us just as I hear the front door bang against the wall. It slams shut, and then there's silence. Silence deep enough to hear a caterpillar sneeze.
And then it starts.
"Sky-ler!" She calls in a sing-song voice, drawing out the syllables.
"Fuck." I mumble hoarsely. "Oh, shit. Hide." The last word is near hysteria, directed at the two boys. Percy's completely lost, Nico's wide-eyed and shocked, but he has enough mind to tug Percy back and shove him in my bathroom, shutting the door before her slips into my closet. Just as he pulls the door shut, there's pounding on the one I'd locked.
"Skyler, you little brat. I know you're in there!" 'Brat' is said in a grating voice, the rest in the same sing-song, pleasant voice she loves to use when she's high. Slowly, I unlock the door, and I notice my hands shaking as I pull it open. I'm praying she just wants to yell at me, so that the two boys I know are watching through the hole wear the once was a lock on my bathroom and the slats in the closet door won't do anything stupid.
She's stand firmly, for her, which is swaying for the rest of us. Her bleached, stringy hair is piled up in a messy bun, blood-shot brown eyes glaring down through slightly-wrinkled overly-tanned skin, over a slightly turned up nose that I inherited. The thin lips I'm glad I somehow missed in the transference of genetics are pulled into a sharp line when she sees my disheveled appearance. I know my hair, dyed inky black, is messy and tangled, my make-up running and sticky, and my lips trembling with the rest of me.
Her smile is sickly, and as I notice the empty bottle hanging limply from her long fingers, I wince. Her smile widens, and her arm lifts, winding back. I jerk sideways, and the bottle smashes against the wall above my bed. She frowns angrily, and a stinging slap sends my ears ringing.
"How dare you skip school, you ungrateful little bitch!" She screams, taking a step forward as I stumble back. I tumble purposely in front of the closet door, where I heard a gasp from moments before.
"What the fuck?" Nico breathes, and I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment before replying equally as quiet.
"Please, whatever you do, don't interfere. It'll just make it worse." I tell him, the last syllable morphing into a scream as I'm pulled up by my hair to face her. She reeks of alcohol, and her eyes are slightly un focused and glazed from the pot I know she smokes, among other things.
"Money." She rasps. "Where's my money?"
I gulp. I don't have time to work full-time with school, but I find a way, because how else am I going to pay the rent? So I'd been taking night shifts at a diner nearby and doing odd jobs like washing cars, mowing lawn, walking dogs, and babysitting for the past two years.
Her greedy gaze follows my hand as I dig it into my back picket, handing her the two hundred I'd made this week. She snatches the money and drops me unceremoniously to the ground. She counts quickly - because even as intoxicated and influenced she is, she can still fully comprehend money- before her grin drops to a sneer. Before I realize what happens, I'm rolling sideways and curling into a ball and she screams.
"Two hundred? That's it? You little bitch! You've stolen again, haven't you?" I can't help little yelps as her foot connects with every other word, nor the tears streaming down my face. I see the closet door begin to open, so I crawl as quick as I can over and curl up in front.
"Skyler, don't be fucking stupid!" He hisses, and I don't say anything, my mind swimming with pain, leaving me dazed. I concentrate, blocking out the pain as I'd had so much practice doing, until I feel numb.
"I didn't steal." I say defiantly, carefully watching her every move as she stands, breathing heavily in the middle of my room and glaring. "You made me stay home to take care of you when you threw up Tuesday. I had to call in sick."
She sputters, angrily, before screaming how it's no excuse before stomping out of my room and slamming the door, but not before she catches sight of the picture propped so carefully on my dresser. She grabs it, turning to look at me, a sadistic smile on her face. I'm sitting up now, and I bolt forward, reaching for it. She yanks it back, out of my reach, and cackles disturbingly.
"Is this your boyfriend?" She taunts, dangling the frame just past the tips of my fingers. It's a photo, taken last year. It's in a forest near our house, when the group of my friends and I had decided to explore. It's autumn, and the leaves are orange and fluttering down, and Nico and I are in the center of the path. We're both smiling, holding hands as he tenderly places a kiss on my lips. I'm barely standing, and his hand on my hip is the only thing holding me steady. I can feel the tears rushing down, and I choke back a sob.
"Please," I beg brokenly, reaching again. Her expression turns furious, and she flicks her wrist, sending the picture flying across my room. It slams into the wall, the glass shattering and the frame breaking. Finally broken, I fall forward in a mess of tears. She'd broken everything else I'd valued that I'd been stupid enough to leave out, and I'd forgotten to hide that picture after I'd taken it out last night.
She leaves, the slamming door making the windows rattle and the sound reverberate through my hand painfully. There's a few breathless seconds where nothing moves and I don't even dare to breathe, and then the front door slams as well and I let myself really cry.
The closet door bangs open, and Nico's pulling me into his arms in an instant. Percy's gingerly picking his way through my room, probably letting the realization set in that the rust on the metal frame of my bed isn't rust, and the stains on my floor that won't go away no matter how much I scrub aren't dirt or soda. No one's ever been to my house, not even Nico, though he knows where it is since he picks me up downstairs sometimes.
I'm shaking, and his arms are clamped tight to stop me. I stretch and turn, loosening his grip until I can crawl over to wear the remains of the picture lay. Ignoring the shards of glass, I pick the photo out of the mess, not even noticing the cuts I get sweeping off the bits on the photo. I feel hands below my arms, and Nico hauls me up and away from the broken remains and into a warm hug.
Not bothering to be modest and knowing I'm not thinking straight, I bawl my heart out into his shoulder, clutching the picture tight in one hand. Again, I don't bother listening when Percy talks, nor when he replies. He has to say my name a few times and tug me away a little before I realize he wants something. Swallowing my tears, I pull myself back together and stare up questioningly.
"I said, we need to get you away from here, and we need to get you to camp. Pack your stuff, sweetheart, you don't have to come back here again." He tells me, thumbs wiping the remains of my tears away. I'm dumbfounded, taking in his words.
When they finally sink in, I let a grin spread across my face. "I don't have to come back?" I ask uncertainly, but I can't help smiling. I was never one to hold delusions, and I know my mother hates me. I've never pretended to love her, merely doing as she asks to avoid trouble. Even the thought of leaving her forever is euphoria-inducing. I don't know what he means by 'camp,' and at this point, I don't even care.
He returns my smile, though his is considerably strained and sadder, and it doesn't reach his eyes. "Never." He promises. I can't help it, that simple word, that promise, sends a shiver down my spine and I gasp involuntarily. I'm frozen for a moment, before pulling away from the hands cupping my face and darting towards my bed.
I know I'm stepping on glass, and I know I'm barefoot, but I don't even feel it as I pull out the duffle bag and toss it on top of my bed. Quickly and easily, I empty the contents of my dresser into it, before finding the loose floorboard in the corner and pulling out my valuables, consisting of a few photos and the fifty dollars I'd saved up.
I pile everything into the bag, zipping it shut. The whole process taking maybe ten minutes. I turn back to the boys, who I hadn't noticed had been talking again, and slip between them to grab my shoes. I head back to my bed, plopping down and going to pull my socks when I finally notice the pain.
Of course, then it's a domino effect leading me to notice the rest of the pain. So of course, I gasp and promptly faint.
A/N: Hi. Review?