A/N. The actions committed by the characters in the chapter are carried out in this manner for plot purposes only. This is not a recommendation of how to deal with situations like this. Again, they are for plot purposes only. If you are dealing with situations like this one, there are resources that you can use depending on where you live. I hope everybody is doing well and that you are having a great weekend.

I want to thank you everyone who reads and supports this story. In the last three days, I have had over three thousand reads. I never thought this story would be still read. I am so thankful and I appreciate every single one of you for reading. Thank you all so much. I'm planning to update twice a week from now on, if my exam schedule can support it. Thanks and comment, favourite, review.

Annabeth knew where to find Percy at the end of the day. The conclusion she had come to had been bothering her ever since she figured it out, but she didn't want to believe it was true. It should not be. After what he had told her at the party on Saturday, when he opened up about his family life, mostly talking about his amazing mother, she found it hard to believe that his mother would let him be hurt like this. She knew he often got into trouble, ever since his father died. She knew he had a stepfather, however briefly Percy had mentioned him and by that she meant that he had only mentioned him once simply by stating he had one, giving her no other information whatsoever. So how could such an amazing mother like his, if she was truly as she had been described by her son, choose to live with a man who could hurt her child like the way Annabeth thought he might be hurting Percy? How could she let her husband hurt her only child? Unless, of course, she did not know. The more she thought about it the more it made sense. Percy always getting in trouble in the past, the way he distanced himself from everyone, the bruise on his eye, the way he praised his mother and yet barely talked about her husband... the way he flinched when she squeezed his shoulder, it all lead her to believe that Percy Jackson was being abused at home, not by his mother, but by the man she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with.

As she approached the music cubicles, she heard a beautiful, yet sad, melody ring through the halls. She was assuming that Percy had left the door open again as the rooms were usually soundproof. She slowly made her way to where he was playing and waited for him to be finished. Watching him play, it was like nothing she had ever seen before. He looked like he belonged in this moment, having been perfectly crafted to play this instrument. As his fingers danced along the keys, there was an elegance to him she never thought she could ever witness. His facial expressions mirrored the melody through the emotions he conveyed, his movements seeming completely natural and effortless. It was immaculate. The aura of peace that reigned in the room when he finished was something she did not want to disturb, it would almost feel wrong to do so. But she knew she had no choice. It had to be now. She opened the door slightly wider to be able to get in but before she could even say anything to make him notice her presence, the hinges of the door creaked slightly doing that for her. His head snaps in her direction and she looks almost ashamed for disturbing his peace. Almost. But Annabeth was a headstrong, driven women. If she wanted something done, it got done and this conversation needed to happen.

"Why can't you people ever leave me alone?" Percy asks, breaking the silence that had set between them. She takes a deep breath, stepping forward and closing the door behind her.

"Because we care about you." She says moving slightly closer as Percy scoffs. She glares slightly as he does so, annoyed at his disbelief in her words.

"Care about me? You don't even know me... none of you do" He says, whisper the last part. She almost didn't hear him but she was glad that she did.

"I know you. Maybe not on a deeper personal level but I do know you. I know you are dyslexic. I know you have a mother who loves you. I know she's basically your entire world other than music. I know your father died when you were young... and I know that you have a step father, who for some reason, thinks it's okay to hurt and abuse a great guy like you, an amazingly gifted man who doesn't deserve that kind of pain and suffering." She says, and her words held nothing but the truth. Nobody deserved to suffer something like this. Percy was so kind, something she could tell from the little time she had been able to spend with him, and he was one of the most gifted musicians she had ever had the pleasure to witness.

Percy tensed up, his body reflecting the shock he felt at her confession, his reaction letting her know that she had been right about her conclusions on the matter. A million thoughts were going through his head right now. How did she know? Had she told anybody? Did she think he was weak now? Was she pitying him for his current situation?

"Jason told me what he saw yesterday Percy and I guess I was able to piece everything else together from your behaviour and what you told me.." She says taking a seat next to him after he doesn't say anything. He moves away from her, going to stand in the corner of the room not knowing what to do with himself at the moment. Annabeth takes his silence as an invitation to continue speaking.

"I haven't told anybody yet, because I wasn't sure. But I am now... Percy, you don't have to keep going through this... You can... You can talk to people, you can tell the police... they can take care of this for you." She says trying to show him that he had options. How long had this been going on and how long would he keep letting it happen? She didn't know but she felt like he should know it didn't have to go on for another second.

"Tell the police? He would tell them I'm a liar, that my bruises come for fights because I'm a troubled kid. My so-called history is proof of that! You know nothing of how this feels, about how hard it is for me everyday to know that when I go home, I'm not safe as long as he is there. I have to do this. I have to do this because nobody would believe me. If I told, if I wrong him in anyway, he would go after my mother! I have to go through this so she won't have to! I can't let him hurt her! If I told, he knows they would blame her for bringing him into my life and they would take me away from her! I can't... I won't ever let that happen!" He yells at her, tears forming in his eyes, slowly trailing down his cheeks as he rants off about why he lets Gabe treat him the way he does. He did not have a choice. Whatever choice Annabeth thought he thought he had, he didn't. No matter how he went about it, his mom would end up getting hurt, or he would end of up getting hurt even more than he did. Everything he said, he believed to be true and Annabeth could see that. But she knew that there was no way he should have to suffer through this. She didn't want him to. But what could she do? She knew she wanted to convince him that he should still try to find a way out of this but how could she when he was so dead set on his beliefs? Annabeth felt like she was backed up against a wall where her gut and her head were telling her that Percy was being unreasonable and she had to tell someone. There was no way she should keep quiet about this. To keep Percy and his mother safe, it was important for that man to find himself being bars as soon as possible. But her heart went out to him, understanding how much pain this could bring him. He believed firmly in what he had said and, to her, all the possibilities he had listed could happen. But there were also other possibilities, possibilities Percy had not thought of. So what if she went to the police? Would they even believe her? She barely had any contact with Percy, she had never witnessed the abuse, she barely had proof of anything. It was possible it would not hold up, and that could put Percy in more trouble with his step-father. Annabeth did not know what to do at this point. She looked down at her hands and let out sigh.

"Is this the reason why you have been avoiding us? Because he did something or said something to you that made you act this way towards us?" She says, changing the subject slightly since she did not know how to respond to what he had said. Percy looks over at the blonde, his heart pounding in his chest. He wipes away his tears quickly, sniffling slightly. Should he tell her what happened? She already knew, but could he trust her with more? Could he trust her at all? She looks up at him, meeting his gaze. She could tell he was hesitant about opening up to her, and she understood that very well. It was only normal for him to have so many walls put up around him because of what he was going through. But she wanted him to know that he could trust her and so she told him.

"You can trust me Percy, I promise I won't tell anybody if that is what you want me to do, even if I still think you should." She says just trying to get him to open up to him. She feared the worse with this promise. What if his step father took things too far one night and Percy ended up seriously injured... What if he ended up dead because of this? Annabeth didn't even want to think of the other possible 'what if' situations her promise would lead to but she knew that if it did go that far, if Percy ended up seriously hurt, she would not hesitate to go to the police, no matter what he wanted. However, right now what mattered most to her right now was trying to get the man in front of her to a healthier and better state of mind, because that maybe, if she did so, he could see the situation from her perspective and do something about it. The determined look in her eyes made him believe her and he felt, despite his initial instinct, that he could trust her. Maybe it would be better to be able to open up to someone about this, to be able to talk to her whenever he needed to, to know that someone out there was looking out for him.

"When I got home on Saturday night, Gabe was awake... it was the worst beating I ever took... On some level, initially, I blamed you guys because if I had not gone to the party, maybe it would not have been so bad or it might not even have happened. Of course, it didn't take me too long to realize how much of an idiot I was being. It wasn't your fault... but mine... for staying out too late and for angering him." Percy explains looking down at his feet, his hands in his pocket. Annabeth's heart almost breaks at the confession. Right now, yes she did feel partially responsible. He was right, if they hadn't kept him out, it might not have happened, but she knew it was really Gabe's fault. That son of a bitch would not have even considered laying a hand on Percy if he was a decent human being. She stood up, walking over to the corner he was standing in.

"Percy... don't you dare blame yourself. Your step-father… what he is doing is not your fault. You are not the one responsible for this, he is. Any normal parent would just... ground you at the most but that man... that man is taking it too far. This is on him Percy, not on you. Please understand that." She says putting her hands on his shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him. He took a deep breath nodding. He understood what she meant. He knew it was never the victim's fault. He had heard so many counsellors preach this when they came into certain classes to talk about bullying and abuse but he felt that this was one of the occasions that could have been avoided if he had chosen to act differently. He could not stop thinking about how different things would be if that had been the case. Noticing that Percy still seemed to be having some kind of internal conflict, she pulled him into a hug trying to be as comforting as possible. She did not want him to feel alone in this, because he would not be. At first, Percy was surprised at her hug, tensing slightly but he eventually gave in, knowing she had the best of intentions.

"You don't have to go through this alone Percy. I promise."