Chapter 7

POV: Percy

My alarm clock sounded across the room, letting me know I better get up or my mother was gonna get me up herself. Living with my parents can be frustrating, but it's better than missing classes, and at the moment that's all I felt like doing. You see I am what some in the medical community might call, severely depressed.

My depression wasn't natural though it was created along with my anxiety, paranoia, and PTSD by a monster. For the first 8 years of my life it was only my mother and I. She worked a lot to take care of me and often left me with babysitters or aunts and uncles. Despite that, my mom would either ignore or decline any financial help from my dad's side of the family.

My father died at sea when I was just 9 months old, leaving my mother to fend for herself. I don't resent him, at least not anymore, but it was hard not to when Gabe entered our lives. Gabe Ugliano was my stepfather from the ages of 8 to 16. There was no love in the marriage between him and my mother. She needed money to raise a kid and he wanted a personal servant for when he was drunk.

I didn't like the guy to begin with but soon found out that he was even worse than what he showed before marriage. About a year after they got married, Gabe started to beat me. At first it only happened when he was drunk, and he would always apologize for it. However after losing his job when I was 11, he didn't seem to care whether he was sober or not. He would beat me after every failed interview, every botched job, and every sunken business deal.

Gabe was a monster yes, but he was a monster we needed to have around. Without him, my mother and I would've been homeless and starving. So I let him beat me, making him swear he wouldn't touch my mother if I let him use me like a punching bag. He agreed at first and everything seemed to go smoothly, or as smoothly as possible when I'm going to school with cuts on my back and Bruises anywhere that my clothing covered.

One day when I was in my sophomore year of high school, I came home to find my mom on the ground, holding her stomach in pain while Gabe stood over her, eyes bloodshot and veins popping. For the first time in my life I had felt a rush of courage to stand up to Gabe. I rushed over, shocking him in the jaw so hard that he fell back and hit his head on the wall. He was out like a light and I immediately called the police to get my mother help.

That was the last time I saw Gabe without handcuffs on, but my brain still feels his presence all around me. He haunts my thoughts and prevents me from sleeping more than four hours a night. He makes me question my every mood, constantly yelling the back of my mind insults and slurs to try and bring me down. He and his actions prevent me from trusting my mother's boyfriend Paul. Gabe is gone but his influence has continued to haunt me for years.

Still despite everything holding me back, I worked myself out of bed and threw on a fake smile to greet my mom. Everything I did, I did it for her, to honor her sacrifice for me to live. If not for myself I'd do anything for her.

I made my way down to the kitchen where my mother sat at the table reading a book and sipping her morning coffee. I leant down and placed a kiss on her temple, "Morning mom."

"Good morning Percy," she replied, not taking her eyes off the book. She had been working on writing her book for years but had recently hit a bit of writer's block. She said she needed to read in order to find inspiration, but I really think she just wanted an excuse to catch up on the books she had missed. "Will you be here for dinner tonight? Paul is coming over and I'm making fajitas."

I grabbed a blueberry muffin and a banana, before starting to walk towards the door, "I'll be there mom. I've gotta go though, I promised I'd meet up with Jason and Leo before class."

Making my way out of my apartment building, I found myself on the busy New York streets. Snow was piled up along the curb, honking could be heard for miles, and most importantly, a homeless man was peeing on the stoop three doors down from mine. Ah New York. Couldn't live without her.

I popped in my headphones and started making my way to the diner just off of NYU campus. Jason and I were still in college while Leo, being the smart-ass that he is, had already graduated last year from MIT. Still almost once a week, the three of us would get together and have breakfast at the diner.

I walked into the restaurant and spotted Leo sitting at our usual booth in the back corner. I made my way back towards him weaving in and out of the tables, avoiding the wait staff so they didn't drop anything. I sat across from Leo, plucking one earbud out. "Morning Repair Boy. Surprised you woke up in time."

"Funny Aquaman, but I'll have you know that I overslept on purpose last time. Now where is Superman? I'm hungry and don't think I can wait much longer," Leo said absent-mindedly scanning the menu for the diner which he had eaten at, at least fifty times by now. "I'm thinking about the crepes, what do you think?"

"We both know that you'll end up getting choco chip pancakes, I'll get the blueberry waffles, and Jason will get the meat lovers omelet. We're predictable at this point," I pointed out. Leo gave me a playful glare before returning his attention to the menu. Soft folk music played over the speakers and the wait staff bustled around, hurrying through the breakfast rush.

Suddenly our waitress appeared next to our table. She was average height and build with brown hair and forest green eyes. Her named tag read "Katie" but we didn't need to see that. She served us almost every time we came in.

"Good Morning boys. What can I get you? The usual?" She asked. She seemed busy so I told her that would be fine with me and the same for Jason. He wasn't there yet but I knew he wouldn't mind.

"Uh, I think I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes. Oh and a side of hash browns!" Leo answered finally.

"Hash browns? Really expanding your palate aren't ya?" Katie asked. She picked up the menus and took them back to the hostess stand before returning to the kitchen. Leo and I sat in silence for a while while waiting for Jason. It's not that we didn't get along just the two of us, but it seemed as if we both had our thoughts occupied.

I don't know about his brain but mine was running a million miles an hour focused on two things. One was Gabe. He had been haunting my dreams more and more recently and I was scared of what that meant. The other was Wise Girl. A couple days ago I went to a party with Jason and proceeded to forget everything I did for most of the night. I remember glimpses of gray eyes and honey blonde hair.

When I asked Jason the next day if he had seen me with anyone that night all he said was yes but he didn't know who she was. I thought about her a lot trying to remember anything that may help me figure out who she was. The only thing I remembered was me repeatedly saying wise girl throughout the night. On a whim I checked my contacts and found her in there. I sent her a message and she had responded later that day. Now I was unsure of what my next step was. I mean I barely knew what she looked like, let alone anything about her.

Lost in my thoughts I barely recognized Jason making his way over to Leo and me. He took a seat across from me, next to Leo. "What did you order me, Percy?"

He looked tired, and had large bags under his eyes. I've known Jason for a long time and this was easily the most distraught looking I've ever seen him. "Good Morning to you to Sunshine," he flipped me the finger at that, "I ordered you your usual don't worry."

We chatted briefly about classes before Katie brought over our meals. Once we all had our usuals and hot cups of coffee in front of us we started to dig in. Through bites we began a new conversation, one that focused on dating.

"So how are you and Reyna?" Leo questioned Jason. Jason had briefly dated this woman named Reyna a couple months back and Jason hasn't stopped pining for her after she ended things.

"And what about Piper?" I asked. She was the other girl Jason was in love with. He refused to admit this to me but I could tell. Anytime she was around, Jason began to stutter and blush profusely. He also had a bad habit of licking his lip scar when he was nervous.

"Wait, you like Piper?" Leo asked, obviously wanting info to tease his old friend with.

"I don't know man. Reyna was supposed to be at that party the other night but I never saw her," he said to Leo, pointedly ignoring my question. He knew he was into Piper. Anyone with eyes could see that the man was head over heels. But he wouldn't acknowledge it until he got over the idea of Reyna. Jason thought Reyna was perfect in theory, but everything time they were together ended up feeling like a formal meeting rather than two people falling for each other.

I gave Leo a Get a load of this guy look and continued to eat my breakfast. The three of us were unusually quiet today. I guess we all had a lot to think about today. By the end of our meal I was full and exhausted. My class didn't start for another two hours so I made my way to my mom's coffee shop, Godly Nectar.

My mom started the coffee shop 15 years ago, hoping to be able to provide for her and I while maintaining her independence. Unfortunately for us a massive recession hit not too long after the shop opened and she was forced to marry Gabe in order to keep the shop going while providing for me.

I walked into the shop and breathed in deep, taking in the aroma of coffee and pastries. I saw my mom working behind the counter with my personal favorite employee here, Annabeth. She hated me with a passion though I wasn't entirely sure why. Sure I'd come in late and tease her a bit, but it was only because she made it so fun to do. I had actually made sure my mother didn't tell Annabeth that I was her son so I could continue to mess with her.

"Annabeth!" I yelled across the shop waving at her. She dropped the cup she was holding and had thankfully cold coffee slosh all over her. She gave me a burning glare mouthing a quiet Fuck you to me. "Sorry!" I called, but my laughter probably didn't help sell it. I made eye contact with my mom and she gave me a sly grin before turning back to the customers. There were seats open on the loft above the main shop area so I made my way up there and grabbed a spot.

Finally settled in, I began to work on an essay I had due the next day for my art history course. Now I'll admit I'm not the best student but I do try to get my work done on time and I really do want to make my mother proud. Lost in thought I began typing away unaware of someone walking up behind me and reading over my shoulder.

"It's Florence not Rome," a female voice said over my shoulder. The voice was light but had a slight edge to it that told you she was ready with a comeback at a moment's notice.

Being the smart man that I am, I responded with, "Huh?" and turned around to face the blonde haired girl.

"Florence was the center of the Renaissance in Italy, not Rome. The Medici family of Florence funded quite a few of the pieces and were a major reason for the rebirth in Italy," Annabeth said nonchalantly, while also reading from a book she was carrying.

"Oh, uh, thanks?" I was confused on how else to respond. I thought she didn't like me but right now she was moving to sit across from me and had just fixed my essay from an instant fail.

"You're welcome. But since I helped you I want you to answer a question for me," Annabeth declared. "Why in the fuck are you always messing with me?"