Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been able to post in a while. I've been really busy and it's been hard for me to come up with ideas. I know that this chapter may seem like a little bit of a filler, but I once again, didn't have many ideas in mind. Please forgive me. xD So not much to say here except, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I once again, do not own any of the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus books or characters. All rights go to Rick Riordan.

-Blair

Chapter 4

Percy's POV

"Percy! Percy, where are you?" I faintly hear a familiar voice calling my name. My mother.

At first, I think I'm dreaming, then I become aware of my arms wrapped around someone, and the voice becomes louder and more distinct, and I realize I'm awake.

"Percy?"

The door opens to my room and I look over to see my mother's shocked face. Why does she look like that? Then I realize who she's staring at, and I turn my head to see a familiar mass of blonde curls poking out from under the covers.

Annabeth.

"Who. Is. That."

I lift my arms away from Annabeth cautiously, careful not to wake her since she was still snoring softly, and I know she's in pain. I throw the covers off me and stand up, aware that I'm still in my jeans and t-shirt.

"Mom, it's not even close to what it looks like," I begin.

"Oh really? Because I walk in to see some notes on the kitchen table, and then I see you're gone, so I walk upstairs and see you lying in your bed with a girl."

"We just fell asleep!"

She looks at me, crossing her arms, but I notice she's trying to keep a firm, straight face, but the corners of her lips are turned up ever so slightly and her eyes are smiling.

"Mom, you aren't even angry," I laugh quietly.

She starts chuckling, shaking her head. "Actually, I'm not, It's really funny, even though I shouldn't think it is." She motions to Annabeth. "Who's that?" she whispers.

"That's Annabeth... She's a friend from school, we were working on a project for school. You know Mr. Brunner, right? Yeah, well he paired us up. She's going through some hard situations though..."

"I know Mr. Brunner. He's very nice. What situations?"

"Um, don't tell her I told you, because I promised I would never tell, but it's safe to tell you I guess. But her 'boyfriend' is abusing her," I mumble in disgust, putting air quotations around the word boyfriend. "And she can't get away from him."

My mother gasps, covering her mouth with her hands, and I see her eyes are glassy. And I understand why. She went through the same thing for years, and there was no other person to help her.

Annabeth shifts in bed, then groans, and I can tell it's from pain. She sits up from the covers and brushes her messy curls away from her face. My mother and I just stare, my mom's mouth still covered with her hands. Annabeth rubs her eyes and looks around, taking in her surroundings, squinting. When she sees my mother, she gasps and shoots up, then cries out in pain, clutching her side.

"I-I;m so sorry Mrs. Jackson, , I-I..." She trails off, staring at my mother worriedly.

"Oh, my poor baby! I'm so sorry!" my mother screeches, rushing forward and wrapping Annabeth in a tight embrace. Annabeth looks at me, confused.

I mouth, Your side

And she's smart enough to understand my hidden meaning, and obviously she does, because one second she looks shocked and the next she's staring daggers at me. She returns my mom's hug, and after a few seconds, her eyes are glassy, and she starts crying into my mom's shoulder.

My mom comforts her, rubbing her back. "Shh, you poor baby. I know how you feel, it's okay. He won't get away with it anymore."

Annabeth sobs harder when she hears that last line, clutching to my mom for dear life. I feel terrible, I've always liked her, and now I feel like I need to protect her. Luke shouldn't be doing this. Not to my Annabeth. The fact that she believes that I'm like him is painful to hear, because I will never do that to her. She's my princess, that's the way I will treat her. Not the way that Luke Castellan does. That's disgusting, and I love Annabeth way too much to treat her that way.

I just want Annabeth to truly believe that I care about her.

My mom pulls away after a few more moments, wiping some of her own tears. "I'm Sally, by the way. You can always call me Sally. And you're Annabeth?"

Annabeth nods.

"So where's your bruises, honey?"

Annabeth looks scared and embarrassed, and she shakily pulls off her sweatshirt and tank top, like she did to me, revealing the ice pack strapped to her side.

My mother glances at me as if to say, Did you do that?

I know she means the ice pack job. Or at least I hope.

I nod, and for a second she looks surprised, and I know what she's surprised about, I've already seen Annabeth in a bra, whoop di doo. But hey, it was for a good reason. I won't deny she's beautiful, everything about her is beautiful, but I was focused on her bruise, not anything else.

My mom smiles though, so I know she's okay with it and proud of me for taking care of her. She unwraps the guaze and pulls of the ice pack to reveal Annabeth's bruise, and I feel a pang of sadness and anger at what Luke's done to her. Mom looks at it carefully, then decides I had done a good job and there was no more she could do but wait for it to heal. She takes a look at Annabeth's wrists, too, but she can't really do much for those either. She must know something I don't though, because she asks Annabeth to go wash her face, and Annabeth's eyes fill with terror. She obeys, though, and walks into my bathroom.

When Annabeth comes back out, a new bruise is showing along her cheek, and I fight the urge to go find Luke right this second and let him get a taste of his own medicine. Instead, I walk over to Annabeth, who won't meet my eyes, and Mom steps back. I take Annabeth's face in my hands gently, then kiss the wound on her cheek, then move to her ear, then her neck, wrapping my arms around her protectively, hugging her.

I can tell she's trying not to cry, and I let go of her, leaving my mom to look at the purple bruise. My mother takes a peek, and decides to put the ice pack on her cheek for a little while, just enough to soothe the swelling. Annabeth holds the ice pack to her cheek as Mom turns her around. There's a bruise down Annabeth's spine that I didn't notice before, but it's not as bad as the others, just a bit of a light pink color, with only a little swelling.

I'm trying to figure out how Luke gave her that bruise, playing out what the scene might have been like in my mind. Luke either had to corner her, or hit her immediately to make her too weak to get away or fight back. Even though the injury on Annabeth's back is minor, I'm sure it hurt when she got it. Spines are delicate.

Luke must have grabbed her wrists and slammed her into the wall, causing her to hit her spine and leave her week. Therefore, she couldn't get away, and that's when he put the serious injuries into place.

I clench my fists at his actions. How dare he do this to Annabeth? After that last bruise though, that seems to be it. Mom helps Annabeth put her shirt back on and then she says she should go back to bed and rest. She smiles and then leaves my room, closing the door behind her, leaving Annabeth and I alone.

"So..." I start.

Annabeth holds her hands in front of her and glances at me nervously, then back down at the floor, not meeting my eyes. I sit on the corner of my bed, realizing how awkward it seems. My mom walks back into the room.

"Honey, I need to go out and get a few things, then I'm supposed to meet Paul for dinner," she says, stuffing her wallet into her purse.

"Okay Mom. Thanks for helping Annabeth. I'll see you later. Have fun." I get up and kiss her cheek, giving her a hug.

"No funny business, you two," she smirks playfully, then flashes a grin and leaves.

After I hear her leave the house, I shut my bedroom door and turn around, looking at Annabeth. She hasn't changed position, just staring at the floor, her hair covering her bruised cheek, hands held clasped in front of her.

"Look, Annabeth, it's-"

"I don't really want to talk right now, Percy, please."

I sigh, confused at her sudden change of attitude towards me. "Is there something you want to do?"

She shrugs slightly, still focused on the floor. I walk over to her and grab her arm gently, and she flinches away from my touch.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"I know you're lying."

She lets out a frustrated sigh, then looks up at me. I reach for her arm again, but she pushes me away, hard. I feel hurt by the way she's treating me all of a sudden, and I grab onto her wrist, a little too firmly. She lets out a cry of pain and punches me in the chest, breaking free of my grasp.

"Don't touch me, Percy! I hate you!" she screams at me.

Her words seep into me, and something inside me breaks. How could she hate me? I didn't even do anything!

"Annabeth, why, why would you say that? I didn't do anything to you," I say softly, reaching out to her and taking her elbows in my hands, refusing to let this go.

She doesn't meet my eyes, and she continues to try and push me away or wrench free of my grasp. Tears stream down her cheeks as she hits my chest, my arms, my shoulders, twisting and kicking and thrashing and screaming at me to let her go, to leave her alone.

But I won't.

I gather her tighter in my arms and ignore all her protests and hits, holding onto her silently. She starts to calm down, her breathing ragged, and I can tell she's exhausted. Her body slumps against me in defeat. I begin stroking her hair, running my fingers through her curly knots.

"Shh, Annabeth, it's okay. It's okay. Calm down."

I hear her tears but I don't know what to do. She sobs into my shirt and I realize just how vulnerable Luke has made her. She may put on a smile for everyone, but I can see right through her.

"Annabeth, it's okay. Really. I'm here. Come lay down, okay?"

She nods her head and clutches to my neck as I pick her up bridal style and lay her down on my bed, tucking the covers up to her shoulders. She looks up at me with tear-stained, rosy cheeks and her startling grey eyes, and I wipe away her dried tears, kissing both her cheeks. I brush stray hairs behind her ears and stroke her from her forehead to her hair with my fingers and back again.

"Don't worry, Annabeth, you're safe here. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

She nods with her eyes closed and reaches for my hand from beneath the covers, as if she knows exactly where it is, and I rest it on her stomach, lacing her fingers with mine. She will always be safe with me. I make that vow, to myself and to her, and kiss her forehead, watching her drift to sleep.

Dang. Serious stuff, huh? It was really hard for me to write from a guy's point of view, but look! I did it! Hopefully I did it well! Tell me what you think in the reviews, and thanks for reading. I seriously love all of you.