Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 20

"You okay?" Annabeth asked Percy once she saw him frown.

"Yeah," Percy lied smoothly.

Annabeth didn't press the topic further, even though she wanted to. Percy's eyes looked so haunted. So she hugged him. It might have been a stupid move since he had no bandages, but she did. She expected him to move away with stiff movements. She expected wrong. He just smiled, and did nothing since he couldn't move.

"Thanks," Percy said sincerely.

Sometimes things as simple as a hug can make you feel better, Percy thought. Like mom used to do... He flinched as memories started invading his mind.

(Skip if you do not like beatings.) The day after Sally died:

"Why did you kill her?" Percy yelled in anger.

Percy was 12 at that time. He was still young. He still had the power to fight back. Only much later did he realize that it wasn't any use.

"Look here Jackson," Gabe hissed in anger. "Nobody defies my orders. Nobody!"

Gabe had practically scared off a lion, by roaring the last sentence. "And that includes you!"

And then Percy realized what that sentence meant. And how much Gabe had been holding back when his mother was here. He raised his chubby fists and it collided with his nose. He flew backwards and hit the window, nearly breaking it. Who knew Gabe could fight?

Percy wiped the blood away from his broken nose. He was losing blood. Badly. But he was too focused on his nose. He didn't realize the beating would continue. A beer bottle shattered onto his arm, and he yelped in pain. He wrenched his arm away, but the glass was still stuck in his arm. He tried to remove the piece but it was too painful.

"Enjoy that?" Gabe sneered. "I've got plenty more to come, don't you worry."

It was one of the first, worst beating Percy had ever had. More objects came at him: more glass, knives, scissors, all that bad stuff. And most of them hit him right where it was supposed to. Arms, legs, shoulders, knees, a child could sing the entire 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' song, and Gabe would take inspiration and punch him right where the song said.

"Head," The child sang.

Gabe threw a wobbly punch towards Percy, who ducked too late. The force of the punch made him fall off the sofa he was sitting on.

"Shoulders."

Gabe took a beer bottle and threw it at Percy's shoulder. Bulls eye. More glass stuck to his shoulder like a pair of clip on wings.

"Knees."

What would Gabe think of now? Percy thought as he sunk towards the ground, defeated and bruised.

"Stand up," Gabe commanded.

Percy shook his head weakly. He would never do anything for Gabe. Not after he had killed his mother.

"I said," Gabe demanded as he hauled Percy up by the hood part of his hoodie. "Stand up!"

Percy couldn't make his own decision, he was already standing up. "What more could you want? I'm standing up," Percy said weakly.

"Knees," Gabe mused.

Gabe took out a rusty baseball bat, and swung it clumsily towards Percy's knees. But he sunk to the ground like he was kneeling. The bat hit his stomach instead and knocked all the wind out of him. He gasped, trying to get his breathing steady again.

"And toes."

Percy was glad Gabe wasn't the Yakuza. If he was, he would chop all his toes off. But he wished that his stepfather wasn't anything at all. Them his mother would be alive, and things would be normal. He sounded too naive.

Gabe wasn't feeling too inventive at that moment. So he hit the baseball bat onto Percy's feet instead. Screams could be heard all throughout the apartment. Yet no one came to the rescue.

"Knees and toes."

Gabe did the method again, cracking the bat on Percy's knees and feet. He could barely even walk anymore. He would have to stick with crawling back to whatever bed he had left.

Before the song repeated, Gabe took a large swing out of his beer bottle. A large swing meaning an entire bottle. He fell to the ground from having too much beer. Two more bottles lay on the floor from a few minutes ago.

Percy couldn't even crawl. He would have to stay awake all night. The stupid song played again and again, Gabe having put it on repeat. Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes...

(Anyone who skipped can look.) Back to the present, in the hospital:

"Percy wake up!" Thalia was yelling in his ear.

Percy nearly jumped up in shock. But if he actually did, he would need to wait till next year to get out of the hospital from all the extra damage.

"What?" Percy muttered.

"You wouldn't wake up," Annabeth explained to Percy worriedly. "This was the third time Thalia yelled in your ear. What happened?"

"Nothing...?"

"Don't lie Percy."

Percy stayed silent, and Thalia was going to yell in his ear again, when he finally spoke.

"It was a memory. The night after my mom died. Any of you want to hear about it?"

It was sarcastic sense of humor that made no one laugh. Percy wasn't expecting anyone too. He sighed and enjoyed the peace while it lasted. But peace never lasts long. Nico started talking.

"I'll hear about it," Nico said, not knowing this story.

"Nico," Thalia hissed quietly. "Don't ask."

"It's fine Thalia," Percy said, being emotionless. A facade that took years to perfect. "Anyone know the song head, shoulders, knees and toes?"

And so the story began. It wasn't one of those happy stories. But it wasn't like those scary sleepover stories either. It was more like a nightmare come true.

Nico regretted ever asking Percy in the first place. And for one of the first times ever, he saw through his flawless facade. He could see the hurt in his eyes. He looked away, and instead focused his gaze on his shoes that looked very interesting to him at the moment. His shoes were black. He forgot the name of the brand, but he remembered his sister buying the shoes for him. It was a birthday present. Now she was dead. Interesting shoes...