"Sorry," Percy muttered, tapping his feet on the floor. "You're not a bad mom or anything, I'm just really, really fucked up apparently."
It felt like he was making an excuse, but gods, he really hadn't wanted to make his mom come in. Of course, Sally didn't seem bothered at all, and she sat down with a sympathetic smile.
"It's alright, sweetheart," she said gently. "I was expecting it, to be honest. A lot of bad things happened to both of us, that was bound to create trouble."
Percy managed a halfhearted smile, but Raine looked outright pleased with the ease of Sally's acceptance.
"Thank you for coming, Sally," Raine said. They were in her office this time, and Percy had a bubble-pop toy in his lap, his fingers absently pushing the rubber back and forth. "Have you ever attended therapy before?"
"I have," Sally said, surprising Percy. She smiled at his wide-eyed look. "Never regularly, but quite a bit during Percy's infancy and early childhood, and I still try to make a point of it a couple times a year."
Raine gave Sally a small smile. "That will make things easier. Percy, can you get us started? Anything that you feel is standing between you."
Percy scowled in disapproval, bouncing his knees and rocking while he stared down at the bubble toy. He felt restless and unhappy; he wanted to run. He'd already pushed his chair so his back was to the wall and he could see the door.
"I'm really sorry for making your life so hard," Percy forced out at last. It wasn't the bitter reluctance of an insincere apology, but it was hard to say anyway. His mom didn't really like it when he talked about being a burden on her.
Sally squeaked softly, covering her mouth for a second. There was too much emotion in her eyes to read, but all of it looked painful. Percy ducked his head.
"Can you be more specific, Percy?" Raine asked gently. Percy scowled down.
"I'm sorry for being such a temperamental kid," he said. "And for making you run from monsters all the time, and- and for Gabe."
His voice wavered at the end, but didn't break. When he chanced a glance up, there was nothing but unhappy empathy written all over Sally's face.
"Why are you sorry for those things?" Raine pressed, still soft and almost delicate.
Percy felt his shame and misery swell dramatically. Therapy fucking sucked. Why had he wanted to stay here again? "I'm sorry for being temperamental 'cause it means I make a lot of problems and they turn into Mom's problems. And for the monsters because Mom wouldn't have to worry about them if it weren't for me. And for Gabe because she would have never, ever had to marry him if she weren't trying to protect me."
"Sally?" Raine prompted, so mild that it was impossible to get defensive. "How do you feel about those things?"
What Sally looked like was as if she was going to cry; emotional conversations tended to make her, well, emotional. But she took a deep breath, and she answered evenly and confidently.
"Having you changed my life, Percy," she said. "I will always love your father, but that one summer together wouldn't have meant so much if it hadn't given me you. I was very lonely before I had you; I had a lot of love to give and no one who seemed to want it. You changed that. As soon as I felt your first kick, nothing else mattered. There is nothing, not monsters, not Gabriel, and certainly not you that could make me regret that."
Percy swallowed. He couldn't speak around the lump in his throat, and Sally smiled at him, like she understood without him even trying.
"I'm sorry for Gabriel, too," Sally added after a while, solemn. "I didn't have to marry him, not really. I could have taken you to camp early, when you were three or four, and you would have been safe. But if I married Gabriel, and put up with his abuse, then I could keep you." She looked away. "I made that decision for both of us. I couldn't bear to let you go."
"Percy, do you feel different, knowing that?" Raine prompted quietly.
Percy played with the toy for a while. "I wouldn't have picked different," he said after a moment, looking up at Sally. Paul had mentioned Sally felt bad about it; Percy needed to mention this. "I wouldn't give you up for anything. It's okay." He hesitated for another moment, considering, and then continued, "...Did you ever think about changing your mind?"
"When he started hitting you," Sally said without hesitation. Percy flinched, and Sally tucked her hands into her lap. She looked tired, and... she looked guilty. "I had to decide then if I wanted you close badly enough to put you through that. It was a selfish decision, I know."
"How do you feel about that, Percy?" Raine prompted, when Percy didn't reply.
Pop, pop, pop. He couldn't look her in the eye, but he couldn't look completely away either, so his gaze hovered on Sally's hands. "Can you tell me why?"
"You're a demigod," Sally said softly. One of her hands went to her face and returned to her lap wet, and her breath hitched. "I've always known that there is a very good chance that I will outlive you, and I don't think I've made a single decision on how to raise you that wasn't built on that. Every day I have with you is a gift, and I want to spend them making sure you know how much I love you. I was terrified to think that I would send you to camp, and you would die years later, far away from me."
Percy blinked mist from his eyes, but some of the stress left his shoulders.
"I'm not upset with you," he said after a moment, just as soft. "A lot of the kids at camp don't even have one parent that loves them, you know? I'm really lucky to have you." One breath in, one breath out, as he carefully considered the rest of his response. "It, um, it makes me happy that you love me so much. I mean- the reason I come home from camp every year is for you."
He kicked his feet, scowling, unable to articulate the last of what he wanted to say. Sally and Raine exchanged a look, Sally's lips pressed tight with worry.
"But you're still hurt," Raine prompted at last. Percy shut his eyes and didn't deny it.
"I keep thinking," he said quietly, "that it shouldn't matter what he did to me, because he was only around to keep me safe. It's a net positive, so it should be, you know, a net positive." Percy took a deep breath. "But it's not. It sucks. It sucked for both of us and I'm mad about it."
"But it does matter what he did to your mother?" Raine asked, voice soft. "Even though she was the one that brought him into your lives?"
"Yeah, obviously," Percy huffed without thinking. "That was my fault too."
Sally jumped like she'd been burned, and Percy ducked his head.
"It's true," he mumbled. "Hell, it's double true."
"Why do you think it's your fault, Percy?" Raine asked.
"We already talked about the monster thing," Percy muttered, and then crossed his arms and shifted. "And, uh... there was..." Raine gestured encouragingly, and his voice got smaller as he refused to look at either Raine or Sally. "At- at some point. Gabe figured out that it was easier to control me by punishing Mom than punishing me. And it still wasn't real easy to control me."
Gods, these were ancient memories. He didn't want to dig this shit up. He sank down in his seat, wishing he could slip right through the ground and get out of this conversation.
"Can you tell me about that?" Raine prompted.
"I..." Without meaning to, Percy glanced at his mom, giving her a pleading look. She gave him a sad smile back.
"Not this time, sweetheart," Sally murmured, though she did reach out to squeeze his hand. "You need to take this step yourself." After another pause, she coaxed, "Come on. As easy as holding up the sky."
Percy blinked and frowned, but as soon as he caught her eye he understood. He took a breath and straightened up, though his fingers still played compulsively with the bubble-pop toy.
"He used to punish Mom a lot for not keeping me under control," he explained to Raine, more even than he'd managed all day. "I'd steal a piece of pizza, he'd short Mom a meal. I'd throw a tantrum, he'd take away her transport budget for the month." He breathed out, then in. He was holding himself together enough to talk, but every muscle in his body felt like it was about to tear. "That still wasn't exactly enough to keep me from being, you know, an impulsive temperamental brat, but the guilt could keep me in line more often than anything else did."
Raine tapped her cheek with her pen, frowning, and then made a note. Without waiting for Percy to ask, she explained, "There are parts of that I'd like to address with you directly, Percy, but today we're going to focus on your relationship with your mother. Is that alright?"
He nodded stiffly, trying not to look at anyone. "Yeah."
"How did you feel about that as a child?" she asked. Percy gave Sally a guilty look. "Percy?"
"I don't want Mom to hear this," he mumbled. "She's not gonna like it."
"Percy..." Sally murmured, reaching out as if to hold his hand again before stopping herself.
"Percy, do you trust me to make sure you both come out of this alright?" Raine asked gently. After a moment of hesitation, Percy nodded. "Then please, tell us. Take your time, but please be honest."
Percy nodded again, crossing his arms. Just like taking the sky, he reminded himself. Like walking into the Styx. Like boarding an airplane to New York.
"It made me sick," he said without looking at anyone. His shoes kneaded the ground like a cat with a blanket. "I hated myself. I couldn't understand why I couldn't control myself enough to keep Mom safe." He didn't dare look at Sally.
"Sally, how did you feel about it?" Raine asked. "Then, not now."
Percy glanced at her before he could realize it. Though the initial intensity must have faded, she still looked stricken, chewing on her lip. But when he met her eyes, she took a deep breath and straightened up, just as he had.
"It made me want to cry," she admitted. "I felt so helpless. Appeasing Gabriel only took me so far." She hesitated, rubbing her hands and fingers together, before she continued, "It was... a difficult situation, emotionally speaking. I would never do anything to hurt Percy. At the same time, the punishments only existed because I obeyed them. And I obeyed them to appease Gabriel, to keep him close and keep Percy safe." She closed her eyes. "Was I then not hurting Percy to keep him safe... in another way than what I was already?"
Percy started, but Raine didn't look surprised. "Can you explain a little further?" Raine requested. Sally nodded distractedly.
"I couldn't stand that he was using me to control Percy," she clarified after a minute. "I didn't want to hurt my son that way. I loved that Percy was independent, daring, tenacious- for gods' sake, sometimes Gabriel was punishing him simply for being comfortable in our home." She exhaled. "I knew how much it would hurt Percy to see me punished. He didn't deserve that."
"And for your own sake?" Raine prompted, while Percy was still processing that. Sally chuckled weakly.
"At the time, I felt that I deserved it," she admitted. Percy understood in a flash how she'd felt when he said much the same. "It seemed only fair that I suffer at least as much as he did from Gabe's abuse. To be honest, if it had only been him being hurt, I'm not sure I could have endured it at all." She met Raine's eyes and added, rueful, "I've addressed that with another therapist. I understand that it's not... healthy."
Raine gave her a nod of acknowledgement and a small, reassuring smile, then looked at Percy. "And how do you feel about it all now?"
Percy bit his cheek, and it took him a bit to respond. "I'm mad about it," he decided, though Raine was probably tired of hearing that from him by now. "Gabe didn't have any right to do that to Mom. He punished her because he was an asshole. That's it." He huffed, and then, quieter, added, "I kind of understand that I was just an excuse for him to use, and it wasn't really my fault. But I feel like I should have done better. You know, for Mom."
"And Sally?" Raine prompted.
Sally exhaled, frowning, and thought about her answer for longer than Percy had. "Of the ways it could have gone, I'm glad it went this way," she said at last. "I had two main fears while Gabriel was still in our lives: that the physical violence would escalate, and that he would try to break Percy's spirit. Neither of those ever came to pass..." She shot Percy a guilty look even as she spoke, and he avoided her eye. "And while neither of us came out unscathed, it could have been much worse."
"Neither of those came to pass?" Raine checked, soft.
"I don't want to talk about it," Percy said fiercely, but when Sally's guilt visibly spiked, he amended, quieter but no less stiff, "Today. I don't wanna talk about that today."
Raine made a note. "Understood. Sally, Percy has mentioned - briefly - that Gabriel was physically violent toward him. Was he to you as well?"
"Yes," Sally acknowledged, averting her eyes.
"Did Percy know this as a child?" Raine asked, no condemnation in her expression. Percy shook his head before Sally could reply.
"Not until I came back from my first quest," he said, grimacing when Raine made another note. "Smelly Gabe was fucking lucky celestial bronze doesn't hurt him." He wasn't sure he could've stopped himself if it had. The rush of relief would have been...
Well. His mother had needed it more than he had. Percy, with the promise of camp, had already been free. But even now, the idea of destroying Gabe with his own hands, on his own sword, was incredibly alluring.
"Percy, sweetheart, stop fantasizing about stabbing Gabe," Sally said, breaking into his thoughts. He smiled sheepishly, and Sally only looked fond.
Raine visibly decided not to address that, and asked instead, "Percy, do you think you need to know how far that went? I'm not promising anything for Sally, but I won't pursue it at all if you don't want to."
Percy winced, shooting Sally a guilty look, but she didn't seem surprised by this either. "...Yeah," he mumbled. "I mean- I figure it was probably around level with mine, or I really would've noticed. But I keep working myself up over it."
Sally's eyes softened with understanding. She looked to Raine for permission, and on her nod, said, "It truly wasn't that bad. He would grab me, slap me... even outright punches were rare. I think... perhaps because I only ever truly resisted him when it was about you." She shrugged helplessly. "He never liked that."
"It never got worse than that?" Percy checked, unable to help his anxiety. "Really?"
"Really," Sally promised. "All he ever wanted from me was control."
Percy exhaled and nodded, trying to use that promise to reassure himself. He hadn't realized how rattled he still was over that.
Raine thumbed over her notes thoughtfully, and after a moment, she asked, "Percy, why were you so averse to the idea of your mother having done anything harmful?"
Percy was startled at how quickly he soured. "She didn't," he said sharply. Sally blinked at him, startled.
"Percy, we just had an entire conversation about the things I did that hurt you," she said gently. Percy kicked the ground and scowled.
"That's different," he said sullenly. "It was the best of a bad batch of options."
Raine inclined her head toward Sally.
"I wanted to prioritize this if it didn't come up otherwise," she explained. "Our first attempt to discuss you was the only time I've seen Percy react so defensively."
"Oh, sweetheart," Sally said, with a combination of affection and exasperation.
"Percy," Raine said to Percy, "regardless of whether she has or hasn't, why does the suggestion that your mom did something wrong upset you?"
"Mom doesn't screw up," Percy snapped. "I screw up, and Mom fixes it."
"Can you think of any times that has happened that had nothing to do with Gabe?" Raine asked. Percy scowled.
"Every time I get expelled from a school, Mom has to find me a new one," he said flatly. "And most of the time she has to patch me up when I get hurt by monsters."
"Sally?" Raine prompted. Sally hummed.
"That about covers it," she said, making Percy slouch down. But then she glanced over at Percy, smiling wryly. "Percy, those are normal things any good parent does. It's been years since you've truly needed me to solve your problems for you. These days, you solve your own problems, and you do it so well."
Percy unwound a little, following her train of thought with ease. "But..."
"Can you think of any mistakes your mother has made?" Raine asked, and then, coaxingly, "We discussed one."
Percy went rigid. "No," he snapped, with an edge of undisguised panic. He bit his tongue, pulling his knees up in front of him. "Just no." He muttered curses in Ancient Greek.
"Percy?" Sally asked, worried.
Look what you did, Percy wanted to say. He hid his face in his knees and snarled. He tried to consider broaching the subject, and flinched. "No," he repeated helplessly. Like lifting the sky, like lifting the- "Fucking shit."
"It's alright, Percy," Sally cut in, more firmly. "You don't have to say anything."
"I apologize," Raine murmured. "I underestimated how sensitive a subject that was." Percy swallowed thickly. "It's alright, Percy. It's like asking for help. We'll do more work before approaching the subject again, okay?"
"...Okay," Percy mumbled. He didn't uncurl, but he did lift his head, feeling sore and tired for no reason. He was breathing heavily.
"Let's try it this way," Raine said. Percy tensed, but Raine addressed Sally. "Sally, can you think of any mistakes that Percy might remember?"
Sally looked puzzled and concerned, but she complied easily enough.
"Well, there were some silly ones," she said, giving Percy a reassuring, playful smile. "I once made his birthday cake with salt instead of sugar, misspelled his name on more than one school application, wrapped his Christmas presents in birthday paper..." She turned more serious. "I've sent him to a few schools I shouldn't have even considered – the military schools were... bad for him. Sending him to boarding schools at all was a flimsy decision; I think my judgement was clouded by Gabriel's presence. And... in hindsight, I hid his heritage from him too long."
Percy couldn't help it; he flinched, a full-body reaction to the thought he'd refused to voice. Sally's eyes darted to him and widened in realization and worry.
"Does that help, Percy?" Raine asked. Percy shrugged. "Can you share why you're so upset?"
Percy clenched his jaw and didn't look up for a minute. I don't know, damn it, he wanted to snap. He concentrated. "I don't want to hurt her," he said at last, face hidden in his knees again. "I've hurt her enough." He took a deep breath. "Mom's always done her best for me, okay? She doesn't deserve to feel bad about any of it. She did so much for me."
"What if I promise not to blame myself?" Sally suggested. Percy turned his head enough to give her an anxious look, and then took a deep breath.
Like lifting the sky, like lifting the sky... don't think, just do it.
Instead, he made a strangled sound and hid his face again.
"Percy, do you want to script it out later today and try tomorrow?" Raine suggested, and Percy nodded mutely.
"Why do we need to do it at all?" he asked, mashing his cheek against his knee.
"Hopefully, it will make your attachment to your mother less brittle," Raine explained gently. "You have a strong and wonderful bond, but it's also hurting you. I think that if you can accept the flaws in your relationship, you'll feel better."
Feel better. That was the end goal of all this, Percy reminded himself. He was supposed to feel better. "Okay."
"I wish you'd brought me to camp sooner," Percy told his mom at last, fidgeting nervously with a spinner. "How it ended up happening was confusing and scary, and it didn't have to be. I didn't like it."
Guilty understanding shadowed Sally's eyes, and she nodded.
"I'm sorry," Sally said, quiet and unhappy. "Every summer I looked at you and tried to imagine you fighting monsters, and I just couldn't do it. You were my little baby boy." She shook her head. "I should have known better. I'm so proud of you, you've grown into an amazing hero, but you're still my baby boy."
Percy softened, and he scooted over to hug her tightly. "It's okay," he said. "I forgive you."
It felt better than he'd expected it to, saying that.
"Very well done," Raine complimented. "If you're ready, Percy, we can start on what we discussed yesterday evening?" Percy grimaced. "Only if you're ready. There are other topics we can cover first if you need."
Like lifting the sky. Like lifting the sky. Like lifting the-
"Or we can introduce some soft barriers if that makes it easier," Raine broke in. Percy tilted his head uncertainly. "Moving to a corner helps some of my patients feel more secure. Yesterday you seemed to feel better when you curled into a ball. And that box of toys and pillows..." She nodded at the box against the wall. "Is for patients to hold if they need comfort."
Without meaning to, Percy glanced anxiously at Sally, but she just gave him an encouraging nod. Percy hesitated, and then stood up, pushed his chair to a corner between a wall and bookshelf, and went for the box of toys. He found a stuffed shark bigger than a loaf of bread and brought it over to the chair. He sat down, cross-legged, and hugged it experimentally. It felt nice.
"Do you feel better?" Raine prompted. Percy nodded reluctantly, cheeks hot. "Do you think you're ready to tackle what we discussed?"
Percy hesitated again, then nodded.
Lifting the sky, lifting the sky, that exact moment when you ducked in and took it from Artemis...
"I was wondering," he said carefully, avoiding Sally's eyes, "how much, um, how much you knew about Gabe hitting me."
Sally inhaled sharply, straightened, and gave him a solemn nod.
"I wasn't certain of much," she admitted. "I knew that he was doing it, that was clear when you started outright hiding from him. And I knew it wasn't... severe, because you only occasionally had bruises-" She swallowed, looking green. "Gods, I can't believe I just said that. You were a baby. Your bruises should have been from playing."
"It's okay," Percy said, still too quiet. "I know what you mean."
Sally gave him a strained smile. "And- I wasn't sure what prompted it. For the most part, I only knew that it was happening."
"Oh." Percy hesitated for a few long seconds, playing with the tail of the shark, and then said, "He hit me when he wanted me to keep something secret from you."
Sally's breath hitched, but her voice stayed remarkably steady. "And did you?"
Percy nodded, and then managed a smile for her. "Might even be fun finally telling you all this," he mumbled, and then, more clearly, "Like- that he kept stealing from your secret stash to buy beer."
"That was why I had two," Sally muttered, making Percy grin.
"He never picked me up when he said he was going to," he said, and then tacked on, "Which was cool, I didn't want him to." Sally chuckled. "Uh... he put on R-rated films when you weren't around and didn't bother kicking me out." Sally frowned, and Percy snickered. "I was pretty happy to keep that one quiet, honestly, but no harm in it now. Oh, and I wasn't allowed to repeat anything he and his poker buddies said." He grimaced. "Which, gross, I don't want to even now. They were such pieces of shit."
Sally winced back, which meant she agreed. Percy tried to smile and missed by a couple of feelings.
"This one isn't fun," he warned, waiting for Sally to brace herself before he continued, "The main one was that he was making me give him gambling money."
There was a brief moment of confusion, and then alarm and indignant outrage. "He was making you...? That was why you kept looking for summer jobs?"
"Yeah," Percy admitted, tapping the floor uncomfortably. "I mean, it was cool to have spending money too, but mostly I had to make sure I always had at least a couple of dollars when he asked."
Sally exhaled, looking frustrated. "I'm sorry, Percy. I would have helped you if I knew."
Percy half-smiled. "I should have thought of that, honestly," he admitted. Oh, wait – Gabe would have hit him if he mentioned anything to Sally. He scowled. "Anyway, he never..." Grimace. "Hit me just to hit me. It was just for this shit." He shrugged. "It sucked. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been, you know?"
"There's a particular incident that you both seem to be avoiding," Raine pointed out quietly. Percy dropped his gaze, then glanced guiltily at Sally, who was wincing, arms crossed protectively over her chest.
"Um," Percy said. He squeezed the toy in his arms, which he'd nearly forgotten about, and hid his face in it. "Th-there was like. One time. When I was like, eight." He tapped his feet anxiously on the ground. "He kicked me around a bit, a-and that was just for fun. But it never happened again."
He couldn't help the swell of embarrassment. Why was he so upset about this?
"Sorry," he said, before he could stop himself. "Gods. This shouldn't even matter anymore. These days I'm pleased if all I get from a fight is bruises."
"That's now," Raine reminded him, "when you have all the power you need to protect yourself. It's much more devastating when you remove all agency from the equation. It makes you afraid." Percy scowled, but didn't protest. "Can you tell me what made this incident different from others?"
Percy's heart was fluttering uncomfortably in his chest. He tucked the stuffed shark closer. "Uh. I, I was laughing at him. In front of his friends. Gabe, uh, he didn't like being laughed at."
"Breathe, Percy," Raine said quietly. Percy hadn't even realized his breathing had gotten fast and shallow. "We'll cover this fully another day, okay? Today is just about you and your mother."
That did help. Percy nodded, forcing his breath to even out.
"Mom, uh, wasn't home," he said after a minute. "But I was hiding in the bathroom for like, hours afterward. Like. A lot of hours. Mom kinda had to coax me into coming out."
"How did you feel when you heard your mom at the door?" Raine prompted. Percy winced. "Even if it wasn't nice, Percy."
Percy glanced at Sally. She looked worried, but she gave him a nod when he met her eyes. Percy exhaled, slouching again.
"Didn't make much difference," he admitted softly. "I was too worked up, and I..." He looked away. "I didn't think Mom would keep me safe. I'd kinda... It was pretty much my worst fear when I was a kid, that Gabe would start beating me for real. Like you hear about, you know. And I kinda, uh. I thought this was it."
"How many times did he hit you?" Sally asked suddenly, anxious eyes on Percy. Percy hid his face again. He could taste beer in his mouth.
"I don't wanna talk about it," he muttered. Sally flinched, but Percy couldn't bring himself to take it back.
"What made you finally come out?" Raine asked.
"...It was late," Percy said. "I figured Gabe was for sure asleep by then, but I knew Mom was still up, 'cause she talked to me every once in a while so I'd know she was still outside the door." He shrugged. "I'd stopped freaking out so bad by then too, and, uh, I wanted Mom to hug me."
"What happened after you came out?" Raine prompted. Percy smiled a little.
"She hugged me a lot, gave me dinner, and made cookies," he said wistfully. "And then we both went into my room, Mom blocked the door, and we both went to sleep in my bed. I hadn't slept with my mom in years by then." He blinked. "Huh. I'd forgotten she blocked the door until just now."
"Sally, how did you feel when you realized he'd hidden in the bathroom?" Raine asked.
"I was frightened," she admitted. "I knew something bad had happened, but I didn't know what. Gabriel certainly wasn't saying anything – he was still playing like nothing was wrong." Bitterness flashed across her face, just for an instant. "I... tried to coax Percy out for about an hour, but he wouldn't even talk to me." She wiped her eyes. "I had to stop to make dinner, and then I went right back to sitting with Percy."
"And when he came out?" Raine prompted.
"He was shaking," Sally said quietly. "I don't know if you realized it, sweetie, but you didn't say a word that entire time you were hiding, and you still didn't when you came out." Percy started. He hadn't realized that. "I wanted to make him feel better, but I wasn't sure what to do. I, I knew he needed to eat, so I gave him dinner. He liked cookies, so I made those." She took a deep breath. "He was moving fine, so I knew it couldn't have been as awful as I was imagining, but... I'd never seen Percy react like this. If I hadn't already known Gabriel was hurting him, I would have known it then."
"You blocked the door?" Raine prompted softly. Sally took another deep breath and nodded.
"It wasn't necessary," she admitted, "but I was terrified. I knew he'd escalated, so I felt that we'd fallen into unknown territory. I almost packed up and took Percy to camp that night, never mind waiting for the morning."
"Why didn't you?" Raine asked. Sally exhaled.
"I couldn't part with Percy on that note," she said quietly. "I- I held on to the hope that this was a one time thing. I... couldn't believe my luck when it truly was. Percy was his usual self the next morning, and... by all appearances, things returned to normal."
"Percy?" Raine prompted. Percy squeezed the toy, tried to relax, and shifted in place.
"Yeah," he mumbled. "The only difference was, uh. I stopped fighting so much after that." He wrinkled his nose. "I mean- I still openly hated Gabe. I was hostile and sarcastic and stuff. But, uh..." He cleared his throat. "I stopped insulting him to his face after that. And. I stopped fighting him when he told me to do stuff."
Sally covered her mouth. "I thought nothing had changed," she murmured, looking awful and guilty. "I thought you'd bounced right back."
Percy shrugged, embarrassed. "Didn't want to tempt him into another round of that shit," he mumbled, then scowled. "I should've. They were just bruises."
"Percy, I want you to know," Sally said, soft and solemn, "that every time I saw a bruise that man left on you, I cried about it. Every time."
Percy blinked. "Seriously?"
"Every time," Sally repeated firmly.
Percy didn't know why that made him feel better, but it did. He scooted over again and hugged her. He muttered against her, "I didn't understand why you were staying with him when I was a kid. But I want you to know, I get it now, okay? I get it and it's okay. I'd forgive a lot to stay close to you too."
Sally pushed him gently away to look him in the eye.
"I didn't forgive Gabriel for anything, Percy," she said seriously. "Not for anything he did to me, and especially not for anything he did to you. Not for a second."
Percy didn't know what to say, so he hugged her again instead.