Beneath the Surface (A PJO Fanfic)

They Know

 Percy's eyes are wide and he can't seem to speak. Thalia and Annabeth are much the same, though for surprise and disbelief rather than fear. 

Jason knows that Percy would bolt if Thals wasn't blocking him and the surprise wasn't so overwhelming. He looks absolutely terrified and completely unwilling to turn his eyes away from the blonde-haired soccer player. 

His cool demeanor is gone and he looks vulnerable. The one thing he has always feared is happening.

They know.

Jason watches incredulously as that fake nonchalance slides into place and Percy laughs tentatively. His hand combs through his hair, a nervous habit. "He doesn't beat me. We get in fights and honestly, I'm usually the one who starts it. So....."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Thalia snaps, suddenly very angry. Her fun afternoon out is officially ruined.

Percy fidgets. "It's no big deal Thals."

She glares at him and then turns to Jason. "You knew and you didn't say anything?!"

"I just did," Jason flashes back, irritably. The guilt he feels inside is eating him and bolts from the bench. He hovers there a moment, staring at each of them with his chest heaving. "He doesn't listen to me! He doesn't want help! If you can get him to let you help, then by all means, but I can't!" 

He turns back to them and is gone. So much for Percy being the one who runs away from his problems. 

Thalia turns back to Percy, her thin black eyebrows raised. "Oh, so you fight back do you?"

"Of course I do." Then his face pales as if realizes that Thalia's phrasing implies that Gabe does in fact beat him.

"No, you don't, " Annabeth hisses, speaking for the first time. "I can tell just back looking at you that you don't. And let's get this straight: when only one person is doing the damage and the other is just taking it, that is called abuse."

Percy visibly flinches at the word. "No. It's..." His voice lowers and he looks away. "We fight a little.. that's all."

Annabeth's expression softens a bit but ignores his denial. "He did that to your arm didn't he?"

He doesn't answer. 

Thalia's eyes narrow. "What about your arm?"

"It's just a few scratches, Thalia. That's all. Nothing serious." 

"Show me."

His head snaps up. "What?"

"Show me your arm. If it's only a couple of scratches then you won't mind me looking."

They silently stare at each other for a few minutes. Annabeth keeps quiet, waiting to see what will happen. In the end, Percy heaves a sigh and slowly pushes up the sleeve of his hoodie. With practiced fingers, he unwinds the dirty gauze. His arm is riddled with four or five large gashes that are just barely closed. Without needing to look closer Annabeth knows that they need stitches. The skin around them is swollen and an ugly red color. All in all, they look painful and definitely not like just scratches.

 Thalia's eyes bore into his skull. "Scratches my arse Percy! You have to go to the hospital."

"What?! No!" That look of fear is back on his face and he rises, about to leap over the back of the bench and make a break for it. "We don't have the money and everybody will get the wrong idea. It'll just cause more trouble."

Annabeth sighs. "That's beside the point. You have to get medical attention. There's no if's, and's, or but's about it."

He shakes his head. "Listen, guys, thanks for caring and all, but it's fine. Really. I can handle something like this, no problem. It will heal up in a week or two and I'll be good as new. So it's alright."

Without another word Percy follows the same route Jason did and he too is also gone, leaving the two girls to each other's company.

"Well, that went well," Thalia mumbles.

"Wait," Annabeth says after a moment. "Did you know?!"

"I've had my suspicions," She looks up meeting the younger girl's eyes. "But I always thought it was impossible. Percy's carefree, but he's also strong. He can take of himself. ..... At least that's what I thought."

Thalia looks so guilty that Annabeth doesn't say anymore. She gets up and leaves, letting the door to the cafe slam shut behind her. Her mind is whirring. She has liked Percy for so long and she thought she knew him. She thought that he would say the wrong things to the wrong people and they would retaliate. She never knew that he is letting his step-dad beat him. She wants to help, but if she goes to the police or a school official Percy won't forgive her. So what should she do?

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Gabe and Sally are gone for the weekend and Percy has the apartment to himself. He looks around the lonely space, unsure of what to do. Since this afternoon he has abandoned his phone and locked himself indoors. He doesn't want their pity. He doesn't want their worry or concern, but most of all he wants them to remain silent about the whole thing. He wants to go to school on Monday and for the whole incident to have never happened. 

Of course, Jason just had to open his mouth now of all times. Percy doesn't hate him. He isn't even angry with him, but this wound to his arm is the worst he has ever gotten and he definitely didn't want to show anyone. 

Though as pain shoots through the arm once again and races across his collar bone he knows that he really does need medical attention. It hurts so much. He suddenly leaps up from the couch and rushes into the kitchen where he rushes water over the protesting limb. The icy liquid begins to numb the pain and he leans against the sink with his eyes closed. This is probably the sixth or seventh time he has done this since Thursday, his stash of painkillers long gone.

As the sensation leaks completely from his flesh, he shuts off the water. It probably isn't good for him to continuously do this or even to have done it once, but he doesn't care. It would be a sticky business going to the hospital. He is almost positive the 'I just fell into the coffee table when I tripped' story won't work. 

He sighs and grabs an ice pack, before returning to his previous position on the worn leather couch. He clicks the TV on and immediately changes the channel when he sees the news reporting on a mother who drowned her four-year-old son in the bathtub. He's almost tempted to switch back however when the next channel is showing Spongebob. 

What an unrealistic portrayal of the sea. 

It takes on a few minutes before he dozes off and the melting ice pack slides off his arm. It's probably the first real sleep he has had in months.  A sleep where he doesn't have to worry about waking up in the middle of the night and having to deal with Gabe. 

It's just too bad Annabeth picks that time to ring the doorbell.