Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 1

The large man stood towering over a smaller figure cowering in the corner. The man held a half full beer bottle in one hand. His free hand was raised into a fist as he was slurring insults. The television was on in the living room, playing a news story about a fatal hit and run accident, leaving two people dead. 

"You pathetic little-" Before Gabe finished his sentence, he swung down on the boy. His fist connected with the wall, narrowly missing Percy's face by mere inches. Gabe smiled in satisfaction as Percy whimpered and flinched away. "Next time I tell you to do something, you will do it. Next time you disobey me, you'll find it'll make it much harder to stand." 

Gabe took a large drink of his beer, before dumping the rest of the drink over Percy's head. He dropped the bottle at Percy's feet and walked into the living room. Percy wiped his face, trying to stop himself from crying. The action made it harder for him to stop crying. 

He went to stand, only to get light headed and fall back down. He reached his hand out to the wall trying to steady himself. As he fell down, he spread a bloody handprint down the wall. 

"I'll clean tha' later," Percy mumbled to himself. He pulled himself back up again. He picked up the empty glass bottle. He stumbled into the kitchen and placed the glass bottle next to the sink. His vision was blurring in and out of focus. 

He managed to get to the bathroom. He closed and locked the door behind him. Looking in the mirror, Percy saw the blood flowing freely from a large cut under his left eye. He pulled a first aid kit out from under the sink. He cleaned the wound and sloppily stitched it closed in an attempt to stop the blood flow. 

He examined the rest of his face, a large bruise on his chin caught his attention. He turned on the shower and slowly peeled off his bloody clothes. Percy stepped into the cold water, allowing it to wash the blood off of his skin. He didn't know how long he stood there. He made sure to keep his head out from the waterflow. 

Gabe jiggled the doorknob, angered when he found it locked. He banged on the door as hard as he could. Percy jumped and whimpered. The action caused him to almost slip. Even though no one could see him, tears sprang to his eyes as shame filled him.

"What the hell are you doing in there?" Gabe yelled as he continued banging on the door. Percy quickly shut off the water and grabbed the towel off of the wall. Gabe had walked away. Percy tried to figure out if he could make it to his room before Gabe got back. He unlocked the bathroom door and peeked behind it. Gabe was nowhere to be seen. 

Percy bolted to his room and closed and locked his bedroom door behind him. He quickly got dressed and grabbed his backpack from off the floor. Gabe stomped around in the living room, talking to one of his friends. Someone must have come over while Percy zoned out in the shower. 

As Percy tried to do his homework. He paid attention to where his father's footsteps fell. Everytime he got near his step-son's door, Percy froze. There was laughing in the living room, causing Percy to flinch. He soon decided that he was too unfocused to pay attention to his work. He put his backpack down on the floor and laid down on his bed. 

After about an hour, Percy heard the front door slam. The house was silent. Gabe had left with his friend, going out for drinks. Percy stood from his bed and went to take a shower, but actually washing this time. He picked up his dirty clothes off of the bathroom floor. He dropped them into his laundry basket. He closed his door once more, locking it again. He closed his window and his blinds. Percy carefully climbed into bed. He knew Gabe was out, but he was still terrified to fall asleep.

Gabe could come home at any point. The bedroom door may be locked, but Gabe had the key in his room. Gabe could also get in through his window, which  had no screen and the inability to lock. However, the events of the day washed over Percy. He fell asleep, terrified Gabe would wake him up in the middle of the night. 

Percy was in a dark room, hiding behind a large chair. He could hear someone banging around in front of the chair. He held his breath, but he was pretty sure his attacker could hear the loud thump thump of his heart. His heart raced. 

His attacker stopped. Percy closed his eyes, holding back a scream. He could hear his attacker inching around the chair he was hiding behind. 

"Oh, Perseus," his attacker called out. Percy opened his eyes. Looking down on him was Gabe. Percy went to scramble backwards, but found himself backed against a wall. Gabe had an evil smile stretched across his face. He held up a bloody knife. 

As Percy noticed it, he felt an excruciating pain in his abdomen. He screamed and clutched his stomach. Looking down, he noticed blood spilling between his fingers. He sat there frantically trying to stop the blood flow, but to no avail. He could feel himself losing strength. 

Percy shot up in bed and stifled a scream. He looked down at his abdomen to find no wound like the one in the dream. He looked at his clock. Not registering the time, he decided to get up anyway. The sun was already starting to rise.