Welcome back, dear readers. Have a good time.

Gods, he wished Jason was there.
*****

Percy felt like he'd committed a crime. He couldn't help but feel anxious as he sat alone in one of the interrogation rooms, the sound of his tapping foot bouncing off the walls. The sudden sound of the door opening and a young woman in a uniform walking through it startled Percy, but he tried to remain calm. It wouldn't help anyone if he couldn't even think straight.

"So, Perseus," the officer started, and Percy bit his lip as he fought the urge to correct her, "are you doing alright in here?"

The boy nodded as the woman pulled out the chair across from him and sat down. She placed a blank notepad on the table and slid it over to Percy, dropping a pencil on top.

"I've heard you aren't much of a talker," she explained, putting another small box—a tape recorder—on the table, "but of course, it's policy to record conversations like these. Hope that's okay with you."

Percy couldn't care less.

After making sure Percy was aware he was being abused, she asked some basic questions like his relationship to Gabe, how long it'd been happening, if he possessed any weapons in the apartment, and so on.

"What's your relationship to Thalia Grace?" The woman asked, flipping through some pages in her folder.

Friend's sister, Percy wrote. After his earlier conversation with her, the boy would probably consider Thalia a friend, but he didn't bother opening that door of discussion.

The officer looked up at Percy. "Were you aware she was the one that sent the report?"

When the green-eyed boy nodded, the woman tapped the notepad to remind him to write all his answers. She asked who else knew about his situation, his mother, or Gabe in general.

He listed the Grace siblings before deciding to jot Piper's and Leo's names down. Percy was fairly certain they knew, if not from Jason then from their own observations.

The questions never seemed to end, and Percy spent the better part of an hour writing down answers that he didn't even see as relevant.

Eventually, the part Percy had been dreading came. They needed evidence if Gabe was to face any charges, and unfortunately for Percy, he was the evidence. The woman asked if he'd like his mother to be present while they took the photographs, but Percy just shook his head. The last image his mother needed at the moment was her son beaten and bruised by her husband.

They took photos of his bruised neck, the slight marks on his jaw from when Gabe punched him, and the few light scars that inhabited various parts of Percy's back. There were only a couple of them since Gabe was, apparently, smart enough to make his injuries short-term. He'd usually sport a bruise for a week or two, and then there'd be no proof it ever happened.

Percy felt more vulnerable than he cared to admit as they searched his body for anything else they could pin on Gabe. He didn't enjoy being intricately inspected by strangers, and he most certainly didn't like these aforementioned strangers taking very close up photos of him. Regardless, he powered through and suffered in silence, keeping his mother in mind. If they could make a case against Gabe, she would finally receive some kind of respect and be free from her excuse of a husband.

He could handle a few minutes of awkward prodding if that was what he got in return.

After what seemed like an eternity to Percy, the officer who'd questioned him thanked him for his time and sent him with a different man to see his mother. Sally was sat in one of the three chairs in the front room, boredly flipping through the random magazine they had sitting nearby. She offered her son a kind smile when he entered the room, and they left the building as soon as possible with a promise that the station would call her with updates.

The drive home was silent besides the faint radio music. Neither felt inclined to start a conversation as Percy stared out the window at the passing buildings. When they returned to the apartment, the police cars had disappeared and the place had returned to its normal state. The cops had told Sally to avoid the living room if possible in case they needed to come back for more evidence.

If only the fact that my son was almost killed by him in front of you was enough, she thought bitterly.

The mother-son duo entered their apartment solemnly. Noticing that Percy had stopped near the door, Sally cast a worried look his direction. She expected him to shrug to himself and go about his day as per usual.

Instead, he held out his arms as an invitation. Sally smiled at the boy, taking him in her embrace and rubbing gentle circles on his upper back.

"You okay, honey?" She asked softly. Percy just nodded and hid his face in her shoulder.

Eventually, the two separated. Sally went off to the grocery store, insisting that she made dinner for the two of them, and Percy went to his room, taking out his phone and texting Jason.

Percy: i hated that

Jason: You all done?

Percy: yeah, just got home with my mom like ten minutes ago

Percy: do you wanna come over for dinner

Jason: Are you sure? Is your mom okay with it?

Percy: my mom thinks you're the new jesus, i just gotta tell her to buy enough for three

Jason: In that case, I'll be there. What time?

Percy: idk, around 6??

Jason: Sounds great.

Jason: Back to you. How'd everything go with the police?

The two texted back and forth for the better part of an hour, with only a short break for Percy to help his mother with groceries. The black-haired boy caught himself smiling at the messages more than a few times before Jason had to leave to make himself presentable for Percy's house.

Percy told his mother he'd invited Jason and, as predicted, she was overjoyed. She rambled on about how nice Jason was on the phone earlier that day and how handsome he was, as mothers do.

Percy couldn't help but agree.

Y'all I didn't know how to end the chapter, I'm so sorry LOL

Anyways, hope everybody is staying safe during quarantine and all that. Good luck with school! My sister has two weeks and I definitely have four or something so I'm mad about it. How long do you all have left?

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! See you next time!

(Are you proud of me for not taking eight years?? Ahaha)