Chapter Text
Percy was hungry. They didn’t have any food in the fridge (aside from Gabe’s beer). He could boil water and make himself noodles, but his mom always said he wasn’t allowed to use the stove without an adult nearby.
And while Gabe was around, and technically an adult. Percy wasn’t sure he qualified.
So he just sat in his room, hungry.
His mom should be home by now. Why she wasn’t, Percy didn’t know. But it was getting dark, and normally she was home before the sunset.
He hadn’t eaten since lunchtime. And his mom had promised to make spaghetti when she got home.
Maybe he could ask Gabe to order takeout?
No. Gabe would just yell at him for asking. And Percy really didn’t want to risk getting hit again. (His eye still hurts from earlier.) Besides, he didn’t think they even had the money for that right now.
His stomach cramped, like it was trying to eat itself. And it hurt.
If Percy couldn’t ask Gabe for food, maybe he could at least ask when his mom would be home.
Percy crawled out of his bed quietly, (Gabe didn’t like it when he was loud.) clutching a blue octopus stuffed animal that had clearly seen better days. He made his way out of his room, and into his step-father’s territory.
Smelly Gabe, true to the title, was lounging on the couch nursing a bottle, as he watched some sort of tv-show.
Percy held his octopus tighter.
He slowly approached Gabe, like he was approaching a wild dog, only getting close enough so he was in line of sight.
Gabe grunted. "Get me another beer, boy!"
Percy knew better than to say no.
Quietly, (Because if he was too loud, Gabe would get mad.) he made his way to the fridge, grabbed a beer, closed it- making sure it didn’t shut too loudly, then made his way back to the couch.
He handed his step-father the beer, then took five steps back to get away from the foul smelling man.
"When’s mom going to be home?" Percy asked, fighting the urge to just run back to his room and hide.
Gabe shrugged. No answer.
Percy's stomach growled in displeasure.
"Has she texted you?" He pushed.
"Uh… I don’t know." The man slurred.
Percy glared. "Well, can you check?" He asked, sass slipping into his tone.
Gabe sighed, before his hand went to his phone that was on the side table.
He tapped the screen once, twice. "’S dead." He stated.
Percy let out a frustrated breath, moving closer to Gabe to plug in the said phone.
He reached his hand out to grab the phone charger, (Which was right next to the phone.) but Gabe grabbed his wrist before he could.
He shouted in a mix of pain and surprise. Dropping his stuffed octopus.
"Did I say you could snoop through my phone, brat?" Gabe sneered.
"I wasn’t going-"
The man squeezed his wrist harder. Percy felt tears fill his eyes.
"I was going to plug it in! I’m sorry!" He cried.
Gabe held onto his wrist. For one, two, three… before letting go.
Percy scrabbled backward, clutching his now bruised wrist. Eyes wide with fear.
"Don’t. Snoop. Do you understand me?" His step-father asked, looking pissed as all hell.
"Yes, sir." Percy said, trying to stop crying before Gabe got mad about that as well.
Gabe looked at him for a moment, seeming to size him up.
Then, the man began to stand.
Percy got ready to book it back to his bedroom.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Startling them both.
Gabe froze. And Percy didn’t dare move, didn’t dare breathe. Fearing even a twitch might cause him to come to his senses, and then he would start hitting.
And oh, how Percy hated the hitting. It didn’t ever not hurt. He always thought, 'maybe it won’t be as bad this time.' Gabe always proved him wrong.
There was another knock…
And Gabe fell back onto the couch. "Go see who’s at the door."
Percy didn’t need to be told twice.
He hastily picked his octopus up off the floor, wiped his tears, and ran to the door.
He expected it to be his mom at the door. Maybe she had just forgotten her key. That happened sometimes.
But when Percy opened the door, he found two cops on the other side.
"Hello officers. Can I help you?" Percy asked, feeling scared again. Because why were the police here? Was he in trouble?
Could the school have called them? No, the school wouldn’t have. Sure, he hadn’t gotten into a fight or two, but those fights weren’t his fault, so the school wouldn’t call the cops.
Right?
One of the officers, an older man with gray hair and wrinkles in the corners of his eyes, spoke to him. "Hey kid. We are looking for Gabriel Ugliano. Is he here?" He asked, glancing past him. (Smelling the foul smell, and seeing the beer bottles that were scattered on the floor.)
Percy nodded. "He’s my step-father. Want me to get him?"
"If you would." The officer said, looking back at Percy. (Taking in his black eye, his tear stained checks and the stuffed animal tucked closely to his chest.)
Percy nodded, turning into the apartment, and shouting, "Gabe! It’s the cops. They need to talk to you!"
He heard Gabe scrabble to his feet, and almost laughed when he caught a muffled 'Shit!'
Gabe was suddenly behind him, and Percy did his best not to flinch when a hand came down on his shoulder. (He hated having his back to him. It always made Percy go tense, no matter how hard he tried to stay relaxed.)
Gabe seemed to have sobered up at the word 'cops', eyes wide with false cheer and hidden fear. "Officers! What can I do for you?"
"Sir, is your wife Sally Jackson?" The younger officer asked.
"Yeah." Gabe responded.
"Mr. Ugliano, there was an accident involving your wife. She is in the hospital, and is in critical condition. It is important that you come to the hospital right away."
Percy’s heart fell to his feet.
His mom was in an accident? What kind of accident? Did she fall and hurt herself? Sometimes Percy did that when he wasn’t paying attention.
Or… like a car accident? Like what he saw on TV? But the people on TV were always really hurt afterword.
Did his mom get really hurt? The police man said she was in the hospital so she must have been.
Percy didn’t hear what Gabe said in response, or the officer's reply.
He was too lost in thought to hear anything. Until Gabe started getting angry, tightening his grasp on Percy, and pulling him back into the apartment. Percy shouted in pain at Gabe’s fingers digging into his shoulder, and the next thing he knew, the older cop had pulled Percy outside into the cold December air.
And away from Gabe.
The older man looked down at Percy.
Percy, who was putting two and two together that his mom might not be okay. And was holding back tears, mainly because of the sudden pain and shock from being pulled away from Gabe’s grasp. (But also, because a sense of dread was slowly filling the young boy.)
"Is my mom okay?" He asked, voice small.
The older man took a breath. "C’mon kid. I’ll take you to her."
Everything got fuzzy after that.
One moment, Percy was getting into a police car. And the police man was asking him questions like: 'Is there food in your fridge at home?' There wasn’t. 'Dose Gabe drink often?' Yes. 'Has he ever hit you?'
Percy didn’t answer that question. Because Gabe had told him repeatedly, that if he told anyone, he would just hit him harder.
But Percy's silence was answer enough.
A few minutes later, he was eating McDonald’s chicken nuggets. Which was nice, because he didn’t get McDonald’s often. And he was super hungry.
Then, all of a sudden, he was walking into a hospital waiting room and sitting down.
He didn’t know how long he waited for. But he wanted to see his mom.
At some point, a blanket was wrapped around his shoulders. And he talked to this nice lady in a fancy blazer, said she was a 'Family Service Worker', whatever that meant. She kept him company.
When Percy had asked if he could see his mom, the nice lady had delicately changed the subject.
Then, a doctor came out.
He seemed like a nice guy. Middle age, brown hair and brown eyes.
He got down to Percy's level, with a sad look on his face.
At first, Percy was confused. Why did he look sad? The few doctors Percy had seen always seemed super cheerful.
Then the words the doctor was saying registered in his brain.
"I’m so sorry for your loss."
Oh.
His mom was dead.