Chapter Text
Leo
"Why did you start that fire? Why'd you do it Leo? Hm? WHY?" Leo's mother hissed his ear.
Ignore her Valdez. He told himself. Do what Reyna does.
He was in the rec room and everyone else was talking about what to do about this Bella chick, while Leo was trying his best to pay attention but it proved to be hard when his mother wouldn't stop talking.
He wasn't even supposed to be here! He was supposed to be in bunker 9. but Jake couldn't do it, because seeing his sister everywhere had really messed him up. Nyssa was meant to go if Jake couldn't, but she was to busy trying to stop Jake going completely over board. So Reyna had promised to come with him, and here he was.
"So I think you guys should leave later today, the sooner that you guys lift this curse, the better." Clarrise said.
Leo could tell she was trying her best to cover up the fear in her voice, but Leo saw the way she was constantly glancing to the left of her.
"Yeah, I agree with-" Annabeth was cut off.
Suddenly Leo's mother appeared directly in front of his field of vision.
"Stop ignoring me. You killed me Leo. I am dead because of you. You must face that. You're a cold blooded killer. That's all you are."
He jumped back slightly which caused Reyna (who was seated next to him) to cast a worried glance at him. He shook it off, and smiled at her. But Reyna's expression told Leo that she didn't believe him, and that she wasn't fooled.
"Awwww, how cute is that!" Leo's mother went and sat down next to him.
She flung her legs on the ping pong table, crossing them over while checking her nails.
"God Leo, you're so pathetic. Did you even see the way she looked at you after you kissed her? You know what her face was? It was a disgusted one. God she will probably be sick tonight knowing that you kissed her. She hates you Leo. God she barely, and I mean barely tolerates you. Ha! And here you are thinking that she just maybe has a thing for you too." She taunted him. Then she started to giggle which quickly changed so she was laughing at him.
He did his best to ignore her. Leo thinks that if he wasn't so used to holding back his tears, he wold be crying by now.
"......Leo?" Piper asked him.
His head shot up, and he saw that everyone was looking at him concerned, well apart from Clarisse, who was angrily staring at the space next to her.
"Uh what?" He asked, having absolutely no idea what she just said.
Her eyes narrowed at him.
"Are you okay?" her tone was worried, he face that of concern.
"Yeah. Course." I'm not. I'll never be again.
"Are you sure?" she said, not sounding convinced.
"Piper I'm fine." I'm lying. Look away, don't see what Iv'e become.
"Hm." She pursed her lips. "Well, I was asking you if the Argo 11 is ready." She looked at him like she wanted to say more, but wouldn't because of where they were.
"Uh yeah. Yeah it is." He answered her.
Once again her eyes narrowed.
"Leo are you sure you're fine." She asked him, trying once again.
He smiled at her.
"Pipes, I promise." Please don't see, the broken mess of me. The mess I am, the mess I always have been, and the mess I will always be.
She finally seemed to drop it.
"The Argo is ready and...." Leo tuned her out.
He tuned everyone out. He ignored Reyna's worried glances, and he tuned out Annabeth's battle plans. He pretended he couldn't see Jason's sky blue eyes watching him.
But the one thing he couldn't ignore, tune out or even pretend wasn't there was his mother.
"You were so hard to raise, you were such a burden. Why don't you just die. I bet your friends wish that you could of just stayed dead. Now they have to deal with you. Again. Honestly, why don't you just die. It would be so easy, no one would ever have to deal with you again. I want you dead so your friends don't have to face the same burden I did for 8 years. You should want that too."
Leo sighed and leaned back. This was going to be long day.
=================$$==================
When the meeting ended, Leo's mother had told him lies about Reyna so much, and so brutally that Leo was beginning to think they were true.
Oh of course they were true! Reyna would never want to be with in a relationship with him, let alone a friendship. Gods Reyna was probably disgusted with him. She would most likely abandoned him the first chance she gets, just like his family did after his mother die- No, after he killed his mother. No wonder his family didn't want him, he knows now that his mother had never wanted him, or even cared for him, but at least she had the decency to cover it up with fake love. If his friends, or the people he thought wanted to be his friend, ever found out that his family leaving him as bait to the greedy foster families, Leo was sure that they would be jealous. They are probably thinking about ways to ditch him right now.
Wait, what was he thinking?! Of course his friends liked him, and they are not going to leave him, or are they? Gods he needed Reyna right now.
But she doesn't need you. A voice in the back of his mind said.
One he knew all to well. One that had been tormenting him since he was 8. His worse torturer. Even when nothing else could get to him, this one still can. This will surely be the voice that drives him over the bridge and into insanity, and then, death.
It was his own.
He left the rec room without so much as a word to Reyna, in fear of annoying her more than he already has, and made his way back to the cabin.
He had a huge migraine, because his mother was not only trying to kill him with words, she decided now would be the perfect time to take up the trumpet.
And boy was she bad. The trumpet was supposed to be a beautiful instrument which was capable of such wonderful sounds if played correctly.
But his mother just ruined it. She played and played right into his ear. It was as if she was thinking that if her words did nothing to him (which it clearly did), then her awful musicals skills might do the job, and boy was she right. Half way through the meeting Leo was ready to walk out and shoot himself, but Reyna had smiled and held his hand and all thoughts of his mother vanished.
Reyna. God he here was again. Thinking about the girl he has a * small * crush on, and how she would never ever, ever even think about him like that.
By the time he was at his cabin, he was so exhausted, emotionally and physically, that he just wanted to collapse.
And that he did, right into Nyssa's arms.
She was surprised for about a minute, but since was used to Leo doing this, she wrapped her arms around him without a word.
Nyssa always used to tease Leo about the fact that was she taller than him, but now that they had gotten closer and they hugged more, it proved to be useful.
"Oh Leo I hate seeing you like this." She consoled him.
"How's Jake" he asked her, but his voice was quiet and weak, and he realised he was crying. Jake and Nyssa. Those two were the only people he trusted enough to let them see him cry.
"Don't listen to her Leo. It'll all be over soon, and uh what was that?" She said, her voice soft and gentle.
"How's Jake." He said louder. Leo didn't even have to look at Nyssa's face to know that it had just clouded with worry and concern.
"He's....He's as about as well was you are." She said, with a light laugh.
"Not good then?"
"No, not at all." She said, her voice serious.
He hugged her tighter now. His mother never said anything about Jake or Nyssa. Possibly because she knows that they have gotten close enough to form a bond that cannot be broken. But he had thought that about Jason and Piper. He still loves them but his mother had made sure that he knew that they hated him, and that they wanted nothing to do with him.
Gods he needed a distraction,
"Nyssa?" he asked, his voice weaker and more broken than before.
"Yeah little brother?"
"Sing. Please sing." He asked, sounding hopeful.
"Okay" She sighed. "I'll sing." She made it sound like she hated singing, but Leo knew she loved it.
"I'm bleeding out, if it's the last thing that I do." She started, her voice soft, and gentle.
Looking at the Hephaestus cabin you would never of expected them to be good at singing, but quite a lot of them can sing very well, including Leo. But Nyssa... she was the best in the cabin, her voice was... well her voice was beautiful. When she sang, everyone in the cabin stopped to listen. This time they were lucky, there was no one else in the cabin expect from Jake. Nyssa didn't want anyone to know she could sing, and with a quick check from everyone in the cabin, it turns out everyone didn't really want people knowing about their secret talent, Leo including, so they kept it a secret along with all the other secrets of cabin 9. But this one was different. This was one was their own.
"I'm bleeding out, if it's the last thing that I do
is bring you down, I'm bleeding out for you
so I bear my skin and I count my sins
and I close my eyes and I take it in
I'm bleeding out, I'm bleeding out for you
for you......"
Her voice was so beautiful and gentle that it lulled Leo right to sleep.
A nice peaceful sleep, with the sound of Nyssa's voice just reaching him.
But Leo can't have anything nice, and as soon as he slipped fully into a slumbering state, a nightmare came crashing through.
Oh no... Leo thought. Not this one.