Bullied

Leo pushed himself up from the tree he'd been leaning on. He groaned slightly at the pain, from which he no longer could tell which hurt worse. His sides hurt from being kicked over and over again. There was a throbbing in his head from when he had slammed against the tree. His legs ached as well, he had tried to get away from him this time and ended up getting his legs kicked, hard. Probably the worst was the intense pain radiating from his stomach, from when he had taken a dagger and gave him a little scar. Although it wasn't the worst scar he had, he'd gotten worse.

It was dark out now, he had to head back to the cabin maybe he'd get lucky and his siblings would be asleep. Before he went to Cabin 9, he headed into the bathroom, to see how bad the damage was.

Dam.

That was not good, he didn't know how he would cover up this one. Other times, Scott, the bully had made sure to leave marks where they couldn't be seen. Apparently today he was pissed off, Leo looked like schist. He had a black eye, a split lip, a cut on his cheek, and the top of his head was bleeding, maybe he could try and hide it? Maybe the rest would heal fine and he could get away with it, but the cut on his cheek would leave a scar.

He was thankful that he had a hoodie on, he pulled on the hood and began to head back to the cabin. He quietly closed the door not wanting to wake up his siblings but froze when the light turned on. He turned around slowly, making sure to keep his hood on and head down. He still could see his surroundings though, crap. All of his siblings were awake even little Harley, they each had a look of their own, anger, worry, confusion.

"Where in Hades have you been?" Beckendorf, the oldest, asked him intently.

No answer.

"Do you know what time it is?" This time it was Nyssa asking him. Judging from her voice you could tell she didn't know whether to be angry or worried.

Again, no answer.

"It's 2 a.m.!" Chris raised his voice, only to be shushed.

"Don't yell." Nyssa sounded frustrated, only making Leo more anxious. A few moments of Leo being stared at and probably judged passed before he finally spoke.

"Sorry-"

"Damn right you should be sorry!" Chris half-shouted, feeling guilty when Leo flinched. "You scared us." He muttered. Massy sighed, she was the most calm out of any of them and could calm someone down in seconds.

"What happened? Why are you here past curfew?" She asked in a calm voice, Leo fidgeted under the gazes.

No answer.

"Leo you know there's a strict curfew. Especially with the campers that had gone missing a while ago." Zinana said firmly, Leo bit his lip and continued to fidget under their gazes. They continued to look at Leo for a few minutes, Nusumu seemed to notice something the other didn't. When Leo had walked in he had a limp, she was very observant, and could tell he was in pain as well. She got up from her spot on the bed and moved towards Leo.

Leo flinched slightly when she pulled his hood down, he kept his head down. Nusumu looked at her little brother.

"Leo look at me." She said firmly, the others seemed confused. Leo, on the other hand, knew exactly what she wanted to make sure of.

He kept his head down.

"Leo." She said more forcefully this time.

No movement.

She sighed she really didn't want to force him to do anything, but this was an exception. She grabbed Leo's chin and made him put his head up, she winced. Leo had a split lip with a nasty black eye, the cuts on his cheek and head were definitely worrying. She stood aside so her siblings could see as well the state their brother was in.

There were a few winces, angry glares for whoever hurt him, and even some gasps from the little kids. Massy stood up and moved toward him, Leo looked her in the eyes this time. She pointed to the bed, he stumbled but made his way over and sat down gently. Nyssa got a wet washcloth and began to dab the cuts on his face.

They watched as Nyssa cleaned to cuts, they all knew something as well though.

"Lift up your shirt," Jake said gently, Leo tensed, but he knew he could no longer get out of it. He lifted it up so the could see his stomach, but not his back. They winced, his stomach was littered with bruises and cuts, thankfully not deep. Nyssa finished cleaning him up and told him to get some Pajamas on and come back upstairs. They watched him go into his underground room, and close the door, then they lost it.

Chris had to walk outside to avoid punching someone in the face. Beckendorf sat at the end of his bed and put his head in his hands. Nyssa did a mix of the two and face planted into her pillow and screamed. Massy sat crisscross on her bed and took a deep breath trying to calm herself with meditation. Nusumu banged her head into the wall a few times, before leaning against it. Jake covered his face with his hands and took a breath. Christopher leaned against his bed frame. Kalme kicked the wall then sat against it. Jamie laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling try as well to contain her anger. Ziana walked outside as well, to either calm down Chris or yell they didn't know. Harley just watched his siblings go insane, but he had tears in his eyes.

It took everyone awhile to calm down and come back inside, but by the time they did Leo was ready. They each took a spot around the room, eyes staring intently. Leo wasn't confused, this time he knew exactly what they wanted, a name.

"Look I know you want their name but... I-I can't." Leo stuttered out, he hoped that his siblings would just push it off. "I-I don't...Uh..." He sounded flustered.

"The sooner you tell us the sooner you can relax," Nyssa said gently. Leo looked at his feet.

"Please tell us." Beckendorf sounded sincere, but Leo could tell they were aware that they were going to have to force the information out of him. A few moments passed. The air felt thick-at least to Leo-and difficult to breathe. His neck felt as though it were being hit directly with the heat of a large lamp, and his legs as though they were noodles. He continued to look anywhere but at them. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't lie, they'd see right through it. He couldn't leave, they wouldn't let him. So what could he do?

Leo began to fidget with his hoodie strings. Maybe he could just pass time so they would let him go to bed. He knew they wouldn't let him, but he needed to calm his nerves, their eyes burned into his skull. His breathing got shallower, he kept fidgeting with anything he could get his hands on.

"Leo," Massy said gently, she was ready to walk over and give her little brother a big hug and tell him everything was alright. Nyssa gave her a look, it wasn't like she also didn't want to comfort him, but they needed answers. "We won't be mad." Leo looked away in disbelief. She might not get mad, but everyone else would.

"I-I just don't remember his name. I would tell you if I knew." Leo mumbled the last part, and his speech sounded muddled and anxious. Massy looked at Nyssa, who looked at Chris, who looked at Jake, who looked at Beckendorf. They weren't sure to believe him, though he sounded genuine. In truth he knew exactly who was doing this, he made sure to let Leo know who he was, but Leo just wanted to get out of there. He knew he could never tell anyone, especially them, not after what he said.

Leo tired to shield his body from the attacks that came and full force, an intent to hurt. Scott smirked once again as the bruises on Leo's chest began to turn darker shades of red and blue. After kicking him in the stomach ten more times, he stepped away to admire his work. In short, Leo looked like schist. He made a move to get himself up but the pain was too great and he settled for leaning against the oak tree. Scott normally liked to beat and buise him in the forest, where he wouldn't get caught. Leo looked up at the smirking Scott, who smiled even wider and the state he was in.

"Why are you doing this." Leo asked painfully, it hurt to talk and breath, he wondered if he had broken ribs. Scott always made sure to leave bruises where only he would see them, 'no one else needs to know' he had said.

"Because someone needs to put an worthless, idiot like you in their place." He growled, Scott often told Leo how worthless and pathetic he was. It really didn't help his self confidence very much.

"M-my sibling's think i'm smart and i-important." He managed to get out, it was true his sibling's made it their job to make him feel like the most important demigod ever. Scott laughed like it was the funniest thing he ever heard, then got down to Leo's height.

"You better learn one thing. You are nothing. It doesn't matter that your friend's with Jackson, if anything he does it out of pity. It's honestly a miracle that your sibling's haven't disowned you yet." Without thinking about what he was saying he shouted.

"That's not true! They would protect me and take care of me no matter what!" Leo braily got a chance to think about what he said, before a fist collide with his stomach.

"You never even think about telling them about this and i'll kill all of them, starting with the little one." He said calmly, which is scarier than his normal voice. Leo felt like he could vomit. Not only was he as anxious as could be, inches away from Scott, and overheated, but he was absolutely petrified. Especially because he couldn't tell if Scott was being serious. Scott shoved him harshly against the tree, smirked unpleasantly, and walked off. Leo stayed on the floor for a few seconds. He felt an episode coming on, but he desperately didn't want to cry. He curled in on himself and remain there for the rest of the day until the sun began to set. He managed to hobble back to the cabin, where his siblings were already asleep. He didn't blame them with New Athens they had all been exhausted lately. He climbed into his bed and begged himself not to cry as he drifted into sleep.

His sibling's seemed to have a conversation with their eyes. He knew by their eyes that they didn't believe, but he had to make them. He was the master of masks and hiding how he felt, he could sound believable if he wanted to. He hated this, lying to them, when all they wanted to do was help. He refused to tell them, to keep them safe, he die if it meant keeping them safe. They were always very caring, and had always been willing to help him.

"Leo." A voice startled him out of his thoughts, he looked up. Ziana was standing in front of him, her eyes were locked with his. He could never lie to her, her eyes were a dark brown, nearly black. She had a way of making the truth come out, if you tried to lie to her, she knew, every time. Her hair was fiery red, and she was incredibly strong, you'd think she was an Ares cabiner, but her personality shut that down. She was kind, gentle, sweet, but had a temper.

"What is their name?" Ziana asked, he tired to look away but she grabbed his chin and made him look her in the eye.

"I-i-i-i…..um." He stuttered like crazy, he couldn't put it into words. I'll kill all of them, the words haunted his mind. Ziana gaze never wavered, not even once her eyes were shreaching for any sign of a lie.

"I d-don't know." Leo choked out, Ziana stared at him for a moment, her face held a look of disappointment.

"I know your lying Leo." She said firmly. Harley, being the youngest, began to get worried that his sibling would being to fight.

"N-n-no I'm not." Ziana looked really upset now, she couldn't believe her little brother didn't trust her this much. Jamie decide to step in, before her sister could start crying. Leo sat on the bed by Leo, her goggles hanging loosely around her neck, she sighed.

"Leo you need to trust us. We are your family, and I know you don't like hearing this. We are your older sibling's it's our job to take care of you." Ziana said frimley, Leo looked her in the eyes this time, she saw raw fear raditate in his eyes. It startled her, was he scared of them? Or the bully? For Leo he was scared they would get hurt, he sunk down.

"I-I can't tell you." Leo mumbled, a fire rose in Kalme eyes.

"Why not!" He shouted, everyone jumped. Nyssa was about to calm him, but he wasn't finished. "There is no excuse for you not to trust us! We love you! It hurts us to see you this way! Why can't you confide in us! Why can't you believe we can help you! We have and always will be there for you! So dammit tell us the truth! What is his name!" Kalme shouted with everything he had, everyone knew not to argue. There was a strict rule against curse words, because Harley was still young, there were even careful to use around Leo. It was silent. Kalme still held an irritated expression, still red in the face. "...Sorry." He muttered, still sounding upset.

Leo looked down, overwhelmed by everything that had just been thrown at him. "It's fine." He said shakily.

"Are you embarrassed about it?" Ziana asked gently.

"No." Leo murmured.

"Then why won't you tell us?" Nusumu asked desperately. She was extremely distraught that Leo didn't trust them enough to let them help.

No answer.

"Leo. Please." Jamie begged.

No answer.

"You can't get out of this. We aren't moving from this spot till you answer us." Christopher frimley said.

No answer.

"Why can't you trust us?" Massy asked, looking close to tears.

No answer.

"Leo." There was a short silence. "Leo, look at me." Leo began to quiver, as though trying not to cry. Leo didn't look up, instead bit his lip harder. "Please." Leo began to tremble, he brought his knees up to his chest.

"No." He said shakily, feeling overheated as tears still threatened to spill from his eyes. He absolutely hated when people saw him cry, though it happened more than he could control. Leo knew that crocodile tears, used for just the sake of leaving would work, but it would work even better if they were real, so he let himself sob. In normal circumstances he wouldn't do this, but now even he couldn't hold back the sob. Everything hurt, being told everyday that he was worthless while being beaten made him feel like he was still in foster care. He never wanted to remember those times, but now he couldn't help himself.

Massy sighed audibly, and hugged him. She hugged him and let him cry for a while. Despite feeling bad not letting him leave, she needed to know who it was. She needed yo know who was making him miserable. By the time Leo was done crying, her sleeve was covered in tears and snot. Not that she cared.

"Can you at least tell me a little bit?" She muttered, trying not to sound demanding. Leo gave up.

"H-H-He's an Ares cabiner." Leo sniffled. The rest of the cabin stiffend slightly, crap. They were all ready worried about it being one of them. It's not like they hated them, it was just, when they wanted to they could make someone terrified. It was sad and pathetic. Truly, it was difficult to meet an Ares cabiner who wasn't a complete douche. Though Massy wasn't satisfied with the information she was given, she let him go.

"Thanks." She smiled at Leo's tear stained face. Leo merely looked at the floor again. "Go clean up." Massy said gently.

Without looking up Leo made his way into the bathroom in their cabin. They listened to the shower being turned on before talking.

"So, what do we do?" Jamie asked, she placed her hands over her face. The cabin seemed at a loss for words, only a few times had they seen Leo breakdown.

"Tomorrow, after breakfast we have Leo go do something. Then we have a long talk with Clarisse about a certain cabiner of hers." They all nodded in agreement.

Nobody hurts their brother.

Hi this is my 1st story! I would really like some feedback and i'll take some ideas so feel free to give me story idea cause i will write them!