Hi! I'm so sorry this took so long, but the last two weeks of term were crazy. I had so many tests and assessments. But the good news is that it's the holidays now! So in theory, I should have two solid weeks of writing time, which is good. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and please review!
(Also CrazinessExtreme mentioned something about Teresa. I don't know who that is. Is she mentioned in the books? If so which one? It's been a while since I've read them so I don't remember who she is. If anyone can tell me, that would be great. Thanks.)
PERCY
Percy couldn't describe how bad he felt. If he was being completely honest, he'd never really appreciated Leo as much as he should have. Frankly, he'd found him kind of annoying. Of course he'd respected Leo, to some degree. But the guy seemed to only be around to fix things, make Hazel flustered and crack jokes that lowered Frank's self esteem. And then of course, there had been the whole firing on New Rome fiasco. He knew that it wasn't Leo's fault and that he shouldn't let it affect his relationship with Leo, but it had. He knew nothing about the guy- he seemed almost crazy when Percy had first met him. He could have betrayed them all at any point. Percy knew that really anyone on that ship could have, but for some reason, Leo had seemed the most likely person to do it. Yeah that wasn't a fair judgement. Percy knew it. He felt immensely guilty for misjudging Leo like that, especially once he saw how smart he was, and how hard he worked, and how loyally he fought. By the time he'd sacrificed his life to destroy Gaia, Percy had formed a lot of respect for the guy. He had hated himself for not being able to save him.
But that didn't mean that he knew anything about Leo, or his past, or even what he did all day when he wasn't working. Percy tried to get to know all his crew members and campers, but Leo was a complete mystery to him. Or at least he had been until now. The memories had shocked him more than he'd like to admit. At first he thought that it was some kind of practical joke from Hera- these memories couldn't be real. Leo was too happy all the time. Anyone who had this kind of horrible past would be… well they would be like Nico used to be before he had settled in at Camp Half-Blood- angry, afraid and closed off from everyone else. But now he was sure that these were Leo's memories. And he felt terrible for how he had judged Leo. Leo wasn't the hyperactive, crazy jokester he thought he was. He was a lot more mature than he'd thought.
Percy rubbed his face with his hands, sighing, and turned back to the memory.
The woman who opened the door was tall and bony, with black hair scraped back tightly into a perfect bun. She smiled with bright red lips that matched her caked-on face. There was something slightly off, slightly sinister about her smile however, that made Leo take a step back.
"I don't want- I don't think- I can't-" He fumbled over his words, trying to convey his mistrust for this woman.
"Leo." Tiffany said warningly, trying to stay kind. "Come on now. We've talked about this."
"Yes boy. Listen to your caseworker. Don't be so disrespectful!" Leo looked panicked. Tiffany pushed him forward and into the house. The hallway was dim and long, the floor glossy and wooden.
"Right. Thank you, Josephine-"
"Mrs Yang! Do you think I would answer to Josephine?"
"Right." Tiffany said again, looking awkward. "I'm very sorry Mrs Yang."
"It's perfectly fine." Mrs Yang said, her tone icy. "I'm sorry for my rudeness. I shouldn't have yelled. I just have very strong etiquette standards. You must never call an elder by their first name." Tiffany nodded, clearing her throat.
"Well, I have a few forms for you, Mrs Yang."
"I see. Let me get a pen. I'll be happy to sign them."
While Mrs Yang and Tiffany organised the signing of the forms, Leo looked around him at the house. It was completely silent. He had been told that there were three other children living here. Where were they? He looked at Mrs Yang again. She would never replace his mother. She was too harsh, to cruel and sharp-looking. He missed his mother so much it hurt. He didn't want to be here. He didn't trust this woman- he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about her. Leo felt tears prickling in his eyes. He sniffed, rubbing his eyes. Mrs Yang's head snapped to the side towards him, eyes full of loathing. She looked like she desperately wanted to hurt him, or at least yell at him, but Tiffany was there, so she couldn't. Leo backed away.
"Alright." Tiffany said after what had seemed like an eternity. "That's all the signing done. Thank you Mrs Yang. I hope Leo will be happy here."
"I hope so too." Mrs Yang's lips twisted into a thin smile.
"And remember, Leo," Tiffany knelt down to his level, "You can always call me if you need to." She stood up and waved goodbye as Mrs Yang showed her out. Leo wanted to grab her legs like he used to when he didn't his mother to leave. He wanted to go with her, not stay in this dark house with this scary woman.
As soon as Tiffany left, Mrs Yang turned to Leo.
"Stop crying boy! Do you think I except such an overreaction in my house? It is completely pathetic. From now on, you live in my house, and you will follow my rules. And one of them is no sadness. You must always be happy. Do you understand? No tears, no shouting, no frowning. Those negative emotions are a complete waste of time and you will be punished if you ever show them."
No negative emotions? Percy couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could anyone, let alone a kid, not have negative emotions? Especially one who had lost his mother a week before and had been bullied and verbally abused. Not to mention he had had to live on the streets with almost no food or shelter. No negative emotions? That was ridiculous. It was an impossible ask.
Percy thought about his own eight year old self. While his mum had always said he'd had a strange maturity about him as a child, he had also had moments, just like any young child, of complete and overwhelming emotions. Of course, he'd had joy and excitement that he couldn't contain when he opened Christmas presents, or they went to the waterpark near their apartment or, even better, when they went to the beach. But he'd also had plenty of experiences of anger and outrage when he didn't get what he wanted, usually involving temper tantrums and all the taps in the vicinity to mysteriously turn on. While most of the time he was calm and easy going, he had to admit that often his emotions had controlled him rather than the other way around. It was a perfectly normal, perfectly human thing to have negative emotions occasionally. To tell someone they weren't allowed to have them was crazy.
Leo swallowed hard, rubbing his eyes quickly. Mrs Yang sneered at him in disgust as he sniffed, rubbing his running nose and eyes with the same hand.
"Filthy boy." She muttered, grabbing his wrist and dragging him after her. Leo stumbled, trying to catch up. Mrs Yang led him down a pristine hallway to an even more pristine bedroom. The three other children he'd been told about were there- sitting on their beds, bent over what looked like homework. They looked up as Mrs Yang and Leo walked in, radiant smiles on their faces, as if they were impossibly happy to see the two of them.
Despite being big and over the top, their smiles seemed real. Their eyes crinkled with smile lines. Percy was almost fooled into thinking they were genuine. But then he remembered what Mrs Yang had said to Leo. No negative emotions. You had to be happy. These children were faking smiles out of fear, and they were good at it too.
Leo didn't realise.
Leo gave a weak smile in return, his body relaxing. Mrs Yang dragged him over to each child in turn. The first was a tall, slim girl with glossy black hair. She looked about fourteen.
"This is my daughter, Jasmine. My real daughter that is." She added with a pointed look at Leo, as if to tell him to back off. He'd never measure up to her. She came first. "She's the smartest person you will ever meet. You will respect her." It was more of a command than a statement.
Jasmine smiled at Leo again. Percy couldn't tell if it was real or not. It looked real, she acted like it was real, but he didn't trust it. He didn't trust any of these kids.
Unfortunately, Leo was oblivious. He barely registered Mrs Yang's gloating. He was too relieved at being accepted for once to care.
Mrs Yang pulled him over to the next child, a boy, maybe two years older than Leo, with dark brown skin, messy hair and pale eyes.
"This is Harry." Mrs Yang said with a hint of disgust. "Don't talk to him. He's nothing but a troublesome wretch." She turned to him. "But then again, all you Blacks are trouble. Filthy little Negro." She sneered. Harry beamed, despite her cruel comment.
(A/N I mean no offence by Mrs Yang's statement. It does not represent my views in any way, but the views of this particular character. This is true for any racism/sexism/homophobia in any chapters. Thank you.)
Leo frowned, confused at his reaction.
"What is that frown for? Smile, boy!" Mrs Yang snapped, and Leo quickly smiled at Harry. The last child was a small girl, about nine years old. She had a small, thin face and gold ringlets. She was pretty, except for a strange bruise on her face.
"This is Eloise. Don't talk to her either. She's fat and hideous." Mrs Yang snapped, sneering. Eloise smiled happily at the comment, and Leo smiled warily back, looking even more confused. Mrs Yang turned to Leo.
"Now, there aren't enough beds so you'll be sleeping on the floor. I bought you a pillow so be grateful. And no complaining. If I hear a single complaint from you you'll be sleeping in the laundry. Understand?" Leo nodded.
Mrs Yang turned and left the room, slamming the door. Immediately, all three of the children slumped. Jasmine punched the bed in anger, Harry covered his face with his hands and poor little Eloise started to cry silently. Leo stood by his makeshift bed and stared at them in shock. Jasmine leapt to her feet, rage clear on her face.
"God, I could kill that woman sometimes!" She growled, starting to mutter things under her breath in a language Leo didn't understand. She sighed, before turning to him.
"I'm so sorry about her. My mum is just a racist old bully who loves to play favourites. Don't listen to anything she says." She went to say something else, but stopped herself.
Percy wondered what she was holding back.
Jasmine noticed Eloise. She sighed again, quickly glancing at the door before kneeling in front of the little girl.
"Don't cry, Eloise. I promise you that you're not ugly, or fat- not at all. You are beautiful, ok? She's just being mean. She's just a horrible old woman. Don't listen to her." Eloise sniffed loudly. Jasmine furtively glanced at the door, a look of fear on her face.
"Shh! She'll hear you!" Her voice softened as she wiped away the little girls tears. "Don't cry. You know what happens if she sees you cry." All the children simultaneously turned to the closed door.
Percy wondered what they were all so terrified of. What about Mrs Yang had them all walking on eggshells? She was just a racist old woman with a bad temper. But the way they looked at the door, eyes filled with terror at being caught showing emotion, made Percy suspect there was something more.
Jasmine turned back to Leo.
"I'm Jasmine by the way. You already know that, but I just wanted to introduce me myself. I don't need that witch introducing me. 'This is Jasmine. Isn't she just so pretty? Isn't she just so smart? She's my daughter, isn't she great?'." Jasmine rolled her eyes. "It's ridiculous. So yeah, I'm not some goddess, I'm normal, I swear. Or at least I try to be." She cracked a smile, and, as genuine as her previous smiles had looked, this one was so honest and obviously real that they suddenly seemed glaringly fake in comparison. Leo grinned in return, sliding his bag off his shoulder and onto the ground by his pillow.
"You don't talk much." Jasmine noted. "So, what's your name?"
Leo opened his mouth, but no sound came out. It was unusual for him to have to say his name- he wasn't used to it. For the past month, his life had consisted of a blur of medical professionals and child service workers. None of them had asked his name. They either didn't care and just checked his vital signs and nutrition levels silently or they would just look at the information sheet at the end of his bed and call him by the name written there. He wasn't worth asking about his name. It didn't matter to them that his mother had only called him Leonidas because the rest of the family said he needed a more respectable name than Leo. It didn't matter that she and he had both hated the name Leonidas, or that they both had called him Leo all his life. Leo swallowed hard.
"L-Leo." He answered quietly.
Jasmine smiled. "Hi Leo."
Harry sat up and crawled across his bed, the closest one to Leo's sorry excuse for a bed. "Hi, Leo!" He smiled at Leo too. Leo gave him a grin back. Eloise joined them, forming a strange triangle of expectant eyes.
"So…?" Harry asked, trying to prompt him. Leo's smile faded as he realised what they wanted- an explanation. Why was he here? Where were his parents? What was his story?Unfortunately, Leo couldn't tell them. He could try, but he knew he couldn't make himself talk. And what would they think if he did manage to talk- if they knew that he had killed his own mother? They all had big smiles on their faces, looking open and inviting, but Leo balked, backing away.
"N-no, I-" His eyes grew red. The confrontation was happening again.
Suddenly, the door flew open and Mrs Yang stormed in.
"Dinner! Get up! Get up! UP! I said get up, you stupid children!"
The three kids leapt to their feet and turned to her, beaming, bodies like puppets. Back straight. Chest out. Big smile.
Only one child didn't smile. He tried to. He really did. His lips raised up, he stood up straight. It was his eyes that let him down. Because they had the beginnings of tears in them, and they were open wide, instead of crinkled with smile lines. It was a fake smile, and Mrs Yang saw through it. She marched over, shoving the other kids out the way, and grabbed Leo by the collar of his shirt, lifting him up onto his toes. The rest of his body was limp and his eyes were scared as they looked into hers. Her face was inches from his and she spat her words through her teeth, rage barely contained.
"What is this?" She grabbed his face with her talon-like nails. "Are these tears?" Leo's breathing hitched in fear.
"Do you think, Leo Valdez, that just because it is your first day here in this house that you are exempt from its rules? From my rules? Do you think that you are above my rules?"
Leo shook his head as much as he could with her holding his face.
"No? So you don't think you are above my rules?" Leo shook his head again. Mrs Yang's face twisted with rage.
"Then why are you crying?" She screamed in his face. Leo's whole body started to shake.
"Stop. Shaking." Mrs Yang growled through her teeth. Leo managed to stop.
"Good. Now, smile. I said smile!" Leo tried his best to smile, but it wasn't enough. He didn't know how to fake a smile, not really. His attempt may have fooled poor naive Mrs Wilson, but not Mrs Yang.
"That isn't a smile!" She threw him down in anger and lifted her hand to slap him.
"Mother!" Jasmine cried quickly, and Mrs Yang turned to her, seething. She looked like she was going to slap Jasmine instead of Leo for interrupting her, but Jasmine cut in quickly.
"I mean no disrespect, but I think you might be mistaken. Leo's crying out of joy. He is so happy to have made friends with us that he's overwhelmed. He's completely happy!" Jasmine smiled joyfully. Mrs Yang scowled at her daughter, staring at her for a few seconds, before she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her by her hair, wrapping the girl's long black hair around her fist close to the scalp so that she couldn't move. Jasmine's eyes flashed terror, but it was replaced with a smile just as fast. Her mother gave her a quick slap across the face, but Jasmine's fast thinking had stopped it becoming something worse. Mrs Yang let go of her daughter and walked to the door.
"Hurry up! I said it's dinner time. It'll be cold now because of Leo! Hurry up!" Eloise and Harry silently filed after her out of the room, but Jasmine remained, helping Leo to his feet. She checked the door before saying quietly, "Look Leo, I want to be your friend, and I'm happy for you to be my foster brother, but that was too close. We have an unwritten rule here. You don't get helped and you don't help anyone else. If someone messes up and doesn't smile right, it's their fault. They get punished, but the rest of us won't interfere. Every man for himself, you know? We can't risk our safety for someone else. Mum doesn't like hurting me, so I can usually get away with small things, but this is the last time I'll help you. I can't take anymore bullets for you, so unless you want to be beaten, I suggest you learn how to smile, and learn fast." She gave him a weak smile and walked out, Leo trailing numbly behind her.
…
It turned out that the delicious smells coming from the kitchen weren't what Mrs Yang had meant by "dinner". No, the roast chicken and vegetables were all for her, which she ate while the children watched, stomachs grumbling. No. What she meant when she said "dinner" was a piece of bread each with butter. And that was the first thing Leo learnt in that house- self restraint. Every meal they would stand in silence, unmoving, watching Mrs Yang eat her pancakes, or her beef wrap, or her chicken pie. They would stand and smile, so happy to watch her eat all this delicious food, meanwhile hunger was clawing their insides. Sometimes they would get bread, sometimes overripe fruit that Mrs Yang didn't want, sometimes nothing at all.
They didn't go to school, instead, Mrs Yang "homeschooled" them. At least that's what she told the authorities. In reality, their homeschooling consisted of doing chores and hard labour. Moving big rocks in her garden, fixing the shower, folding mountains of washing. They had to do all these chores perfectly and with a constant smile on their face. All four children would collapse in their room at the end of the day, exhausted, their faces aching from smiling. Leo had been shocked by Mrs Yang's aggression towards him on his first day, and by her slapping Jasmine, but he soon realised that that was nothing. When Harry dropped a plate onto the floor, she threw him down and hit him until he was covered in bruises. When Eloise burnt her hand on the stove and cried out in pain, Mrs Yang screamed in her face and slapped her so hard that she had a hand print on her face for the next three days. And both of these times, all the children had continued smiling. Harry had burst into helpless laughter as she beat him. It had disturbed Leo to see them smiling as she hurt them. He wanted to leave, he couldn't watch. He wanted to help. But Jasmine had grabbed his hand and grabbed it so hard her knuckles turned white and his bones felt like they would break, all the while smiling serenely, as if watching little children be hurt was the most joyful thing in the world.
"Smile." She'd hissed at him. "Or she'll hurt you too."
It was when they finally were given a rest each day, and could hide away in the safe haven that was their shared bedroom that Leo learnt the second thing he had to know to survive in Mrs Yang's house- how to fake a smile.
"No no no. See how your eyes aren't crinkling? They need to crinkle. That's one of the signs of a real smile." Jasmine corrected him, standing behind him as he practiced in the mirror. "Your eyes are too vacant. It looks like you're staring off into the distance. You're meant to be smiling about what she's said or done, so look at her. Stay alert when you smile. She's the centre of your attention. Yeah, like that. Good." Each day, his smile got better and better, becoming more and more realistic thanks to Jasmine's constant alterations.
Unfortunately, Leo still wasn't as good at faking smiles as the other children. He broke easily, and would often cry himself to sleep at night- lost in horrible nightmares and all consuming thoughts of death and pain that made it hard to breathe. He would cry about his mother, and his fear, and his lost life, but most of all about the horrible, cold loneliness that was starting to grow inside him, which would continue to grow for the rest of his life.
It was during one of these times, late at night, that Mrs Yang caught him crying. He tried to be silent, but that night, the pain was too much. Harry and the other children looked at him from their beds with pleading eyes.
"Stop. Be quiet. She'll hear you!" Harry whispered frantically. Leo shoved his fist in his mouth to muffle his sobs, and when that didn't work, he buried his face in his pillow. The door swung open, and the three other children shrank back, feigning sleep. The light switched on and Leo was dragged to his feet by his hair. And then she beat him. And while she beat him, hitting him and punching him until he could barely think, she hurled insults that would scar him just as much as the deep cuts her talons made in him. Leo Valdez would never have confidence in himself again. He would never feel worthy, or important, or loved. He would always be a scrawny, horrible boy who should never have been born. He would be a waste of space and air who was better off dead. He was a mistake. Mrs Yang made sure he would never forget it. Her words would never leave his brain. And so it was no wonder that his bruises and cuts didn't hurt half as much as his aching, aching soul.
…
The next day, he asked to ring Tiffany. Barely able to walk and covered in bruises, his voice shook as he asked Mrs Yang.
"Why?" She snapped, though it was obvious why. "Don't you like it here? Aren't you happy?" The subtext was as clear as if she'd said it out loud: You'd better be happy.
"I-I… of course I'm happy." Leo grinned. He was terrified.
"Then why do you want to call your case worker?"
"I… I just do. It's not… not for any particular reason. I, um, I just need to call her." Mrs Yang stared at him for a few seconds, but then her thin lips twisted into a cruel smirk.
"Ok then. Let's give dear Tiffany a call, shall we?" She picked up the phone and dialled Tiffany's private number. It rang for a few seconds, but the she picked up.
"Hello? Tiffany Bragson, child protection services. Is this Mrs Yang?"
"Yes. Yes it is. I have young Leo here, he wants to talk to you." Her tone was acidic, but her words dripped like honey. She shoved the phone into Leo's hands. Leo gulped. He took the phone away from his mouth, turning to Mrs Yang.
"Um, I-I kind of wanted to talk in-in private?"
Percy wanted to slap the sugar-sweet smile off her face.
"Oh, did you now? I don't think that will be possible dear. No, you're talking to her right here. Why would you need to talk in private? You've got nothing to hide, haven't you?"
"I… I guess."
"Good boy." Leo put the phone back on his ear.
"H-hello?"
"Hello Leo. What is it you wanted to tell me?"
"I wanted to say… to say…" Leo gulped. He glanced back at Mrs Yang, who was pressed up behind him, breathing down his neck. She was slowly wrapping her fingers around his neck, her long nails digging into his throat.
"Go on." She said. "Tell her what you have to say."
Leo whimpered.
"I wanted to say… that I-" He took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face. "That I love it here! It's really great. Mrs Yang is so nice and accepting. I feel like I have a family here. She's… she's almost as good as my mum was."
"Almost as good?" Mrs Yang whispered.
"I-I mean she's even better than my mum!"
"And you're glad your mummy is dead, aren't you, Leo?" She purred in his ear. A tear trickled down his cheek past his smile.
"I'm… I'm so glad my mum died. She was nothing compared to Mrs Yang. I love Mrs Yang. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
"That's wonderful, Leo!" Tiffany beamed. "Well, I have a meeting to go to now, but I'm so glad you feel like you're settling in at your new home." As soon as the phone hung up, Mrs Yang snatched it away and spun him round to face her, grabbing his face.
"You will never ask to call her again, do you understand? You will never speak to her again because you love it here and you are happy here and you are never leaving here. Don't even think about touching that phone, or running away. We wouldn't want something tragic to happen to you if you tried, now would we?"
Leo spent that night crying until he had nothing left to cry out but the blood in his veins.
…
"It's good that you're smiling with your teeth- unless you just have a small smile on your face, a genuine smile will have teeth, and trust me, small smiles don't count here. But I shouldn't be able to see your bottom teeth. Real smiles, you only see top teeth."
Eventually, his smiles became perfect. And they became permanent. A constant feature of his face, just as fixed as his eyes or nose. He rarely cried himself to sleep over his mother anymore, or looked sad. He would practically skip out of his room in the morning, when really he was dying inside. He forgot how to show emotion. Anger? He never yelled. It was an almost alien thing, showing sadness. He hadn't cried for almost half a year. She beat him less for smiling wrong, and more for small things now. It was almost like she did it for fun.
There was no escape. He became like the other children- terrified of his own emotions, always looking over his shoulder, checking closed doors before he spoke. He did what Mrs Yang wanted on command. He was unflinching when she hurt the other children. It was all about survival and self preservation. You don't help others and they don't help you.
He turned nine. He didn't celebrate his birthday. He felt more alone each day. The kids talked to him less and less. The world grew darker. There was no escape.
No escape.
…
One day, Leo couldn't take it anymore. She could hurt him, she could kill him. He didn't care. He had to escape. He packed his bag, but he was smart this time. He climbed out of bed in the middle of the night and tiptoed to the kitchen. He filled his duffel bag with food and water and clothes. He was about to leave, but something made him stop. He walked back to the kitchen, and slowly and silently, he pulled a knife from the knife block. And then he unlocked the door and ran, heart pounding in his chest, into the unknown freedom and horror ahead.
