Chapter VIII:

our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Leo remembered the feeling vividly. Endlessly falling, feeling dead and alive at the same time. It was addicting. He wanted more. He craved it. The way his veins throbbed while his heart rate climbed to infinity. The way his vision distorted the world around him as fireworks went off in his head. The way all his fears washed away.

But now it was all over. One night, he had gone too far. Leo tousled with the tubes that ran underneath hospital gown. The liquids slowly dripped from the IV bags into his bloodstream.

His eye sockets were sunken into his face from lack of sleep. His skinny frame had somehow managed to shrink even more. He was less than a hundred pounds now, at eighteen years of age. Eighteen.

He should have been dead. His father had found him unconscious on the bottom of their bathtub, pale white and not breathing. A miracle is what they had called it. He didn't see it that way. Yet.

The mounted screen on his left showed his EKG and resting heart rate. The blinds of his windows were closed shut. A small plate containing half a sandwich and a bag of chips remained untouched on the bedside table.

Leo's fingers tapped against the hard plastic surface rapidly. His anxiety was overriding every system in his body. The numbers on the screen began to climb. He pumped his fist, watching the spikes appear as they reacted to his sudden movements.

Knock. Knock.

A head of blonde hair appeared from the crack in the door. She didn't look like his normal nurse, although the low visibility made it difficult to tell. She wasn't wearing a long white coat.

"Are you Leo Valdez?"

"Pretty sure." Leo answered dejectedly.

"Nice to meet you, I'm your new therapist. You can call me Annabeth."

Great. Another one. How many had he been through at this point? Too many. And how many had actually worked? None.

"Ok."

Annabeth frowned at the closed blinds and briskly walked across the room. Leo threw his covers over his head as she flipped them open.

Annabeth positioned herself in the corner of the room on a small stool. "You need sunlight."

"I would be getting some if I wasn't trapped here like some sort of lab rat." Leo spat back.

The new lighting did give him a chance to fully study her. She didn't look like a therapist at all. In fact, she looked like she was his own age. Instead of wearing pruned up stilettos and a suit, she had on sneakers, sweatpants and a hoodie. Her hair was let down, exposing a bundle of subtle curls.

"That's not what your father said." Annabeth pointed to her clipboard, which was filled with lines of scribbles. "He said you almost never go outside now."

Leo didn't respond. What good was it going to do if all she did was tell him how he was wrong?

Somehow, she managed to read his mind. "I'm going to only ask you one question, and after that I won't talk for the rest of our allotted time. Do we have a deal?"

Leo shrugged. "Deal."

Annabeth set down her notes and leaned back. "What do you love most about your mother?"

He was completely thrown off guard. He was not expecting her to jump to the exact reason why he had begun taking drugs, his mother. No other therapist had ever asked him that before. He was at a loss for words.

"I—I don't know." He responded weakly.

Annabeth stayed true to her word and said nothing. Many minutes passed before Leo talked again.

"I miss the way she smelled."

His focus shifted to the singular potted plant on the windowsill which contained a daffodil, her favorite flower. Then the words began to pour out.

"The way she used to hold me. She was the only one I let tickle me in my weak spot. Most of the time she was my only friend. She would always take me to the park on Tuesday afternoons. Afterwards we would get ice cream from this shop named Rita's, and we would sit on the boardwalk and count red colored cars."

Leo paused when he realized that burning hot tears were running down the sides of his face. He wiped them off before continuing.

"On rainy days, we used to put on our rain boots and make tidal waves with the puddles. When I turned nine, Dad and her took me to Disney. The picture that Dad took of her and I standing in front of Animal Kingdom used to be my background."

The streams of tears had turned into a waterfall of emotions.

"After school, I would always sit with her in the workshop and watched the way she moved her fingers across the machines. On the days that Dad was drunk and angry, she distracted me by playing Star Wars on her work laptop. I watched every single Star Wars movie with her six times."

Leo stopped. He couldn't speak.

"Can I come back again, tomorrow?" Annabeth asked softly.

Leo didn't know if was able to form words, so he silently nodded and watched her leave the room.

It was a start.

Author's Note:

Ok, it was extremely refreshing to write this story. I don't think I've ever seen a story with a Leo x Annabeth, so I hope you enjoyed this one. A lot less Percy and more other people. Hope you guys enjoyed. Thank you all for the feedback. We are nearing the conclusion of the Ballad... Peace and love.

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters. Quote by Confucius (fun fact: this was my senior quote).