I LIVE!
Salut, mes amis!
Whoa…okay…no death glares…. Hey, you in the back! Put down the pitchfork!
Im soooo sorry about this super late update. My teachers are piling on homework like you would not BELIEVE. Anyway, here is chapter nineteen!
Also, I've been getting requests after the last chapter to do Anni's death because you want a hug scene. I'm happy to oblige, as that was my plan, but I'm thinking I'm gonna do it sooner than I was expecting, seeing as the whole thing is getting rather repetitive. Is that just me, or does everyone else feel that way? So I'm gonna skip a few memory years. Hera's coming back!
Disclaimer: I am a fanfiction author, but I, sadly, am not a real-life author. YET. So anything you recognize from the amazingness that is Rick Riordan's books, I do not own.
The seven were all staring at the screen before suddenly, the device turned off. Yet again, Hera poofed on top of the table, giving everyone the stink eye.
She had cleaned up since the food fight, though she still smelled faintly of gravy, ketchup, and applesauce. She lifted her chin, not looking at any of them.
"Hello, my heroes." She said loftily. "I am here to summarize."
Everyone gave each other apprehensive looks. Annabeth muttered another order of mashed potatoes to her plate and dug her spoon in threateningly.
Hera's eyes darted to her before she continued. "The rest of Leo's life on the streets is largely uneventful, as was his time at the Wilderness School. I have come to explain. There will only be a few more memories, and I hope this has helped you all gain a better understanding of Leo's life."
"As the next memories begin, Leo has run away from three more foster homes purely because he wanted to. Anni has been his accomplice in this. They are both fourteen, almost fifteen, and have begun high school." Hera surveyed them all, staring at her with tense looks on their faces, and then she gave a terse nod.
"Goodbye."
She disappeared without a poof this time, instead gently dissolving into fine white mist that filled the room with the scent of poppies before dissipating. The memory began.
Anni, her hair longer now then it had been in the last one, was sitting on a roof, looking up at the night sky. A bottle of beer sat beside her. Calmly, she reached over, picked it up, and drank from it.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a grey sweatshirt that was so big it seemed to swallow her. Her jeans, as usual, were grimy, huge holes in the knees, covered in worn patches. Her sneakers seemed like she had just pulled them out of a donation bin. Her face was older, lines by her eyes now. She seemed taller, though it was hard to tell sitting down. She swung her feet gently, looking up at the sky.
There was a scuffing sound behind her, and she half-turned, her hand going to her hip pocket where the edge of a knife peeked out. Her shoulders relaxed, however, when she realized it was Leo.
He too was wearing a sweatshirt, a blue one. His jeans had only one hole, but the other knee looked about ready to rip. His sneakers were filthy and there appeared to be a candy wrapper in his hair. He gave Anni his usual grin, then sat down beside her, reached into the sweatshirt pocket, and pulled out a box.
(AOB ENTERPRISES DOES NOT SUPPORT UNDERAGE SMOKING OR DRINKING)
"Want one?" he asked.
Anni shrugged and held out her hand. "Sure."
Leo opened the box and handed her a cigarette, which Anni calmly put in her mouth, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver lighter. She flicked it, cupping her other hand around the flame, and lit the cigarette. Once it was lit and the flame was out, she lifted her other hand to her mouth, taking the cigarette between the first knuckles of her middle and index fingers, removing it and blowing a cloud of smoke into the air. She tossed Leo the lighter, and he lit his own cigarette.
A shocked Annabeth opened her mouth.
"Please don't judge or condemn me." Leo asked quietly. "Life had started getting especially hard, and sometimes blurring reality helped us cope."
"Harder how?" Hazel asked. Leo gave a humorless laugh.
"Anni's a pretty young girl on the street, and she doesn't exactly look dangerous, does she?" As the implications of what he was saying sank in, eyes widened. The color drained from Hazels face. Leo was still looking at the memory as he spoke.
"And I wasn't exactly safe from that either. There are a lot of creeps on the streets." He shrugged. "By this point… well, yeah. We both carried knives and we rarely left the other alone. Anni and I…" he shrugged. "We were all the other had."
Annabeth closed her mouth.
The two spent a few more moments of silence before Anni, flicking ash from her cigarette end, spoke.
"You think any more about what I said?"
Leo shrugged, reaching into his pockets and removing copper wire and pipe cleaners. He began playing with them, just like he did now when he was thinking.
"A little."
"And?"
Leo shrugged, his hands moving faster.
"I don't know, Anni. We thought about it when we were kids, even made it to El Paso at one point, but really. If these friends of your aunts are really that important, if they would take care of you and me, why haven't they tried to get you from the system?"
Anni sighed, looking down at her lap. "I don't know."
There was silence for a moment. Then Anni exhaled a lungful of smoke forcefully and turned to him.
"Come on, Leo. It's worth a try, right?"
Leo sighed, then leaned over her and snatched the bottle of beer, gulping some down.
"Can we talk about this tomorrow? I just kinda want to get drunk."
Anni rolled her eyes. "There's only one bottle, shithead." She used the insult gently, like a term of endearment.
Leo grinned and lifted up a box of beer cans he had set beside him. Anni threw her head back and laughed, stubbing out her cigarette on the roof ledge and flicking it off to the alley below her.
'You little fucker."
Leo laughed and handed her a can. "Drink up, bitch." He too used the word gently, like an older sister might call her brother an idiot.
The image went dark and the words the next morning… appeared.
Anni, her face pale and scrunched up against the weak light of the morning sun, was leaning up against a tree in what appeared to be a park, legs stretched out in front of her and arms wrapped around her ribs. She reached up with one hand and massaged her temples. A stick cracked nearby, and Anni looked up.
Leo stumbled out from a copse of bushes, lifting a hand against the light and making a soft hissing noise. Anni rolled her eyes.
"Well, good morning, sunshine. Sleep well?"
"So. Hungover." Leo muttered. He stumbled a couple more steps, knelt, then flopped forward, burying his face in Anni's lap. He gave a contented sigh. "Blessed darkness, I come to thee."
Anni rolled her eyes. "And yet another 'I-should-have-listened-to-Anni moment in the life of Leo Valdez. Didn't I tell you not to drink so much?" She poked his shoulder. "Get off me."
"No…you can handle it." Leo muttered. 'I can hold my beer."
"No you can't. Face it, Leo, you're a total lightweight."
"Am not!" Leo sat up to glare at her, then groaned "Stupid sun…too bright… headache…" and flopped back. Anni rolled her eyes again and poked him hard in the back, then began to pick leaves out of his curls almost absentmindedly, her eyes lifting to focus on the sky. Then a mischievous grin spread across her face and she looked down at Leo, giving him a hard shove.
Leo rolled off her lap and let out an unmanly shriek, covering his face. Anni burst out laughing.
Leo looked up and glared at her halfheartedly. "You suck."
"You suck more."
Leo stuck out his tongue. Anni retaliated.
"You two are mature." Piper muttered sarcastically. Leo stuck out his tongue at her.
"She was like my sister." he said, smiling up at the memory.
"So you weren't kidding when you said you could hold your liquor better than all of us?" Percy asked.
Leo shrugged, his famous grin splitting his face. "I probably could. Anni just thought it was funny to call me a lightweight because she could hold her liquor better than me."
Laughter rippled around the room.
The next memory started.
Leo and Anni were standing in front of a large, cheerful building with a stream of people entering, backpacks on their shoulders. For once, the two didn't look out of place. Everyone in the line looked homeless as well. Leo and Anni were eyeing the line carefully, before Anni sighed "Fuck it" and grabbed Leo's arm, marching into the building.
They were in one room that looked like a cafeteria, filled with long tables. Some people were sitting down and eating, others were standing in line. Anni marched up to the end of the line, dragging Leo.
"That was a homeless shelter. We could always find food there." Leo answered the six questioning looks aimed his way.
A tall, tanned teenage boy stood at the register, scanning cards people offered him. His hair was short and dark blonde. A small scar decorated his forehead. His eyes were hazel and cheerful. Leo blinked when he saw the boy and squinted, leaning forward. Anni raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice low. Leo's eyes narrowed even more in concentration.
"I've seen that guy before." He said quietly. Anni blinked and looked at the boy, instantly alert.
"You've seen him before… like 'holy shit I've seen that guy before he's bad news we have to get out of here', or 'hey that guy was my best friend in preschool' I've seen him before?"
Leo blinked and a smile spread across his face.
"Jack." He said calmly. Anni raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Jack. He was my best friend in preschool. I haven't seen him in forever, though… he moved when I was four."
Anni blinked. "Huh. Guess I'm psychic."
They made their way up to the register and Leo grinned at Jack. "Hey."
"Hey, man. How's your day going?" Jack asked, clearly distracted. He was making faces at an older girl in glasses who stood a little way down the counter, who had his dark blonde hair but lighter skin and blue eyes. She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and made faces back at him.
"Is that Elizabeth?" Frank asked, remembering the seven-year-old from another memory. Leo gave a faint smile and nod.
"Yep." He said quietly. "That's them."
"Hey, is your name Jack?"
The boy looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Jack Murray, right?" Leo pressed. "I'm Leo Valdez."
"Way to be creepy, Leo." Anni muttered next to him.
But it appeared Jack recognized the name, because his eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face.
"Leo Valdez! Geez man, it's been a long time!"
"Yeah, I know." Leo responded.
"Hey, Lizzy Beth!" Jack called down the counter. "C'mere."
Elizabeth walked down the counter to her brother and raised her eyebrow at him.
"Remember Leo? From forever ago?"
Elizabeth squinted at Leo for a second before a grin spread across her face and she nodded. "Hey, Leo. Long time, no see. You two catch up." She grinned at her brother and then headed down to where she had been standing.
The memory fast-forwarded. Anni was sitting a little way away from Leo, who was talking to Jack excitedly. Anni was looking at a young man a few tables away, her eyes narrowed. It was clear she recognized him and didn't like it. Elizabeth sat beside her brother, calmly eating, her eyes far away.
"So how long are you staying?" Leo asked.
Jack shrugged. "A few more days. Lizzy gets her community service hours and I get to test drive my grandparents Jeep!"
The young man Anni was staring at turned his head slightly.
Again, the memory fast-forwarded. It was nighttime, and Leo was walking with Anni down a street, backpacks once again shouldered. It was obviously late; only a few people were out. The rumble of an engine cut through the silence.
A red Jeep cut around the corner, Elizabeth behind the wheel. Jack was sitting shotgun. Both were laughing, eyes bright with excitement. Elizabeth stopped at a red light, both she and Jack eagerly watching the light and waiting for it to change.
A voice spoke. "Friends of yours, baby?"
An older Nick was standing behind Leo and Anni, though he was far different from the last time they had seen him. Taller and paler, his dark hair greasy, stubble all along his jaw, bags under his bloodshot eyes.
Leo flinched slightly, but responded defiantly. "Yeah, whats it to you?"
A slow smile spread across Nick's face. "Yannow, I was arrested after that stunt you pulled, Leo. Put in rehab, too." He shook his head. "Not fun."
His smile grew bigger and he reached for something belted around his hips.
A black pistol shone in the light of the streetlights. Leo's eyes widened. Anni, who had been beside him the whole time, grabbed his arm.
"Nick, come on…" she whispered. "That was a really long time ago."
"Oh this ain't for you, baby." Nick said, still smiling.
The light changed ant the red Jeep started forward, quickly picking up speed. Nick pointed the pistol at the car and shot.
He had apparently been aiming for the window. Instead, he hit the front tire.
The car jerked, and Elizabeth's and Jacks faces went white as Elizabeth lost control. The car screeched sideways. Elizabeth let out a high-pitched scream that sounded like her brother's name before the Jeep flipped.
And flipped. And flipped.
With a horrible sound of metal crushing, the Jeep flipped three times before it slammed into a light post and stopped. Nick pocketed the pistol and walked away, still smiling.
Leo was across the street in a blink, yanking on the door and peering inside.
"Jack! Elizabeth!"
Anni, beside him, ran to the other side of the car and kicked the window, shattering it. She reached in and grabbed Jack, trying to pull him out. He was unconscious, his face bleeding. Anni was pulling, but she was still a small girl. He was too heavy for her.
"Leo, help me, dammit!" she snapped. Leo ran around and helped her pull Jack out through the window. They managed to get Elizabeth, also unconscious and bleeding with her arm hanging at a strange angle, out and beside her brother as someone pulled over and called 911.
Leo and Anni were sitting outside a hospital room. Leo was staring at the ground, tears slipping noiselessly down his face. Anni was looking at him worriedly. Words from inside the hospital room floated out to the hall.
"Broken arm…cracked collarbone…dislocated hip…concussion… broken wrist… possible punctured lung..."
Leo turned his head to look at Anni. "I've decided."
His voice was cracked and hoarse. Anni gave him a strange look.
"Decided on what?"
Leo looked back down at the floor. "I won't let Nick do anything else like that." He stood and grabbed his backpack. "We're going to California."