Hello, guys! Sorry I'm so late, but I was on vacation and couldn't find a good connection to post, but I've updated Courage, and now, I'm updating Pop Quiz! I will be writing chapters 4-10 for my chapter marathon. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

WARNINGS: MURDER (Not very graphic, I promise), BRIEF CHILD NEGLECT, LANGUAGE, VERBAL ABUSE

The image displayed Martin walking towards a fairly normal house. It was two stories with clean windows and a nice lawn, but nothing was obsessively neat or perfect. It looked like an average house in an average neighborhood.

Leo was clinging to Martin, hiding behind him and staring at the house in apprehension. There was a healing cut on his forehead; a dark handprint shaped bruise covered half of his face.

"He looks so broken," Hazel whispered.

Jason growled, vowing to track down every single person that had ever hurt Leo and give them a piece of his mind.

Percy, as though reading Jason's mind, hissed to him, "Dude, you're taking me with you."

Jason nodded, and the seven almost felt sorry for all the people that had hurt their friend.

Almost...

Martin knocked on the door, and it opened to reveal a woman.

She was of average height with blonde hair, but this was more of a dirty blonde than Teresa's pristine yellow waves. Her eyes were wide and chocolate brown; in her magenta shirt and blue jeans, she looked nice enough. She was not the picture of perfection, like Teresa was, and her eyes lacked hatred. If anything, she appeared anxious.

"Hello, Mr. Blake," she smiled before turning to Leo. "You must be Leo."

She knelt down to eye level and smiled, softly.

"I'm Maria, Maria Abbot."

Leo, tentatively, held out his hand to shake her's. When she touched it, he flinched, but they could tell that he liked her, even if he was suspicious.

"Come on in," she instructed, stepping aside to allow them entrance.

Shutting the door, Maria turned to Martin.

"His room's right up here," she told him before leading them up the staircase.

Maria opened the first door on the right and beckoned them inside.

The room was nice. There was a twin bed pressed against the wall across from the door; above it was a window, and there was a small table beside the bed. A dresser was against the wall where the door was, and there was a desk in the far left hand corner.

"Do you like it?" Maria asked, a little nervously.

Leo smiled for the first since arriving and nodded. After the attic, this room must seem like paradise.

Martin grinned. "He likes you. I haven't been able to get him to smile since we got him out of there."

He didn't specify, but Maria seemed to know what he meant because she nodded.

"We also have a library just down the hall and a swimming pool in the backyard; there's a park just down the street."

"Oh, by the way, Leo can't swim," Martin added. "You're welcome to teach him if he'll let you, but Leo never learned, so until he does, best to keep him away from the swimming pool."

She nodded. "Of course. Now, I'll give you a moment to say goodbye."

Maria exited the room, and Leo turned to Martin.

"Well, Leo, she seems nice. I promise, though, if she isn't, I won't let it become like Teresa, okay? And if things do... take a turn for the worse, don't hesitate to call me."

Leo surprised Martin by hugging him.

The seven were surprised, too. After Martin neglected his visits, they'd expected Leo to hold quite the grudge, but he didn't seem to care.

Leo pulled away from Martin.

"When are you coming to visit?" Leo asked.

The seven sighed in relief. Leo went so long without saying a word that they'd begun to think he'd been so traumatized, he couldn't talk.

"I'm coming in two weeks. I promise. No more forgetting visits."

Leo smiled. "Thank you."

"I'll see you then, okay? And give her a chance. I know you like her, and don't let your past with adults get in the way of finding one you can trust."

Leo nodded. "I promise I'll try."

Martin smiled before standing and exiting the room.

Leo sat on the bed and pulled a photograph out of his backpack.

It was a picture of his mother holding him; he was maybe two or three years old.

Not too long after that, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Leo called, quietly, placing the picture on the bed.

Maria opened the door.

"Dinner's ready," she told him.

Her eyes found the photo lying on the bed, and Leo flipped it over, but she just smiled.

"Is that your mother?" She asked.

Leo nodded.

"I'm sure she was wonderful."

Leo smiled. "She was."

There was silence for several moments.

"Well, we'd better go eat before it gets cold."

Leo nodded and stood to follow her.

"I like her," Percy smiled. "She kind of reminds me of my mom."

Percy's smile suddenly dropped.

"Percy, what's wrong?" Annabeth asked.

"It just occurred to me. We haven't met the husband yet, and... let's just say, I hope I'm wrong."

Annabeth didn't push it, but she looked curious.

The image changed. They were sitting at a kitchen table, eating dinner.

Leo looked happy. Probably after Teresa limited his food (aka starved him), he was grateful to be fed by his foster parent.

A crash sounded through the house, and Leo jumped.

"Maria!" A male voice slurred.

"Damn!" Percy cursed. "The one time I'm right."

At the curious glances, he simply glared at the screen.

"Just watch," he stated, simply.

A man stumbled into the kitchen.

He was tall with long, dark hair. His eyes were blood shot, and he obviously hadn't shaved in a while. Alcohol and sweat dripped down his shirt, and his clothes were crooked; basically, he was a wreck. A beer bottle dangled from his fingers.

He practically collapsed into the third chair at the table, where a third plate had been sitting.

"Who's he?" He asked, gesturing sharply at Leo with his fork.

"This is Leo, the foster child we've taken in," Maria gritted her teeth.

"Right," he muttered before going back to eating.

Leo kept his head down and ate quickly; they could tell he wanted to escape that table.

"Look, kid," the man said. "The rules are simple. Don't back talk; do what we tell you; and stay out of our way."

Leo nodded, obediently.

"Jacob, you're being rude," Maria hissed.

"Oh, yeah, Jacob, call me Jake," the man stated as though Maria had not spoken.

"Nice to meet you," Leo responded, politely.

Jake barked a laugh. "A polite kid. That's a first."

"Jacob, stop-"

SLAP!

Maria flew out of her chair with the force of the slap.

"Two abusive foster homes in a row. What are the odds?" Piper mumbled, bitterly.

"Something's not right," Annabeth suddenly said. "Foster homes are rarely abusive. I mean, sure, it happens, but there are background checks, surprise visits, weekly visits. The odds of having one abusive foster home is a possibilty; two is pushing it; but if there's a third, a god was interfering. Demigods have horrible luck, but our luck isn't that horrible."

The demigods nodded.

"Hera?" Jason asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't think so, but I'm not marking her off the list."

Leo jumped out of his chair and helped Maria stand.

Jake just muttered some very unflattering words before taking his beer and leaving the room.

Maria embraced Leo.

"It's okay. He's only like this when he's drinking. When he's sober, he's a really nice guy."

Leo nodded, but they could tell he still wasn't convinced.

The image changed.

Leo was sitting on his bed with his back to the door; in his hands, he cradled a stuffed lion.

He may be a demigod. He may have been through some serious shit. But he was still just a kid.

They were all just kids...

Leo was skinnier; he obviously hadn't eaten well since that first dinner. He didn't look starved, necessarily, but he looked far from healthy. He was also dirty and wearing the same clothes he'd come with; there was obviously neglect. Luckily, he didn't show any fresh injuries.

Beyond his door, shouting echoed through the house.

"You fucking bitch!" Jake was shouting. "I bust my ass all day working. The least you can do is clean up this goddamn house."

"Working? Ha! You've been through three jobs in five months, Jacob."

"Well, I don't see you getting a job."

"I'm taking care of Leo!"

"He's what-eight, nine? He doesn't need to be taken care of full time."

"He's an abused child. He still has injuries that could get infected. And we can't afford a babysitter with the right training."

"Well, maybe we could if you would actually work for a change. Why did we even take the fuck up?"

"Hey, don't call him that."

"Well, it's true! I mean, what kid needs so much medical attention anyway?"

"A child that was abused so badly, he couldn't move for five days after getting out of that hell house!"

"Well, why didn't we get a perfectly normal kid?"

"It's not Leo's fault that-"

SLAP!

Leo burst into tears, clamping his hands over his ears.

"Please, stop," he murmured.

Hazel scowled. "Jason, Percy, you're taking me with you to kill the bastards that dared to hurt Leo."

Jason smiled. "Welcome to the dark side."

"We have cookies," Percy added to try and lighten the atmosphere.

It worked, temporarily, but then the image resumed.

"Jacob, what are you doing?" Maria demanded.

Footsteps stomped up the stairs.

"Jake! Jacob, leave him alone. He didn't do anything."

The door was thrown open, and more out of habit than anything, Leo dropped the stuffed animal and scooted back until his side connected with the wall.

Jacob sneered. "You're a little burden, you know that?"

Leo looked at him in apprehension. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Maria said, shoving past Jacob. "You did nothing wrong."

"Yes, he did! He was born!" Jacob screamed before chugging his beer bottle and storming down the stairs.

Maria glanced at Leo in sympathy before following her husband.

A second later, there was a crash, a scream, and silence.

After several moments of nothing but silence, Leo slipped off of the bed, grabbing his stuffed lion, and creeping down the stairs.

Upon entering the living room, he froze and stared in absolute horror.

The seven weren't far behind him.

Maria was lying on the ground, unconscious, with a cut on her temple and blood dripping out of a stab wound in her stomach.

Jacob stood over her with the knife.

"M-Maria," Leo whispered before turning to Jacob. "Why?"

He smirked, a crazy look in his eye. "Because I can, kid."

The knife clattered to the floor, and he picked Leo up around the waist. Leo kicked and hollered and hit, but Jacob was much stronger. The stuffed lion fell to the floor.

"Why didn't he just use his fire?" Piper murmured, afraid and horrified.

Words scrawled across the screen.

Leo was afraid to use his fire after his mother died.

Annabeth made a mark beside the letter A in question 10.

Leo screamed as he was carried outside, thrashing the whole way.

Jacob tossed him in the pool.

The seven gasped in horror as they remembered Martin's warning: Leo can't swim.

Leo flailed his arms, crying for help, but he was panicking, and instinct did not tell him to calm down and kick his legs.

Leo Valdez was drowning.

Jake was gone.

Leo was dying alone.

After several moments, Leo stopped kicking, stopped thrashing, and slowly, he began to sink. He was slipping into unconsciousness.

Suddenly, running footsteps sounded, and hands were yanking Leo out of the pool.

"Shit," an unfamiliar cursed before two fingers sought out Leo's neck. "I've got a pulse. Call a bus!"

A police officer, the seven realized.

"Hey, kid."

The image changed position, flipping around to show them a tall, red haired officer with gray eyes.

"You're going to be all right."

"Where is he?" A voice shouted.

Martin.

More words were written across the screen:

Martin grew very close with Leo, especially after Teresa, so when someone called Martin to tell him Leo was in trouble, he didn't hesitate to go to the Abbotts'.

"Oh, Leo."

Martin's face appeared in the image.

"I'm sorry."

"Maria," Leo mumbled.

Martin sighed. "She's gone, Leo."

"Jake?"

"They're looking for him."

The image started to get black.

"Leo? Leo, come on, stay awake. NO! Leo!"

The image went black before flickering back on to reveal Martin standing in the entrance to the living room. A body bag lay in the corner, and dried blood stained the floor.

He picked up Leo's stuffed lion, tears in his eyes, and the image shut off.

Seven words etched themselves across the blank screen:

Leo was only there for one month.

Annabeth made another tally beside question 3 before circling B in question 17.

Another sentence appeared:

Leo's third foster home is next; hold onto your stomachs.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Percy muttered.

But it was too late to back out.

The image flickered to life.

What'd you think? And Hera's not wrong. Hold onto your stomachs next chapter; I'll be a good chapter, but it will be sad and horrifying at times (but I'll do my best to warn you). Those of you that have read my other story Day of the Dead will remember the foster home.

Also, I know not all foster parents are abusive. That's why I put the explanation of godly interference. Just wanted to point that out.