I've returned!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

WARNINGS: SEXUAL ABUSE (ITALICIZED IF YOU WANT TO SKIP IT), PANIC ATTACK, BRIEF MENTION OF PHYSICAL ABUSE

I need you to know

I'm not through the night

Some days I'm still fighting to walk towards the light

I need you to know

That we'll be OK

-"Courage" by Superchick

"This is your room," He says as He opens the door.

The room has white walls, a white ceiling, and a white floor. The bed is queen size, and the bedding is crimson. There's a white dresser, and the door leading to the closet is white.

"Woah," eleven year old Leo mutters. The bed is awesome, but he made a mental note to put up some posters or something just to add some more color to this room. Not that he plans on staying long.

The man seems friendly enough, but so did Teresa and Sir and Leo's previous foster father. The only one that had been honest about what a jerk he was from the moment Leo walked through the door was Jake. Leo had barely survived in his past foster homes.

"I'll let you get settled in," He smiles. "I'll see you in the morning."

Leo nods and slips his bag under the bed; he'll stay for a week, but no more than seven days. After that, he's out of here.

He gets dressed in his pajamas, which are a simple pair of gray sweatpants and an orange shirt before sliding under the covers and extinguishing the lamp.

He drifts off to sleep...

He wakes up with a hand under his shirt.

Leo yelps and tries to scramble away, but His arm locks him firmly in place.

"Shh, Leo, it's okay," He whispers.

"No!" Leo cries, remembering Sir and Teresa. "Please, leave me alone..."

"It's my bed, too, Leo," He chuckles.

"W-What?" Leo stammers.

"I don't have enough rooms, so we have to share," He explains.

"B-But why can't we have one room and separate beds?" Leo mumbles, still straining against His hold.

He laughs. "Where's the fun in that?"

Leo struggles against Him, but He's much stronger than a scrawny eleven year old. It doesn't take long for Leo to give up, and he goes limp. His arm remains around Leo's waist, and his hand drifts below Leo's waistband...

Leo screams as he wakes, and he finds himself in Jason's arms. First aid supplies are scattered across the floor, and his razor blade glints in the light. They must've fallen asleep.

Jason jolts awake and holds him, but it's too late.

Leo feels hotter than usual, and his face is sweating, but the rest of his body is shivering. He can't catch his breath, and his heart hammers against his ribcage at lightning speed. Tears fill his eyes, and his hands grasp his chest as his breaths come out in choppy, choked gasps.

"LEO! Leo!"

He can distantly hear Jason's voice, and he can feel his arm around his waist.

The blurry form of Jason transforms into Him. His arm around Leo's waist. His hand touching him. His mouth against Leo's neck...

"No!" Leo screams, yanking himself away. "No!"

Footsteps dash away, and the door opens.

"Annabeth!" He hears Jason's voice yell. "GUYS! HURRY!"

Footsteps come running, but He's still there, and Leo can't breathe, and oh, gods, he's dying. The world is starting to go black.

Hands grab his upper arms, and Leo's breath hitches in fear, remembering the monster attack yesterday.

He tries to pull away, but the hands won't let him.

"No, please," he whimpers. "Please."

"Leo," Annabeth's voice speaks. "You're having a panic attack. Listen to the sound of my voice. Feel my hands on your arms. Can you?"

Leo nods.

"All right. You are on the Argo 2. You are with us. Percy, Hazel, Frank, Jason, and Piper are all here. We want you to come back to us. Can you come back?"

Leo wants to. He desperately wants to, but His arm is still around his waist, and He's whispering dirty things in Leo's ear. He's too strong, or maybe Leo's too weak.

"No, I... I can't," Leo murmurs.

"All right. Can you tell me what's happening?"

"He's here. He's come back to hurt me again."

"Who, Leo? Who?"

"Him. My foster father."

"Leo, he's not here. We're not going to let him hurt you. We're going to help, and we're going to protect you, but you need to come back. Come on, Leo. We believe in you. We love you."

The arm around his waist loosens, and Leo yanks himself away.

He vanishes, and there's Annabeth in front of him, gazing at him in worry.

Leo doesn't know what else to do, so he doesn't think. He falls into Annabeth's arms and sobs into her chest.

Hands rub up and down his back, and he can see the rest of the seven behind Annabeth.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles into her pajama shirt.

"Shh. You did nothing wrong," Annabeth assures him. "We love you so much."

Leo nods. "Thank you."

"Was it triggered by the monster attack?"

Leo nods, silently.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Leo shakes his head.

"Okay. Do you want one of us to stay with you?"

Leo shakes his head. "I'll be okay."

"All right. We'll leave. Call us if you need anything, okay?"

Leo nods, and the seven leave the room, but not before Jason picks up the razor and takes it with him.

Leo lies on his bed, and he slowly touches his stomach, pulling up his shirt.

On his stomach, spelled in thick, white scrs, are the words Devil's Spawn.

He wasn't branded by Him. He was branded by his fourth foster father, but he remembers the way He would run His fingers over the words. Leo would flinch every time since they'd only been written a few weeks before.

"Slut," He would hiss as he forced himself on Leo. "Worthless."

Leo curls up on his side and tries to fall asleep.

Leo wakes up, and he's thirsty, so he climbs to his feet and heads for the kitchen. The moon is still high in the sky, so he tip toes to avoid waking the others.

He turns into the kitchen and freezes.

Sitting at the table is Mamá.

"¿Mamá?" Leo whispers. "¿Eres tú?"

(Mom? Is it you?)

She smiles. "Sí, mijo."

(Yes, my son)

"¿Qué estás haciendo aquí?" Leo asks. "¿Y como?"

(What are you doing here? And how?)

"No es importante," she says.

(It's not important)

"I really miss you," Leo says, slipping back into English.

"Don't worry, mijo. I have a feeling you'll be seeing me again very soon," she smirks.

"Mamá..." Leo whispers in confusion.

In a flash, his beautiful mama is gone, replaced by a woman covered in burns and blood. The only way he can tell it's still her is because her eyes are the same.

Leo screams, and the glass he'd been holding shatters against the floor.

"Diablo!" Aunt Rosa's voice shouts.

Leo wakes up. For real, this time.

He's soaked in sweat and disoriented. He breathes hard, but luckily, another panic attack does not come.

He doesn't get anymore sleep that night.

The next day at breakfast, Leo picks at and plays with his food, but he refuses to put it in his mouth.

"Leo," Jason whispers. "Go on."

Leo doesn't.

"Leo," Piper says from his other side. "I hate to do this, but... eat."

She pours all the Charmspeak she can into her words.

Leo picks up his fork and places the food in his mouth.

Before he knows it, the food is gone, and Leo shoves his chair away from the table and runs upstairs, leaving the other six sitting at the table.

He doesn't even need to use his fingers. He simply leans over the railing and throws up.

A hand rubs his back, and Leo sputters as the last of his breakfast comes up.

As soon as Leo's done, Piper yanks him into a hug, allowing him to sob into her shoulder.

"Shh. We're gonna be okay," Piper murmurs. "I promise."

Leo isn't so sure.

Later that day, Leo curls up in his bed and doesn't leave his room for hours.

He feels so ashamed. He thinks of Him and his mama and his eating problems and panic attacks and hates himself.

He wants to get better. He does; he really does, but he doesn't think he can. He's in too deep.

"I'm sorry," Leo sobs. "I'm sorry."

He doesn't know who he's apologizing to. His mom, his friends, himself... maybe all of the above.

A knock sounds on the door.

"Leo?"

Jason.

Leo sits up, rubbing his eyes, which are stained red from crying. He doesn't respond, hoping Jason will take the hint and leave.

He doesn't. Instead, he opens the door.

Jason takes one look at Leo in the dark room, his face lit up by the hallway light, and he crosses the room.

Sitting beside Leo, he takes him into his arms, and they sit there for what seems like an eternity.

"You'll be okay," Jason says. "We'll be okay."

Leo can almost believe him...

Almost.

Reviews keep me writing. Also, for those of you wondering about Pop Quiz! and Mother Teresa, I am working on the chapters. I'm doing a chapter marathon like I did for this one, so the wait will be worth it.