Hello, everyone.
ANNOUNCEMENT: One of my reviewers brought to my attention that not all foster homes are bad. Don't worry; I am aware of this, and Leo did not have all bad foster homes. I think that Hera interfered a lot though to make him 'her warrior' (I'm still mad at her for hurting my baby so much); Leo's bad foster homes are detailed in this story, but there will a sequel that details his good ones, particularly the one that sent him into treatment for his eating disorder. There's even some detail on the good foster homes in this chapter, but the sequel will actually flash back to those good times. I take no offense to the review; in fact, I think it's very important to realize that foster parents are usually good people. I want to be a foster parent when I'm older, so I know that foster parents are not always bad. Thank you for the review; it gave me another chance to give one of my pearl of wisdom speeches (just kidding, but you get my point)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
WARNINGS: MENTION OF SEXUAL ABUSE; IF THAT'S A TOUCHY SUBJECT FOR YOU, I RECOMMEND SKIPPING THE NEWS ARTICLE IN JASON'S FLASHBACK
Together we can make it through another day
-"Courage" by Superchick
The following day, Leo finds the strength to eat. It's hard, but he manages to eat everything on his plate at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and doesn't purge.
Still... it's like a drug addict going through withdrawal. He's emotional, anxious, and over all, he's a wreck. His stomach feels too full; the burn in his throat is absent; the emptiness of his body has vanished, and Leo wants it back.
But he can't give up. He needs to do this. If not for himself, for Jason, for Piper, for Annabeth, for Harley, for all of the people that care about him.
Seated on the floor of his room, Leo pulls out a shoebox, praying that he's strong enough to handle this.
He removes the lid...
The photo on top is a picture of his mother with a three year old Leo in her lap; she's smiling, and he's laughing. It'd been in his mom's wallet when the warehouse caught fire; it'd been the only thing (other than Leo, obviously) to survive the fire.
The second photo was of him on Navidad (aka Christmas) when he was six. He's playing with a toy truck on the floor, taking it apart and putting it back together. Raphael and Aunt Rosa are sitting beside him, mildly intrigued by the skill their six year old relative has.
it's the only time Leo can remember ever getting along with them...
The third is him and his grandmother; he'd always been close to her.
The fourth is his bisabuelo cradling a baby him in his arms.
The fifth item, though, is when it starts to get interesting.
It isn't a picture; it's a news article.
WOMAN LOCKS FOSTER SON IN ATTIC FOR SIX MONTHS was typed across the top.
It'd been about him and Teresa, his abusive foster mother.
The sixth is also a news article.
MAN KILLS WIFE AND TRIES TO KILL FOSTER CHILD is the headline.
That'd been about Jake and his wife.
Seventh, eighth, and ninth were photographs of children, all beaten, bruised, and dirty but still smiling. They'd been Leo's foster siblings at the third home; there'd been ten kids, including Leo.
The tenth was another news article.
KIDS THAT WENT TO HELL AND BACK.
Leo liked that headline the best because of how true it was.
The eleventh is of him and a brown haired girl, Maddie.
The twelfth is a news article.
KID TORTURED FOR ALMOST FIVE MONTHS.
The thirteenth is a news article.
INFAMOUS DOCTOR ARRESTED FOR SEXUAL ABUSE.
As Leo withdraws more ohotos, he smiles as he recalls the good foster homes. He loved some of his foster homes so much that it was almost worth going through hell to get there. Almost.
The fourteenth is a photo of him and a blonde girl-his best friend- named Hollie, who'd died by suicide.
The fifteenth is a photo of him and his foster sisters, Kristen and Diana.
The sixteenth is a photo of him and Ali, his first girlfriend.
The seventeenth is a photo of him and Ali. Carlos, Ali's brother, and Thalia (the name is a weird coincidence, by the way), Leo's foster sister, are there as well.
There are scattered things, like a photo of him, Alex, Logan, and Jordan before Jordan was shot in a drive by shooting. There's a photo of him and his foster brother, Jake, before Jake died in a car accident. There was a photo of Leo with Cedric, Mark, Jay, and Andy; they'd been a 'street family', so to speak, meaning they were a group of homeless kids that acted like a family. There'd been more of them, but they'd been the five main ones in the family.
Then, there's his favorite photo.
It'd been Leo's best foster home. The parents loved him like he was their own child; he'd had an older brother he loved, dearly.
He would've stayed, but he had to run away. They were short on money, and they'd have to give him up anyway; he just wanted to skip the whole bouncing foster homes process, so he ran. It's what he does best.
He would always love them, though. They were the real reason Leo hadn't turned out to be bitter or resentful; they were the reason he didn't follow in his previous foster parents' footsteps. He'll always owe them for that.
Normally, these photos and articles would either make Leo stuff his face and purge or would put him off food for weeks, but today, things are different.
He puts the photos and news articles away, closing the shoebox.
And he knows he can do this.
It didn't take long for the Voice to come back.
Pathetic! Fat ass! You really think you can get better? Ha, there is no better. Not for you.
Stop, Leo shouts back.
No! Everyone hates you. They just pity you! Go on and kill yourself and do everyone a favor.
No...
You killed your own mother! How do you think they're going to feel when they find that out?
It-It wasn't my fault. It was Gaea's.
Seriously? Take some responsibility for once!
I-I...
You fucking whore! Allowed Him to touch you.
I didn't allow him. He just-
You should've fought harder. You should've ran away sooner, but you were too weak.
No!
Leo dissolves into tears. When will the Voice go away? When will it end?
Everyone is worried about Leo, but Jason worries the most.
There is a memory in his mind, a memory just out of reach, and he knows it's connected to everything that is going on, but he can't remember.
"Jason, you okay?" Piper asks as she sits beside him on the deck.
He stares out into the blue sky beyond, and he whispers, "No."
"Tell me."
"Piper, do you have any of the memories from the Wilderness School?" Jason questions, abruptly.
Piper pauses before answering. "Yes. I have the Mist memories, and I have a few of the real memories, but they're a little fuzzy."
"Do you think it's possible that Juno gave me some of the Mist memories? Maybe because they were important?"
Piper wrinkles her brow in thought. "I suppose it's possible, but other than our rekationship, nothing really special happened in the memories."
"Maybe you weren't there..." Jason trails off.
A scream meets his ears.
"Jason!" Piper yells.
Jason sits bolt up right in his bed and rolls onto the hardwood floor in shock.
Across from him, Leo thrashes in his own bed, crying, sobbing, screeching... pleading, begging.
"Stop," Leo whimpers. "Stop! Please!"
"Leo!" Jason calls and stands, scrambling over to his best friend.
Leo is drenched in sweat, and he's tossing and turning, fighting an invisible foe. The scar on his forehead (so faded, you'd have to be looking for it to notice it) crinkles, and Jason wonders if that has something to do with this. Or maybe it's the reason Leo never changes in front of him, even though they're roommates, best friends, and guys.
A dark conclusion starts to creep into Jason's mind, but he shoves it away in order to deal with the situation at hand.
He shakes Leo's shoulders, screaming his name over and over again. He wouldn't be surprised if they'd woken the entire dorm.
Leo's eyes snap open, and he sits up, gasping for air he can't find.
"J-Jason," he stammers.
"Leo, it's okay. What were you dreaming about?"
Leo breaks down, crying into Jason's shoulder, and when Jason wraps his arms around Leo, he notices how thin Leo really is.
"Shh, it's okay."
After several moments, Leo pulls away from Jason and slides off the bed; he grabs a shoebox from under the bed and sets it beside Jason.
Jason frowns. "What-"
"You asked what I was dreaming about. Before I show you, you have to swear to God that you will tell no one, not even Piper."
Jason nods. "Of course."
Leo flips on the lamp and digs through the contents of the box, which Jason sees is full of photographs and news articles.
Leo finally withdraws a single article and hands it to Jason, sitting back on the bed.
INFAMOUS DOCTOR ARRESTED FOR SEXUAL ABUSE
Dr. Jordan, an infamous doctor that has treated many cancer patients, was arrested on Friday night for sexually abusing his twelve year old foster child.
Although the full story is unknown, a neighbor apparently heard screaming from next door and called 911. When police arrived at the scene, the screaming had quieted, and they entered the house to find Dr. Jordan and his foster child in bed together. Neither had been wearing clothes, and the child had been crying.
According to an interview with Sheriff Hill, the child had tried to run away, but he'd been caught, and Jordan had beat him. That was the screaming the neighbor had heard; eventually, after suffering terrible physical abuse for half an hour, the child stopped fighting. Jordan molested the child and attempted to rape him before police arrived.
According to the Sheriff, that was the only occasion of physical abuse, but the sexual abuse had been occurring since the child was placed in Jordan's custody two weeks before
The child's identity is protected since he is still a minor.
Jordan's trial date is not yet set.
"I was... the child," Leo whispers.
Jason starts crying, and he places the article down in order to hug Leo.
The door suddenly bursts open to reveal Coach Hedge in his sweatpants and a sleep shirt.
"What are you cupcakes doing?" He demands. "Woke up this entire dorm with your yelling-" Coach stops.
Both of their faces are streaked with tears, the article sits in plain sight on the bed. Jason grabs it and hides it, but he can tell the coach read the headline.
Coach smiles, softly, the first time either had seen him smile.
"I'll let it slide. Come to me if you need anything."
The door shut behind him.
"JASON!"
Jason comes back to earth to find Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Hazel, and Frank staring at him.
"Jason, man, you all right?" Percy asks, worried.
"Yeah. Why?"
"You looked like a zombie," Frank responds. "Staring off into space with glassy eyes. Not reacting to anything we said or did to get you to come out of it. It was weird."
"What happened?" Hazel asks.
"A flashback."
It isn't Jason that answers; it's Annabeth.
"You look just like Leo did after his nightmare."
Jason nods. "Yeah. Juno, she... she gave me one of the Mist memories of the Wilderness School."
Piper frowns. "But those memories aren't real."
"No, but this one was important. I think I figured why Leo's been acting so weird the past few days."
Leo...
Jason springs to his feet and races down to Leo's cabin.
He finds Leo crying, the same news article from the memory in his hand.
Jason crosses the floor and sits beside his honorary little brother and just holds him close.
Together, they can make it through another day.
Well, that's that. Thanks for reading!
Constructive critics is welcome, as well as reviews. (Reviews make Leo happy!) As long as the flames are not extreme (ahem, the b****** that reviewed for another one of my stories a few months back and got his a** reported), they will be used to make Leo stronger!