TRIGGER WARNINGS- THIS FIC WILL INCLUDE ABUSE, DEPRESSION, MURDER, DRUGS, ALCOHOL, AND SIMILAR THEMES. PLEASE BE WARY WHEN READING

Hi.

I have no excuse.

Leo went directly to the balcony, where he slumped against the wall in a tight ball, burying his face in his hands. He was still shaking violently.

Oh gods.

He hadn't wanted them to find out. Never. And now they all knew. And they were going to be talking about it. Leo didn't want to talk about it. He just wanted to forget.

He felt tears splashing onto his trembling hands, and didn't even try to stop them. They spilled over his cheeks like a waterfall, never slowing, never making a sound.

Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods-

"Leo?"

Leo's head snapped up, and he quickly tried to discreetly wipe away the tears while simultaneously identifying the voice.

"Hazel?"

Hazel approached him cautiously. "Is it okay if I sit here?"

"Yeah, of course," Leo said tiredly.

Hazel sat next to him on the floor, leaning against the wall just as he was. She stared straight forwards, and he fixed his gaze on the sandy floor. They sat in awkward silence for a few seconds, before Hazel cleared her throat.

"We're not going to think differently about you, you know."

Leo looked at her, feigning confusion.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Hazel said. "You're afraid we'll look at you differently. Pity you. We won't. You're still the same Leo we know. We just… understand you better now. And that's a good thing. Not a bad one."

Leo stayed silent, considering. He hadn't really thought about it that way. He'd kind of automatically assumed that they would think he was weak, or fragile.

Hazel sighed, and stood up. "You probably need some processing time. I won't interrupt that. But think about it, Leo. We all love you. We won't judge. We just want to help."

And with that she left.

But Leo was focused on the last thing she had said.

We all love you.

Leo hadn't heard those words since Lexi died. And he hadn't said them since Lexi died. He hadn't felt loved in a while, so he just didn't say it to anyone. And no one said it to him. It had stayed like that. Until now.

He wasn't sure how to feel about this. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about this.

Should he say it back? No, he didn't think he could do that. Should he ignore it? But what if that seemed rude?

Leo buried his head in his hands again. Ugh. This was too complicated.

For the time being, he decided to just act like it never existed. He chose to focus on what he was going to say to them instead.

"Yeah, so I was beaten half to death in most of my foster homes, and I didn't tell you cause I wasn't sure I could trust you and also cause I didn't want to remember shit about my life because it's filled with death, abuse and depression. What's for dinner?"

This was going to be just fabulous.

Leo walked back into the room at the end of the break with his hands stuffed in his pockets, and was met with the rest of the Seven sitting there waiting for him, murmuring anxiously.

Hazel was the first to notice him.

"Leo, hey," she said, sitting up straighter. Everyone else noticed him pretty quickly, and all gave quick greetings. Leo took note of how they were more subdued than normal.

"Hey," he said, to no one in particular.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" Hazel asked gently.

Leo sighed. "Sure. Let's get this over with." He crossed the room on four quick strides, and sat down on the only free chair, tossing his legs across the arm so as to seem casual, despite the pounding of his heart. "So, who wants to start?"

Annabeth spoke. "The marks on your arm, they were from your foster parents." It wasn't a question, so Leo didn't give an answer, instead raising an eyebrow as if saying "what do you think?"

Annabeth continued. "When you said it was your third home like that one…" she trailed off.

"The third one that hit me," Leo confirmed.

The room was quiet for a second, until Percy broke it.

"It wasn't your last."

Leo stared at him. It hadn't been a question. It was a matter-of-fact statement. And yet…

"Yeah, it wasn't my last."

"Did you and Alexis make it out of the home okay?" Piper asked.

Leo smiled slightly at the memory, slightly lightening the mood. "Yeah. We were on the run together for quite a while before we got caught."

"Leo, the scar on your arm- how come you don't have it now?" Jason asked.

"I do," Leo said simply. "I just wear long sleeves."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Frank asked.

This was an easy answer. "I didn't want to remember. And I didn't want anyone to know."

"Why not?"

"They always pity me. Even right now, half of you are looking at me with this disgusting look on your face like oh, poor Leo, he's gone through so much. I hate it."

And it was true- they were looking at him as if he were delicate, like he would snap and start sobbing any moment. It made him want to throw up.

"Do you think you can try to tell us a bit more about it over time?" Piper asked. "It doesn't have to be right now. But I just don't want you to hide anything from us anymore. We're family."

Leo stared for a second. "Okay," he said eventually, quietly. "Most of it will probably be shown in the memories anyways, but after this whole thing is over, I promise I'll talk to you guys about this stuff more."

Piper smiled at him. Without warning, she launched herself off the couch she was on and flung her arms around Leo's neck. Taken by surprise, it took Leo a moment to react, but he soon rested his arms around Piper's shoulders.

When they broke apart, Leo smiled brightly. "Is there anything else you guys want to talk about or should we keep going with the memories? Because I think Hera's getting pretty pissed at us."

"I think we can go back to the memories," Annabeth suggested.

Everyone seemed to agree to that, and the TV turned on again.

Leo sank down into his chair, thankful that the conversation was over, dreading what would happen next.