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

Hey guys, I have another update! I managed to write this all in one sitting, and I don't think it's been too long since I updated. Although the fact that I can't remember the last time I updated probably says something.

This one is fairly angsty, so I hope you like it. I'm thinking the next chapter will be Frank's chapter, which will definitely be very interesting to write. If you have any ideas or anything you'd like to see, please drop a review and I will do my best to incorporate that idea.

On that note, let's get to the story! Hope you enjoy, I love you all so much and stay safe besties!

Leo was sitting on the bed from the previous memory, in Maria Cullie's house. However, this was very different from the previous memory. Leo was curled up into a ball, clutching the baby Maria had been holding before tightly to his chest, although he was clearly being careful not to harm the baby at the same time. Tears were streaming down his face, and he had his eyes tightly closed as if he was trying to forget something or to block out a sound. He was curled in on himself, and he was rocking back and forth ever so slightly.

Hazel exchanged a concerned glance with Frank. Maria had seemed nice. What had happened? It couldn't have been too bad, could it?

The reason for his situation was explained very quickly.

In the background, raised voices could be heard.

"So what, we just leave him? Throw him back into foster care like he's nothing?" a woman's voice yelled. Maria.

"He's not nothing, but we can't afford to take care of him, Mari!" a man yelled.

Hazel wondered who that was for a brief second, before a name popped into her mind.

Jake.

Hazel started. Where had that come from? She looked around at the others, finding them in similar states of confusion.

"What was that?" Percy asked.

"What was what?" Leo asked, sounding confused.

"Did you guys hear-" Hazel began.

"Yeah," Annabeth interrupted her. "It must be some kind of magic from Hera. So that we know who everyone is and stuff."

"Wait, I'm confused," Leo said. "What happened? What did you hear?"

"We heard a voice saying the name Jake," Annabeth explained. "You most likely didn't hear it because you already knew his name."

"Oh," Leo said, looking thoughtful.

The memory continued.

"We can keep trying!" Maria argued. "We knew it would be difficult when we took him in, but that doesn't mean we can just abandon him. He deserves a home. A good home, not like those other foster homes he's been in. We can provide that!"

"No, we can't, and I think you know that, Mari," Jake retorted. "He's been here almost two months now, and we've been struggling. We have a baby, a little girl. Babies are expensive, and we can't afford to take care of another kid."

"That's my point! He's a kid!" Maria yelled. "He's our kid, Jake!"

"He's not our kid!" Jake yelled, suddenly sounding furious. "He's not our kid, Maria, as much as you want to believe it."

Leo flinched, and started hyperventilating.

Hazel glanced over at the present Leo. He was stubbornly looking at his hands, twisting his pipe cleaners and untwisting them so fast Hazel could barely see his hands.

She reached over and squeezed his hand lightly. Leo looked up and shot her a strained smile, not fully masking the shine in his eyes. Hazel's heart ached for the Latino, too young to have gone through so much.

Jake continued, "Rose is our kid, and we need to focus on her. As much as I love him, we can't give all our attention to Leo. Rose is our biological kid. Not him."

There was a faint sound of keys jingling, and a door opening. "I'm going to take a walk to clear my head. We'll talk about this more when I get back."

There was a brief silence, before footsteps started making their way up to Leo's room. He quickly wiped away his tears, and started rocking Rose to make it seem like he had been doing this the entire time.

Maria opened the door, and sighed. She sat down on the bed next to Leo, and gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry about that," she said. "Really, I am. Jake's not normally like that. He's just a little stressed, is all."

Leo nodded, but wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Hey," Maria said gently. "Look at me." She grabbed his chin lightly and tilted his head up so that they were making direct eye contact. "I love you, you know that right? I won't let Jake put you back into foster care."

Leo didn't respond, and Maia sighed. She gave him a light kiss on the top of his curls, before taking Rose from his arms and getting up to leave the room.

"I love you too," he murmured, just before she left.

She sent him one last look, before smiling sadly and closing the bedroom door.

Leo spent a few seconds gathering himself, and buried his face in his hands.

When he looked up again, his eyes were determined.

He stood up and grabbed a backpack from under his bed. It was stuffed to the brim, and when Leo opened it, it became clear that it contained clothes, food, a little bit of money and a paper and pen.

Hazel's heart sank. He wouldn't.

Leo pulled out the paper and pen. He sat down at the desk and thought for a second before he bent over the paper and started writing.

Dear Maria and Jake,

I'm really sorry it had to end this way. You were great to me, and I'll never forget you guys. It's just not fair on you guys if I stay.

I left a bit of money under my pillow. I know it won't do much, but it might help cover what you spent on me a little bit.

It's not your fault. I want you to remember that. Thank you for everything you've done for me.

I love you guys.

Leo xxx

With that, he grabbed the backpack, opened the window, jumped onto the roof and climbed down, running as soon as his feet hit the ground. When he reached the end of the road, he paused, looking back for a brief second.

"Adios," he whispered, before turning and running away into the darkness.

The room was silent.

"Oh, Leo," Piper whispered.

"Don't," he said.

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"Don't look at me like that," he said. "You know what I'm talking about. Don't pity me, don't treat me like I'm made of glass. All of you, promise you won't treat me like I'm broken or something after we've seen all these memories, because it'll only get worse and I didn't tell you guys about this for a reason."

Percy was the first to speak up. "Ok," he said. "We won't. We'll treat you like we did before. Promise."

The others all repeated this last word, until Leo was satisfied and nodded his understanding.

"I think you all deserve a break," Hera's voice said, startling a few of the demigods.

"Jumpscare," Leo muttered under his breath, causing Annabeth to stifle a laugh.

You could practically hear the contempt in Hera's voice as she continued. "You will reappear in this room when the break is over. Now, go."