Chapter Twentytwo

                                    

                                          
Yo I got an original character in here and she's cool af. 
                          
Percy had parked them in front of the house. Leo looked at it. It was a normal one story house that looked quaint and homey. Yet it was intimidating to him, but only him. Leo was about to meet his father. His mouth was dry. He could barely speak. Seeing his father for the first time, he needed questions answered. 
                          
"Leo, you really don't have to do this if you don't want to." Nico offered. Of course he did. He came all this way. Dragged Percy and Nico all the way over to fucking Florida. He definitely had to do it. But once he was out of the car his feet wouldn't move, and the cold air seemed to be sucked right out of his body. 
                          
He swallowed and stiffened his resolve. He was Leo Valdez. He was the smartest guy in his Sophomore class. Nearly sixteen years old in January. He was going to go to MIT. He was going to be the next age of technology. He had been through more foster homes than he could count, and would skip his senior year. He had never needed this man in his almost sixteen years of life. He didn't need this his approval now. 
                          
He picked his foot from the ground, the thin layer of snow crunching under his shoes. "I've got this." he breathed. He felt a hand wrap around his own. Percy. And a friendly touch to his arm. Nico. He looked at the two. Percy with that big smile and those rosy cheeks. Nico with that depressing aura and hood up. "I've got this." he repeated. "I've got this." 
                          
Together they walked to the door. "You've got this." Nico reminded him. And yes, Leo did. Leo could do it because he was Leo fucking Valdez and so burly fourty year old wasn't going to intimidate Leo no matter the title. 
                          
Leo reached out his arm and hesitated. He decided that he wasn't going to be happy about it, but he was going to do it. 
                          
--
                          
A girl answered the door. She couldn't have been any older than Nico. She had brown hair and big eyes like Leo. Her skin was dark but a different kind of dark from Leo, mixed probably, but they had the same plump lips and freckles. "Who are you three?" she asked. She had a slight accent from somewhere like Chicago. He didn't know who this girl was, but she was pretty and sounded unafraid. 
                          
"I-i'm Leo Valdez." his own name sounded foreign on his tongue. "And I'm looking for Hephaestus."
                          
The girl narrowed her eyes. "Why are you looking for my dad? Has he done something wrong?"
                          
Leo felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "I'm sorry..."-he felt bad not knowing her name.-"ah, he hasn't told you about me? I'm his son, and I came here to ask him a few things."
                          
She blanched. "You're my brother?" she looked him up and down. A bit of her blood drained from her face. Leo looked her up and down as well. For her age she was well endowed. She was curvy. Her clothes looked expensive and nice. A nice hoodie and ripped jeans. Unkempt, but beautiful mixed curls. Kind of afro like but more curly and less frizzy, not to say it wasn't curly. Her curls were much different from Leo's. He loved how natural it looked. 
                          
"Yes." Leo breathed. 
                          
She grinned sassily, and Leo immediately knew they shared that smile. Her eyebrow cocked and she shrugged. "Gotcha, I'll go get him." 
                          
She turned her head, tilting it back. "HEPHAESTUS GETCHA ASS IN HERE!" she turned back to Leo. "He'll be over in a second. My name is Ari. Chill. Who are ya other two?"
                          
Percy held out his hand. "I'm Percy Jackson. I'm-"
                          
"A friend." Leo cutted him off, knowing full well what Percy was going to say, giving him a look. 
                          
She looked at the two rather strange. She took Percy's hand. "Wicked."
                          
Her attention turned to Nico. "Nico." he said, introducing himself. She shook his hand. 
                          
"Nice ta meetcha." she glanced behind her. "He's here. If you need anything, Leo, I'm in the my room." they locked eyes for a split second. Leo felt perturbed with finding out so suddenly that he had a sister. 
                          
The first time Leo had ever seen his father he was in a short sleeved shirt and cargo shorts. He made sure to tell Sally not to show him any pictures. Hephaestus was white. "Leo."
                          
Leo felt his heartbeat pound in his throat. 
                          
"Please, come inside."
                          
Leo felt Percy press on the small of his back. "O-okay."
                          
He felt his feet step but moving seemed like something far away. He sat on the sofa. He breathed in the air of the house. He looked at Percy and Nico. "Could you leave us alone, I want to talk to him myself." he muttered the words under his breath. 
                          
They left to talk to Ari. The house was small. He hasn't realized it before but the house was definitely not anything nice. Cheap. The walls hadn't been painted in the longest time. 
                          
Hephaestus sat in front of him, fidgeting his hands. Leo recognized the nervous twitch from his own fingers. 
                          
Suddenly his head filled with questions. And his mouth spoke before he knew what he was saying. "Its been almost sixteen years, where have you been? Why did you leave? Do you know that mom is dead?" Hephaestus looked like he wanted to speak, but Leo silenced him with his own words. "Of course you do. What have you been doing all this time? Why do you have another kid when you didn't even follow up on one. Do you know anything about me? Do you know I'm the smartest in New York high schools? Do you know that I went into foster care." He couldn't stop the long stream of words erupting from his lips. His anger grew as he stood up. "Do you know how hard I've worked?! Do you know I was completely neglected by my family!? Hephaestus why did you leave?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" He had snapped. He had lived this long without answers and he needed them. 
                          
Hephaestus just looked up at Leo who was still standing, his face twisted in anger and hatred. "I'm sorry." he said quietly. 
                          
It was completely inadequate. "That doesn't fix shit!" he yelled, his vision blurred by anger. Leo could hear his own voice dripping with anger and pain. "You left when things were at their worst! You let me live in so many shitty foster families! You have no idea what it was like!" he clenched his fists and he could feel everything that he had held back the last fifteen years come back and this guy was right in front of him. He could tell him everything. 
                          
"Leo, please calm down." his father's deep voice said desperately. 
                          
Leo looked away from his eyes, anger continuing to rise, and he couldn't stop now. "Fuck you! I don't have to do anything you say! You've never done anything for me!" he could hear the pain. He drew his fist back and punched the wall, the plaster breaking under his fist. He was so angry that he didn't care and he drew his other fist back, punching into the wall once more, this one slipping. He knew both were bleeding. 
                          
He breathed. A breath drawing from his lips as he saw his arm in the wall. He leant his head onto the plaster. He wouldn't cry. This man did not deserve his tears. 
                          
"Leo, I am so sorry." Hephaestus apologized once more. 
                          
Leo bit his lip. It was proven difficult in abstinence of crying. He hasn't cried in a long time and he decided not to because he wanted to be strong. He could hear Hephaestus behind him. He took his hands from the wall. As soon as he saw the blood he took off Percy's jacket, and watched it fall to the floor. 
                          
He felt pain shoot up his arm numbing and he gasped from it. He turned and locked eyes with Ari who had walked out of her room. His anger grew again and he eyed his father. "You ruined my fucking childhood! You left and let everything go to hell! And you didn't even follow up on me before you had another fucking kid!"
                          
Percy walked out of Ari's room, and looked at Leo's hand. "Leo that looks broken, we need to get you-"
                          
"No!" Leo screamed, keeping his eyes on Hephaestus. He grabbed the vase from the coffee table and smashed it into the wall. "Fuck you, Hephaestus! I hate you!" he grabbed the lamp from off the same coffee table. 
                          
He didn't remember Percy getting that close, but he felt a hand on his own. He felt his breath go a bit softer. Percy smiled at him softly but worried. "Your hand is broken, lets get you to the hospital." his boyfriend shot a look at Hephaestus. "You're driving."
                          
Leo fell to his knees, and onto the floor. He was done.