𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚒𝚊 (𝙇𝙚𝙤 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙯 𝙓 𝙊𝙘)

είκοσι τρία

"That was pretty cold." Piper remarks frowning.

"Cold?" Jason says looking shocked, "I'm being cautious."

"Their brother is dying." Piper says.

Leo stood staring dumbfounded at the door where his girlfriend had just left from.

"I made her cry." He muttered.

"What?" Percy asked.

"I said. I made her cry." Leo repeated louder the realisation dawned on him, "I made her cry, I made Ellie cry."

"So you messed up man," Percy says taking a leisurely bite out of a donut, "Go apologise to her before she declares you as her mortal enemy. Don't stand around, go."

"Huh," Leo says, "Right, right... uhhh. Annabeth, could you land the ship, I showed you how right?"  Annabeth nodded as Leo began racing out the door.

"One more thing Valdez," Percy says finishing his second donut, "If you do anything and I mean anything else to hurt my cousin, the next thing you say to her will be your final words." His eyes flashed dangerously and for a moment Leo felt as if he'd been dropped into a storm out on the sea with only a pool noodle for survival. He nodded nervously, he didn't doubt Percy's threats.

Leo found his girlfriend sitting on the deck mumbling furiously to Hazel who looked just as angry.

"We'll find him together if they say they won't help." Ellie says Hazel nodding in response. The two looked up as they felt his presence and almost on instinct the two sat up as if on guard. Hazel stood and said her goodbyes to Elena as she headed below deck not before giving Leo the iciest stink eye he'd seen since Khione.

"Valdez." Elena said, looking up at him with a stiff expression. Immediately Leo knew he messed up big time.

"Ellie, mi princesa." He said, dropping to the ground to sit beside her, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about the whole thing I said about our brother." He attempted to hold her hand but dismayed as she pulled it away from him.

"You betrayed me Leo." She whispers in a small angry tone, "I trusted you, you know how important my brother is to me and you broke my trust. Giving up on him is the same as giving up on me."

"I'm not giving up on you-"

"You are." She responds, "You are giving up, he's my family, one of my only family now even if we aren't blood related. I can vouch for him, saying you question his loyalty is the same as not believing me."

"I know and I'm so sorry," Leo says, "But you have to admit that he's a bit suspicious-"

"He's not suspicious," Elena bit back, making him flinch, "Stop making him out to be the bad guy here, he had a chance to save a family member and he took it, I would too."

"I know that-" Leo tries again trying his best not to cry, "It's just that you have to admit that-"

"He's a good child Leo, he's not some suspicious person we barely know." She says.

"Ellie, he's 14, he's as capable of betraying us as anyone else, you have to see it from an outsider's perspective."

"He's not a traitor." Ellie says again, "I refuse to believe that at all."

"HE'S NOT YOUR SON!!" Leo bursts out, making Elena pause, "Look Ellie I know he's someone you care for but he's not your child, you don't need to defend him like he's your own child. You need to see it from our point of view. He may be a traitor he might not but you need to stop defending him, he's a kid you think of as family okay. But he's still a suspicious kid nonetheless."