Learning to Trust (A Leo Valdez Love Story)

Chapter 2

     **EDITED**

    KYRA'S POV

      There was only one word to describe what Kyra was feeling right now, and that word was terrified.

       What have I done? I just hopped on to this thing, named "Happy the Dragon" and left with some complete strangers. Wow, real smart move there Kyra.

     She was interrupted from her thoughts when one of the teenagers who she was with started talking to her.   

   "Hey are you okay?" The girl asked, her eyes seeming to change color as she spoke.

      All Kyra could do was nod her head. What if these people were just like all the others? 

       As if he was reading her thoughts the blonde boy said "Hey, you know we're not going to hurt you, right?" 

She didn't trust them enough to answer so she just looked away, biting her lip anxiously.

      "Well," the girl said. "We're definitely not. You can trust us. My name's Piper and this is Jason," she pointed to the blonde boy who waved friendlily to Kyra. "And that's Leo," she pointed to the boy driving the dragon, the one who had saved her, who smirked goofily at her.

      "A-are you guys demigods?" She questioned.

      "Yep, I'm a daughter of Aphrodite, Jason's a son of Zeus."

        "Jupiter." he interrupted Piper.

      "Right, sorry, Jupiter. And Leo's a son of Hephaestus."

     Kyra nodded and winced feeling her wounds from her last encounter with Medea. When the monster threw Kyra into her cell another wound of hers had opened up and she was now lightly bleeding from her stomach, plus she had a new cut on her cheek.

      "Oh gods, your hurt!" Jason exclaimed, going to help her.

      "Don't touch me!" she yelled causing Jason to back off with a look of hurt in his eyes.

      "Kyra," Piper said gently, "let me help you." Kyra was soothed by Piper's charmspeak but had developed immunity from hearing it so much from Medea and others like her.
     "Sure, you can help me, Piper," she said slightly smiling. "But, next time I would appreciate it if you don't use your charmspeak on me, I'm immune." Piper looked at her a small blush creeping up her face.
     "Sorry," she mumbled.
     "It's ok, I'm just messing with you," Kyra replied, smiling.
     Piper smiled and laughed. "Okay, sorry." She lightly lifted up Kyra's shirt causing Kyra to jump back into Leo in shock.

      "Sorry," she said. "Habit" she mumbled the last part but the group seemed to hear her and looked at her in pity. She just looked away and scooted closer to Piper, where she then allowed her to lift her shirt just high enough to see her belly button.

     Piper's eyes widened in shock as she saw Kyra's small malnourished body lined with scars. The shock left as quickly as it came though, as she took out some bandages, ambrosia, and nectar.

      Piper paused. "Wait you are a demigod, right." Kyra nodded her head and looked down, not wanting to go any further. Piper went back to work sensing that she didn't want to talk about it.

      Leo however, did not get the memo. "Cool!" he said. "Who's your godly parent?" Piper whacked him on the back of his head. 

      He turned around. "What was that for!" he exclaimed.

       When he sensed Kyra's sadness he turned back around.

       "Hey Leo!" Jason said. " Keep following that vapor trail."

      "What vapor trail?" Leo asked suspiciously. 

       "The one we've been following, I assumed you saw it."

      "Jason" Piper said slowly. "There is no vapor trail there."

      "What! Of course there is! We've been following it for a while now. Kyra, you see it, don't you?!"

      Kyra shook her head warily. 

      After a few more moments of silence, Kyra spoke up, softly. "Maybe only Jason can see it because he's a son of Jupiter." she finished with a yawn.

      When Leo looked he could see heavy bags under her eyes. "Good idea, Kyra why don't you get some sleep." Kyra looked back apprehensively at Piper who nodded.

      "It's okay, remember you can trust us, alright?" Kyra barely had the chance to answer before she drifted off to sleep.

      LEO'S POV

      "Poor Kyra" he heard Piper sigh.

      He looked back and saw Kyra asleep. She looked peaceful in her sleep like she had nothing to be afraid of anymore. When he looked closely he could see that on her cheek Kyra had a very visible scar of "FREAK"

      "What do you think happened to her?" he asked.

      "I don't know," Jason answered, frowning. "But it's pretty obvious now that whatever had happened took its toll on her."

      Piper looked depressed and disheartened.

      "Piper, what's wrong?" Jason asked.

      "Don't you guys see?!" she exclaimed angrily. "She has scars up and down her body, she doesn't trust anybody, and she flinched when I raised her shirt!"

      The boys didn't need her to go on. Leo made a silent promise as he started to fall asleep.

      He was going to get Kyra to trust him.