things you said | leo valdez

03 | things you said too quietly

three
things you said too quietly

The moment you saw Piper and Jason standing at the threshold of your cabin was the moment you knew something had gone wrong on the quest. More wrong than usual. Your heart jolted from your chest to your throat as you rose to your feet. Your legs were unstable and you thought you could lose your balance any moment.

Neither of them said anything; they didn't need to. You had known something like this would happen eventually. You just hadn't prepared yourself enough for when it actually occurred.

"Where is he?" You asked, your voice weak. It was obvious your heart was still in your throat.

Jason turned away with a pained expression on his face. He shook his head in a 'follow me' motion before starting to walk away from the cabin.

Inhaling a deep breath, you forced the tears in your eyes to go away before trailing after your two best friends.

The three of you reached the Asclepius cabin promptly. Outside the building was a small group of people, including a few of Leo's siblings and the other four heroes of Olympus.

As you, Jason, and Piper pushed your way through the crowd, you purposefully avoided the looks of pity the heroes sent your way and focused on slowing your racing heartbeat. Once inside, you instantly recognized Leo to be one of the campers laid in bed, near the far corner of the cabin.

Jason and Piper left you alone for some privacy, which you were grateful for. You'd rather not breakdown in front of them, although you had a few times before.

Leo's eyes were closed as you approached, he looked to be peacefully sleeping, but you knew otherwise. You knew he was affected by some kind of elixir that put him in a comatose-like state. What you or the other campers didn't know was how long he'd be out for.

At least he's breathing.

As you sat down in the chair closest to the bed, you took his hand in your own. His palms were cold. You watched him for a few moments, struggling to keep the tears from falling this time. Beneath one of his eyes a bruise was forming and along his jawline was a deep cut. You took notice of the way his breathing was ragged, which meant he had suffered internal damage also.

You opened your mouth to say something, but no words came. You sat in complete silence, the only noise in the room being the heart monitor. The sound actually brought some comfort.

At least he has a heartbeat.

Taking one final breath, you wiped your eyes and cleared your throat.

"I don't..I don't know what to say, Leo," you whispered.

"Tell me you're okay," you pleaded, your cheeks now red due to the stream of salty tears running down them. Leo, of course, did not reply.

"I just need to hear you say it - please."

You stayed in that position for longer than you should have, watching his face for any type of reaction. But none came; he remained dead silent.

With another shaky exhale, you wiped the tears from your eyes one more time before rising to your feet.

He'll be okay, you thought to yourself, but no amount of convincing would help. After whispering a broken goodbye, you left a kiss to his cheek before heading back toward the front of the cabin. As the door shut behind you, you didn't notice the twitch of Leo's hand. Or the quiet mumble that left his lips.

"It's okay, I promise."