Lonely together (Leo Valdez fan-fiction)

Nora's past

Leo's POV
After Nora left I changed into my PJs and cleaned up then I laid in my bed with a smile on my face after Nora knowing that she loved the glasses I made.
Sleep finally overcame me once I tucked myself in and was greeted by darkness. I haven't been able to sleep for days so this is my first real sleep I've had in weeks.
With my luck I would be entertained with horrifying dreams also known as nightmares. It came with the demigod job.
Although, this dream was out of the ordinary and that's coming from a demigod who has nearly seen everything that's out of the ordinary.
I was back at a house I could never forget. It was a small house with 2 bedrooms upstairs. This house was the same one I visited when I was 5. It was Nora's house. I climbed up the carpet covered stairs where I heard some loud cry's. I could only guess that I'm seeing Nora's past.
what I saw scared me and triggered some painful memories of my abusive foster parents. What I saw before me was a young Nora cowering in the corner of her bedroom that she shared with her sisters.
Her mum was towering over her with a belt in hand. She whipped the small girl so many times and each time made my heart ache more and more just by the sight of Nora's pain. I felt so helpless because I couldn't do anything.
Her mum was shouting at her and complaining about Nora's mistakes while Nora was helpless and all she could say was that she was 'sorry'.
The dream changed to another scene where Nora was at the hospital.
She was sitting in the chair beside the bed in the hospital accompanying the boy in the bed. Their laid a young boy around 5 years old. He had dark wavy brown hair, hazel eyes and cheekbones. It then hit me. He was Nora's brother. But I didn't understand why he was in a hospital bed. Adam, is her brothers name. Adam was trying to lighten the mood and to distract Nora from the inevitable while Nora was crying her eyes out and rambling on about how she doesn't want to lose him it let go. Listening to their conversation, I figured out the reason why the boy was in the hospital. He had cancer. That shocked me. The family had only just found out but it was too late to be able to cure it. Nora knew it was the end but she was in denial. The whole family had entered in the room and all talked to Adam one last time before he let go of his last breath.
A week past and they were all at his funeral. Nora was holding back a flood of tears trying to stay strong and look brave for her siblings and parents. Her parents looked at her worriedly, knowing how close she was with her brother. They were scared that it could've broken Nora since she was only 8 to be experiencing this kind of trauma. That was also around the time my mother died.
My dream changed to a different scene where Nora is at school.
Nora was sitting in the corner in the playground outside during lunch. She was alone and crying while her face was tucked in her knees that were close to her chest remembering the events of her brothers death. She was lonely with no friends to support her, people would just walk past her like nothings wrong. Even the teachers didn't notice her. I can understand now why she felt invisible to people.
A group of girls who suddenly noticed her were walking up to her in confidence. They looked around Nora's age, so 8. I knew these type of girls, they were the popular kids.
'Aww look who we have here, it's poor Nora. Your just pathetic. No wonder why your so lonely and have no friends. No one likes you Nora.' The girl in the middle of the group said. I assume she's the leader. She has brown wavy hair that's tied into a bun and was taller than some of her friends. She also looked familiar but I can't seem to put my finger on it.
She kept insulting Nora and telling her how she's worthless and that she was only friends with her so she could make you suffer after she told you that she hated you after a strong bond of friendship. Suddenly, this mean girl had grabbed Nora by the arms and pulled her up harshly. Her strong grip made Nora flinch when she stood up forcefully. The bully then shoved Nora with all her force into the wall really hard. I swear I heard a crack. Nora's face held a pained expression but tried her hardest not the scream in pain so she bit her lip. She slid down the wall and held her head in pain. Nora then went to the nurse to heal her head. The nurse seemed familiar with Nora as if she had been their a lot and was used to Nora coming all the time. But the nurse was full of concern for the young girl.
Once again the dream shifted quickly only seeing slight glimpses. I saw many memories all at once but each one was clear. One was when Nora was in Egypt with her family. All her family were doubting her and talking about her behind her back but they didn't realise that she could still hear them. She would hear her grandma talk about how she doesn't do anything useful. Her uncles, aunties and even parents would think that she's cold and heartless with no feelings. Even when she went to her meeting her Mums friends, they would literally just ignore her and focus their attention on her younger siblings and cast her aside like she didn't even matter. Everyone would scold her, her family, her friends, even her parents friends would get into her business and scold her and not notice how she really felt behind that wall she had up.
The image stopped at one memory that seemed recent. I saw Nora at around 14 and sitting in a couch in an apartment. She was sitting in the middle of her two sisters. A women came into the apartment who looked like her mums friend. Her mum was dressed and ready to go out with her friend but stopped when her friend was talking to the three sisters.
I'm guessing that the friend was defending their mum because apparently the kids did something that hurt her.
But it seemed like it was more aimed at Nora. She was looking dead into her eyes with seriousness and that made Nora knew what this was about and was getting ready for the harsh talk she was going to get from the women.
Nora must've been used to everyone shouting at her telling her that she's a horrible person who is selfish cold and never cares about her own family especially her mum.
The women kept ranting on about how it's wrong to want to go back to England and get better education. She was like, 'you think going back will help your mother. Do you think that you would get better grades than my son? You think your better than him and everyone else. You only think about yourself and you don't care about your mothers health. You don't know how much she cares for you and how much she has sacrificed for you and all you want to do is throw that away. You are the most selfish person I've met. Even your sisters are better than you they always have been.' She said these harsh words repeatedly. These words hit Nora's heart and made her cry silent tears. Silent tears are the worst kind. They are deadly because they show how much pain the person feels by the words and because it's so painful it's quiet.
After the women had finished her speech she left along with her mum who looked back at her daughter with a hint of guilt and pity in her eyes before she left.
Then Nora let it all out. She began sobbing harder while hugging herself. Her sisters couldn't do much and wouldn't understand how she felt but they tried their best to comfort her. But it didn't work. Nora felt like a disgrace to her family.
The dream shifted one last time to the night before Nora found us. She was in a small bedroom sitting on her bed. She was wearing the same clothes she wore when we found her on the ship.
I then saw memories of when she came back from Egypt to England. Her sisters and her mum were homeless and no home to go to. They were homeless for months but still went to school but her friends wouldn't know anything since she hid it from them.
She was holding a pillow tight to her chest and crying into it. She sat on her bed cross legged and kept muttering to her self. I could barely hear her but I could still make out what she was saying.
'This is all my fault' she would say to herself. 'Maya was right. I am selfish and only think about myself. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for me'. She blamed herself for everything. It was just like the night we first met but this time Nora has gone through more of a hard life since she was 5. 'Stop feeling sorry for yourself, it's not going to help anyone. And people have been through much worse than you so stop being selfish'.
So badly I wanted to comfort her and tell her that's she wrong and that she does matter but I can't. I've never felt more useless other than that night when I was 8. But I just couldn't take it, seeing someone I know go through all this alone and has hidden it from everyone. My thoughts were cut off when I was in complete darkness once again.
But I saw a bright light that shined in the darkness. It looked like a women. The light blinded me but I could make out a few of her features. She had long beautiful brown hair that cascades down her back. Her face would keep changing into a more beautiful one each time. Her eyes switching to different colours by the second like it couldn't make up its mind on which colour they want. She was beautiful. I was breathless and lost for words. I knew exactly who she was now, this was pipers mum, 'Aphrodite? Your the one making me see Nora's past right, why? Why me?' I said really confused about all this. Just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder.
'Oh dear, I only want what's best for Nora, she has suffered so much, like you. I want her to open up to someone otherwise these emotions that are hidden and bottled up will kill her' Aphrodite seemed calm and sincere but there's more to it especially when the god of love is involved.
'What are you, the ghost of Christmas past? Look chica, it's really thoughtful of you to help Nora but how does me seeing her past, that is private, help her.'
'Because my dear, I know that she will not fully share her doubts and feelings. It is better to view it from your own perspective. It was the only way for you to understand her and get to know her better.' Aphrodite was so serene despite my coldness.