Lonely together (Leo Valdez fan-fiction)

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Nora's POV

After bonding with my family I had grown tired and went upstairs to my room. It seems so foreign to me now as I was so used to my room on the ship and being directly next to Leo's.

Everything was as it was before. It was a small bedroom. I had to go through my sisters bedroom that they shared together in order to go to mine. The door is the only thing that separated our bedrooms but I never really closed it until today. I wanted some privacy so I could watch the video in peace with no distractions.

My bed was in the left corner at the back of the bedroom with the window on the opposite of it to the right. On the window seal it contained some of my artwork, jewellery and books. My clothes were all in a suitcase as I didn't have a wardrobe.

I sat on my bed with my light blue patterned blanket covering me keeping me warm. I got my phone out and put my earphones in so I could block out any distraction.

I took a shaky breath and lifted my hesitating hand slowly to press play on the screen. I have to admit, I was nervous. Not as excited as most people would think but just watching past pics of him and talking about our adventures together to my family took a lot from me. But watching him on a video that was made for me.........worried me.

I had a feeling that it was a message meant for me only after he'd left so it could either leave me more broken than before and break my heart further apart or it would give me more hope and raise my spirits.

So I pressed play. You wanna know what made me do it? His voice. His face. His smile. Just him. I wanted to see him again, even if it was not real, I still wanted to grasp onto that hope that I would see him again.

As soon as the video starts, I see Leo holding my phone up showing only from his chest up. I studied every little feature of him that I had come to love from his messy curls covered in grease to his beautiful smile and breathtaking chocolate eyes that always seem to melt my heart when he looks at me with genuine happiness.

He looks up and smirks at the camera. Oh how much I miss his mischievous grin.

"Hey it's bad boy supreme here" he says while flexing his non existent muscles.

"Yeah I know what your thinking and no these muscles are real" he always loved exaggerating about himself but to be fair he did have some muscle. All that hard work in the forge really paid off. It might not seem like it but he does have some built up muscle. How would he be able to move and lift heavy objects in order to create machines such as Festus? Yeah that's what I thought.

"Getting off track" he shakes his head as if to not let his ADHD get the best of him.

"Ok what do I say?"

"I always know what to say" he says exasperated with himself.

"Now I'm talking to myself and sounding like a crazy person" I laugh at his randomness and him being Leo. I hadn't laughed like that in what felt like years. He's the only one except for my family that know how to put a smile on my face.
This is what I missed. Leo. Leo being just him; funny, kind, caring, selfless. I could go on and on about everything he is but I was too focused on why he had left me this message.

He suddenly, looks away trying to regain his focus while taking a serious tone not wanting to show his vulnerable self in the front of the camera, in front of me.

"Hey Nora, I'm so sorry" he starts with a gentle sad tone.
"I never meant to leave you alone and let you suffer alone. This was the only way to save everyone....to save you. If there was another way, I would've done anything, but there wasn't."

"This is even If your watching this. Maybe I'm just pouring my heart out to no one but If you are watching, then I probably haven't come back yet as it's hard to tell time in Ogygia but Still have hope that I will come back."

He then looks up, while looking straight at me. It seemed as if he was talking to me right now instead of a recording playing. I was looking deep into his eyes not able to look away.

"Remember I love you and you mean everything to me and don't forget that." And there he goes again, confusing the life out of me.

"I'm bad at this emotional stuff but with you it's not that hard. Your easy to talk to you, your talented, fun. Your the heart of The seven, your the life of the party. Your amazing." He says sincerely with clear adoration in his eyes. I cry tears of happiness and appreciation from his compliments. I've never received this many compliments from someone. It's nice to hear something different other than, your smart and kind.

"Anyway" he said shaking his head,
"I love you and don't miss me too much" he says cockily. I shake my head at his playful arrogance with a smile stretching on my face.

"What I'm trying to say is that you gave me the best life I could ever imagine and I never thought I could laugh so much genuinely until the muscles in my mouth hurt until you came along and it felt great to smile for real for once."

I suck in a breathe hoping the tightness in my chest and the closing in my throat will ease and not cause me to cry.
"I will miss you. And you'll probably plague my thoughts with your face scolding me to have fun instead of ruining my mood by thinking of my mum only leading to me blaming myself. I hope when I do finally arrive that you will be there so I can hug the life out of you. And I hope you hug the life out of me too and hopefully prank the still twins together."

In the background I can hear my past self say something.

"Leeooo" I whine lazily as I'm half asleep.

"Well, got to go and be the knight in shining armour to you, well past you as your not here right now because.....you know what, forget it."

"More like knight in shining oil" my past self mutters in her sleep. Wow even when I'm only half awake, I'm still witty. Great skill I have.

Leo chuckles lightly as he turns to watch my sleeping form with fondness in his eyes.

I never knew he saw me the way.

He looks at me through the camera one more time with a meaningful look.
"I love you Nora, just remember that."

Then it shuts.

I was reminded that, that was the day Leo slept beside me giving me the comfort I needed. I don't remember those comments I had made though as I was half asleep. But there he goes again. Saying he loves me. He is killing my brain cells. I'm too confused, hurt and lonely but most of all more hopeful.

Yes I know this video proves his alive and well, but it doesn't help the feeling of losing him because I already lost him to Calypso.