My Best Friend's Brother (The Finale)

Chapter 2

Annabeth

I wasn't eating anything and wasn't that hungry,but the minute I tasted the soup,my stomach twisted with hunger. Before I knew it,I gulped the entire thing down,not caring about how disgusting I looked.

Piper was watching over me,holding a glass of water. On the left side of my bed,Leo and Apollo sat,heads downs and looking sombre. Piper kept shooting them a look mixed with anger and pity.

"Thanks." I croaked,accepting the glass of water and emptying it in one go. I should have realized that I needed to eat something. I suddenly felt like I could run a mile and ready to be discharged.

"You look better already." Piper said encouragingly. I sat up,pushing aside my tangled curls. "You two okay?" I frowned at Leo and Apollo. Their heads snapped upright.

"I feel like a bag of shit left out in the open sun." Leo sighed,leaning back. Piper pursed her lips,fluffing up my pillows.

"He'll come around,just give him some time." she said simply, picking up her phone and going through her texts. "Penny's coming in an hour,she's on her way."

Apollo nodded,but Leo looked like he was about to puke "Oh. Okay."

"What's up with you?" Piper wondered,taking in his sweaty palms and jittery hands. He didn't reply,just put his head in his hands and stayed silent. Just then Jason came in,his jaw set.  "Thalia says that she wants to talk to you." he said,looking at Apollo.

"Why?" He asked, confused. Shrugging,he looked elsewhere. Apollo exchanged a look with Leo before getting up and heading to the door. He turned to Jason desperately.

"Jason,look man,I'm-"

"Just go." He replied, stone faced. Grimacing,Apollo left. Piper got up,frowning. "Jason,come on. Let's talk."

"No." he said stubbornly,a pulse beating in his neck. Piper glared at him and he gulped "maybe just a minute or two." he said quietly. Soon it was just me and Leo. It was a bit awkward,seeing as we never really talked much.

"You need some coffee?" he asked,trying to break the silence.

"No,thanks." I muttered,thinking of something to say "Jason's your best friend,he'll come around you know."

Leo exhaled "Yeah..I hope so. I just-well-It's never gunna feel the same as before. So much has changed."

Hearing Leo talking sense was very unsettling. I had grown used to seeing him grinning,his eyes glinting with humour. Now he was still,a dark shadow in his brown,almost black eyes. It reminded me of a trapped wolf's eyes.

"Yeah,a lot has." I accepted bitterly. He looked up at the ceiling.

"Times like these,I always run." he sighed "now I can't. Oh,I ran away from home." He added,seeing the look on my face "been to several foster homes. Relative's places. Never worked out for me."

"How'd you come here then?"

"Me and Penny-" he stopped, as if the memory was too painful "we were buddies when we were little. Thirten years old? I forgot. We parted ways back then. I was in New York with a bit of change and I wanted some donuts,so I went into a coffee shop. And I overheard the counter dude talking loudly with Drew Tanaka,about two new rebellious twins,the Jackson's and how they moved in before they were even legal."

My stomach swooped "Luke?"

His lips thinned "Yeah. I asked him a few questions about it. He gave me a long look before asking me if I was Leo Valdez. Apparently,Penny told him about me. They were buddies for a long time too apparently." he rubbed his eyes "He was a good guy. He gave me her number,making me promise that I never told her how I got it. So we reconnected and I moved in next door." he shrugged. I nodded,my guts twisting. Luke. The phone number. My heart skipped a beat before I reached into my pocket and felt the paper inside. Luckily,Leo didn't notice.