A/N : TOLD YA I WAS GONNA GRIND (SORRY I'M TOO HYPED TO NOT TYPE IN CAPS, I FINALLY REMEMBERED THE GODS-FORSAKEN PASSWORD TO MY ACCOUNT!!!!!)

Ok fine I'll stop.

This one's a lil shorter, sorry! ):

Hope you still like it anyways :D

I totally forgot the POVS so some of them might get skipped over, sorry! (It's Percy (again?)this time.)

Anyways...

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Percy's POV:

Percy was concerned. He thought Leo was one of the funniest guys he had met, he had a better sense of humor than Percy himself (although it took him a while to admit that). But he had completely underestimated what the poor guy had been through. Losing your mom at 8 years old? Percy had no idea how that felt. What's worse, Leo seemed to blame himself for it, even though it was quite clear which dirt-faced old lady did the real harm. The look on his face when Annabeth mentioned child abuse was unmistakable. It scared him. He had been through it. His stepdad had slapped him on multiple occasions, but he was smart. He never left a mark. There was something different about the look on Leo's face. It made his stomach whirl. What could he have been through that was so bad? Percy wasn't even sure he wanted to know. But the memories continued anyway.

After a good 10 minutes of yelling, Miss Adelman stomped back to the car and slammed the door shut as she sat down.

"I'm sorry Leo. I didn't think she would be so rude about such a sensitive event." She trailed off when she saw the red marks on Leo's face.

"Oh dear! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He didn't bother to look her in the eye.

"I'm so so so so so sorry Leo. Is there any way to make it up to you?"

"I just want my mama back." Leo muttered under his breath.

"What honey?"

"D- do you have anything left from the warehouse?" He asked, trying to be cautious about his question. After all, he didn't want this smiling lady to think he needed counseling or something stupid like that.

"I don't know if there's anything left, hon."

"Can we go look?" He asked, tapping his hands on the window.

Miss Adelman stopped at the red light and turned around.

"Are you sure? We might get in trouble. I really don't think it's a good idea..."

"Yes. Please."

"Okay then Leo. I'll bring you back to the warehouse, but we have to be really quiet and really careful. You understand?"

He nodded, desperate to get back even a small part of his mother back.

Miss Adelman turned right at the green light and they drove to the warehouse, sitting in deafening silence. Finally, they reached the outside of the charred remains of the warehouse. Leo felt like something inside of him crumbled up when he saw what was left of the building he spent his entire life in.

Nevertheless, he badly wanted a piece, a memory, of his mom back. So together, they traversed the wreckage and beneath the rusted pieces of metal, they found a toolbox and jacket, among other things like burnt photos and a broken polaroid camera. He found the wrench and hammer he got for his birthday, too. Leo carefully put the small items in his pockets and slung the strap of the toolbox over his shoulder.

Before they left, Leo came across the wall where his mother used to measure his height. They used to do it every year, on his birthday. Although his birthday was still a little over a month away, he strongly desired to mark his height one last time. He motioned for Miss Adelman to follow him, and after some convincing, she did.

"What's this now Leo? I said in and out, remember? We gotta be quick."

"Can you mark my height please? Mama used to do it every year on my birthday."

"Miss Adelman's expression softened. "Okay." she grabbed a pen from her handbag and drew a line just above his head.

Leo crossed his fingers, hoping he was four feet.

Miss Adelman smiled, and said, "three foot ten."

Leo frowned. "Are you sure I'm not four feet tall yet?"

"You've got a long way to go, young one. Now c'mon, we're gonna get caught snooping around." She took his hand and they left the warehouse.

At the entrance, Leo put his palm on the wall and whispered. "Te amo mama. Te amo. (I love you mama. I love you)." A single tear fell from his eyes as they walked away from the warehouse, which he would never see again.

"Oh..." was all Percy could say.

"I'm so sorry Leo. .  . That must have been so hard for you." Hazel spoke softly.

"Yeah, well. . . the past is the past. And don't say sorry, cuz you couldn't have done anything about it anyway." He mumbled, his head barely peeking above his arms, which were crossed over his knees.

They sat in silence, letting what they just saw sink in.

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A/N: Yup. So. 

How was that one? good? Bad? needs a re-write? Opinions please! Thanks for reading! See ya!