Impossible Love

Chapter Eighteen

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Chapter Eighteen

It wasn’t until a week later that Calypso deemed Leo healthy enough to begin working on the raft again. Each day he was stuck in bed was torture for him. He had never been good at sitting still, and though it was probably because of the ADHD, Leo thought that if he didn’t have ADHD, he would still be as jumpy as he was with it.

As soon as he woke up, a week after being millimeters from death, he jumped up and ran outside to the raft. More like jogged—he was still a little weak, but if he told Calypso that, there was no way he would be working on the raft that day.

Luckily, Calypso knew not to force Leo to eat something first. He deserved to walk around without a babysitter, after spending all of those days stuck in bed.

He heard footsteps behind him and knew Calypso was on her way; she had probably just finished moving Zylon. As it turned out, Zylon was incredibly weak from his fall down the cliff, and his lungs and throat were already damaged, so when Calypso hit him in his throat, he didn’t just drop like a rock, he died, and fell to the ground, lifeless. But Calypso didn’t notice until after she had fed Leo the vial. If she had waited any longer to give Leo the antidote, he wouldn’t be alive.

Calypso immediately felt weird, after learning she had killed a man. Sure, he was rude, evil, and just plain mean, but still, she had killed him. It took Leo three hours to convince her that she didn’t kill him, Leo did, and even then, she still felt bad. Leo hid his guilt underneath his jittery and excited attitude when he learned he could work on the raft again.

As soon as he and Calypso arrived at the raft site, Leo immediately began to take control, instructing Calypso where to go and what to do. As for himself, he was working on the hard part. The sail. He had to make the proportions right in order for the sail to catch the wind properly, and he didn’t want it too tall or else its weight would make the raft tip over. He didn’t want it too short either, or else the raft would never move, or just move at two miles per hour.

Leo was happy that he could finally work on the raft, without the threat of injury, or a weakened state.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for them to complete the raft. In fact, it only took them two days. Leo was extremely anxious to get back to Camp Half-Blood, his friends, and his boat, his Argo Ⅱ.

“It’s done,” Leo sighed, sitting back and his ankles. “We can go home.”

“Well, it’s not my home,” Calypso teased.

“You know what I mean!” Leo groaned.

Leo waded into the river with the raft and climbed atop his creation. He paddled over to Calypso and held his hand out for her, like the “gentleman” he was. Smirking, Calypso placed one of her two bags in his hand, and Leo sighed as he put it in the bottom of the raft (the raft was more like a mini-boat). Leo wordlessly reached out Calypso’s other bag.

As soon as he put both bags down, he held his hand out again for Calypso. This time, she smiled and took it.

She had a worried look on her face, and Leo asked, “You nervous?”

“A little,” Calypso replied truthfully. “It’s been thousands of years since I set foot in the real world. I wonder if it’s changed much.”

Leo said nothing, but thought to himself, I wonder if she’ll have the same reaction as Hazel when she finds out about chicken nuggets. . . .

Leo focused on steering the raft, but after a while, he realized, they weren’t moving at all.

“Uh, Leo?” asked Calypso. “Why aren’t we moving?”

“I—I don’t know,” he answered. “Everything should be working fine.”

“Is it something in your prophecy that you haven’t done?”

“. . . Actually, I think it’s something you haven’t done.”

“Something I haven’t done?” wondered Calypso. “What could I have not done? Tell me the entire prophecy.”

Leo sighed, cleared his throat, and recited the prophecy.

“The one of fire must travel far,

he will travel not by boat nor car.

The forge’s son ventures alone,

and will encounter a forgotten home.

History repeats itself with an explosion of fire,

the key of the quest, lies in the wire.

To rescue a love, from an island that is lost,

the heart must be won, for the hero has fought.

The boys’ fight will break her heart,

the tonic for his life, saved in the chart.”

“What could I have not done?” Calypso said. “It doesn’t say anything about me.”

“It actually just might,” Leo said, staring out at the river and shaking his finger as he thought.

“What?” Calypso.

“I think I know why we aren’t moving.”

“Why.”

“The line,” Leo said. “To rescue a love, from an island that is lost / the heart must be won, for the hero has fought. You have to admit to me and yourself that I have won your heart, because I have fought, and you are my love from a lost island.”

Leo didn’t care that he just said she was his love. He had an idea, an idea that most often came from a mind like Annabeth’s. As he thought about it, the more confident he became in his idea. He began to truly believe that Calypso needed to admit her love.

“Are you sure?” asked Calypso she seemed hesitant.

“I grow more and more positive with every second,” Leo answered honestly. “I don’t care about getting back to Camp Half-Blood, honestly. Sure, it would be great, but I love you, and because of that, you are my home.” He took Calypso’s small hands in his slender but rough ones.

Silent tears streamed down her face as she said, “No one’s ever loved me back, because of my curse. You don’t know how much I appreciate this, want this, and need this.” Calypso smiled as more tears streamed down.

“Leo Valdez, I love you, and you are my home.”

Written by Volleyballstar11