Reyna stared at the mirror in front of her. She studied the mostly faded bruises dotting her face. It had been a little over a week since everything had happened. Reyna had done her best to keep to herself, just to make sure that she didn't cause any more waves. Things had been a little too crazy lately, and she just needed time for everything to settle down.
A sigh left Reyna, and she washed her hands before drying them. As she moved towards the restroom door, it opened. Reyna found herself standing face to face with Thalia. The hunter was looking down at her phone and not really paying attention. Until she looked up and met Reyna's eyes.
Reyna had not spoken to Thalia or about her since she was wrongfully arrested. She spent a few minutes every day stewing about it and also waiting for a police officer to kick down her door and arrest her. Thalia studied her for a few moments. If she stepped into the bar at all, Reyna had made sure to make herself scarce. Like she was trying to do now.
Reyna averted eye contact and stepped around the hunter. Thalia spoke first, "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened."
"Yeah," Reyna muttered as she opened the door.
"Seriously. It was a dick move and wrong of me. Especially because you already had all that other stuff happen. I'm sorry," Thalia repeated. Reyna looked back at the hunter and nodded. She chewed the inside of her cheek and tried to think of how to get out of the conversation.
Thankfully, Thalia just turned and walked towards a stall. Reyna hurried out of the restroom and did a once over around the bar. There were no fights, thankfully. Clarisse would probably kill her if a fight happened in the bar. She didn't see any suspicious characters either.
Reyna glanced outside. It was absolutely freezing, and the temperature was almost below zero. The bar was rather quiet for the night. Reyna made her way outside and adjusted her gloves. The chilling wind almost cut right through her. A shiver left her.
The day was slow, which allowed Reyna to have all kinds of free time with her thoughts, which is not what she wanted. She kept thinking back to her sister and what had happened. In a perfect world, Hylla would have stayed behind, and they would have talked about what had happened.
Instead, Hylla stated that she never wanted to see Reyna again. She didn't want anything to do with her little sister.
Really, who could blame her? Hylla watched Reyna kill their father. It was in self-defense, but Hylla couldn't see that. Or didn't want to. Reyna didn't know. A sigh left her, and she watched the breath leave her mouth. She wiped her runny nose.
What if Hylla did understand and still didn't want anything to do with Reyna? If that was the case, then Reyna understood. It just sucked. To have her sister turn her back on her hurt. Reyna had no family to turn to. Her father was dead, and she never knew anyone from his side of the family. Her mother's pack had already condemned her to death.
Reyna had no one. And when she saw Hylla standing at the front door, she had been terrified, scared to her core. When she was talking to Hylla, part of her thought that she may just be able to convince her sister that she wasn't a monster. That they could be a family again. Reyna let herself hope.
That was her mistake. Reyna knew better than to hope. A lot of things didn't go her way, so she knew that hope was just futile. She was just going to make the best life that she could with what she had. Hope would be left behind.
"Reyna," a voice said. Reyna jumped and blinked a few times. There was no one in line. In fact, she was sure that she hadn't seen anyone walk into the bar in awhile. She had zoned out for who knew how long. Her gaze moved to look at Jason.
"You look cold," Jason said softly. He was holding a steaming mug in his hands. "I think you can come inside."
"I'm supposed to watch the door," Reyna replied with a shrug. Jason gave her a look and held the door open a little wider.
"Come on. You can meet anyone at the door," Jason tried again. Reyna sighed and followed Jason inside. He handed her the mug. "I made you hot chocolate."
"Thanks," Reyna said. She looked around the bar. There weren't any customers inside, and the place looked spotless. Annabeth was leaning on the bar counter and looking through a textbook. Piper was looking down at her phone. Reyna glanced back outside and watched as it started to snow.
"Chiron's not going to make you stand outside in that kind of weather," Jason commented as he leaned on a booth. "Especially when we're this slow."
"What do you do when you're this slow?" Reyna questioned. She sipped from the mug. "And, thanks."
"You're welcome," Jason said. "As for what we do, Annabeth likes to study. Leo will bother us with lame jokes. Piper usually plays on her phone. Frank will kind of do whatever we need, and Hazel likes to talk."
Reyna nodded. She didn't work with Hazel much as their schedules were opposite of each other. The night crew stayed mostly consistent with a few substitutes here and there. Movement caused Reyna to turn her head, and she saw Nico standing by the bar looking awkward.
"I have food!" Leo called as he came out of the kitchen. He was holding onto a platter of fresh entrees. Reyna felt her stomach growl. Jason had the same look on his face, and he moved toward Leo. The chef placed the platter down on the bar counter. "Gather around everyone!"
Reyna was the last one who made it to the bar counter. Well, Nico was technically at the bar but wasn't getting closer to them. Jason looked at Nico and motioned for him to come over. He slowly did, and Nico stopped near Reyna.
Reyna looked at the platter which was full of tacos. Leo spoke, "I have tofu on the right, beef on the left, and chicken in the middle. Not that right, Piper. My right. Yeah. That one."
Piper glared at Leo as she almost picked up the beef taco and followed his instructions to grab the tofu one. Reyna didn't know how someone could survive without eating meat. She got the concept behind being a vegetarian. It was probably the whole werewolf thing, but she could not see giving up meat.
"I'm cooking up a pizza too," Leo said as he looked at them. "I have a veggie one for Piper and meat lovers for the werewolves. Should we talk to Chiron about closing up early tonight?"
"I already texted him," Annabeth said as she finally looked up from her textbook and grabbed a taco. "I think he's eating right now, so it will probably be twenty minutes until he responds."
"Everything is clean," Piper added. Reyna watched Leo and Jason grab a taco. She reached for one and handed it off to Nico. He looked at her in surprise, and she motioned for him to take it. Nico slowly did, and Reyna grabbed a taco of her own.
"How are you feeling?" Leo questioned as he looked at Reyna. She met his eyes.
"I'm feeling okay," Reyna answered. "It still hurts to breathe too deeply. And I keep putting too much pressure on my bad leg."
"Did you get stitches?"
"That's normally what happens with a stab wound."
"Can I see them?" Leo wondered. Piper hit his arm. "What?! Stitches are cool!"
"I'd have to take my pants off to show you," Reyna clarified. Leo looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Piper hit him again, this time loud enough for it to echo through the bar. Jason glared at Leo, and Annabeth even slapped him in the back of the head.
"It was a compliment!" Leo complained as he grabbed the back of his head with one hand and pressed his arm to his side like it was about to fall off. Piper rolled her eyes. Reyna tried to fight her smile.
"I'm not offended," Reyna said after a few moments.
"There!" Leo protested as he raised his hand. "You can stop beating me up now."
"I love beating you up, though," Piper commented. Annabeth nodded her agreement. Leo looked at Jason, silently pleading for the werewolf to defend him, and Jason shook his head. Reyna remained quiet, and she noticed that Nico did as well.
Nico was already looking better than he had before. While he was naturally pale as a vampire, it had been extremely bad when Reyna first saw him. Nico had also been extremely skinny and hid it behind baggy clothes. While he still wore the aviator jacket that was too big for him, it looked like Chiron had taken him on a shopping trip for newer clothes that actually fit him well.
Nico nibbled at the taco and didn't look at any of them. Reyna grabbed another taco and heard the three friends continue their conversation. She didn't mind being left out of it. Just knowing that she could add in at any time and not be in trouble was comforting.
Annabeth suddenly looked at her, "If your leg is hurting, you should sit down."
"It doesn't hurt that bad," Reyna returned. Annabeth gave her a look. Reyna sighed and begrudgingly sat down at the bar. Leo sat on the counter, and Annabeth gave him a dirty look. Annabeth then looked at her phone.
"Chiron said he is fine with us leaving now. Leo, is the kitchen clean?" Annabeth questioned.
"It is other than this pan and the ones with the pizza on it," Leo replied. Annabeth nodded and glanced over the bar. Reyna did as well. It looked pretty spotless. Leo stepped away and came back with the pizza. He placed it down, and they all took a slice.
"We can leave after we eat," Annabeth decided. She grabbed a rag and started to clean off the counter that was already clean.
"Then help us eat," Piper said as she swatted Annabeth's hand. "There was no dust or grime on this until after someone put their textbook on it."
Annabeth glared and dropped the towel. Reyna focused on eating the pizza, and when she was done, she headed to Clarisse's office to grab her things. Reyna grabbed her backpack and swung it across her shoulder. By the time she stepped out of the office and locked it up, the others were ready to go.
Reyna made her way towards the door and watched as Annabeth set the alarm and grabbed the keys. She waited for the older woman to lock it up. From behind her, she could hear Leo getting into his car. Piper walked towards her car and opened the door, but she didn't close it.
Jason seemed to wait near them. Reyna stuffed her hands in her pockets as she waited. As Annabeth locked the door, she turned towards Reyna, "Need a ride?"
"No," Reyna declined. "I was just waiting for you to finish up."
"Who's giving you a lift?" Jason questioned. Annabeth frowned, and her eyes narrowed.
"Actually, who gave you a ride here?" Annabeth demanded. Reyna didn't answer.
"Don't tell me that you walked here," Jason pleaded. Reyna shrugged. "Reyna!"
"I can't drive," Reyna tried to defend herself.
"You have an injured leg," Annabeth countered, crossing her arms. "That's it. One of us is giving you a ride home."
"Thalia drove me," Jason began, and as if she heard her name, Thalia honked from her car. That was another reason Reyna did her best to stay outside that day. Thalia had been hanging around the bar and helping out. Annabeth must have noticed how Reyna tensed because she nodded.
"I'll drive her," Annabeth offered.
"You don't have-" Annabeth's glare cut Reyna off. Reyna held up her hands. "Fine. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Come on," Annabeth ordered. She walked towards her car. Reyna followed behind and gave a wave to everyone. She sat in Annabeth's car and exhaled in pain. Her body hurt a lot more than she was willing to admit, but Chiron had been generous with her missing time. She didn't want to miss anymore.
Annabeth sat in the driver's seat and turned it on. She waited for the others to leave the parking lot before pulling out, "Do you need a place to stay?"
"A place to stay," Reyna repeated. She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Do you need to stay somewhere for a few days?" Annabeth asked. She glanced at Reyna. "Are you worried that Exterminata might try and attack you again?"
"No," Reyna answered honestly. She shook her head. "I'll keep the offer in mind, though. Thank you."
Annabeth nodded to her. The drive was in a comfortable silence, and Reyna kept her eyes out the window. She would keep it in the back of her mind that Exterminata might know about her, but at the same time, she didn't think Hylla would have told them too much. Either way, Reyna would keep her eyes in the back of her head. It was something she was good at after all.