"Will should be here any moment," Hazel said softly. She knelt next to Reyna but didn't touch her. Hazel glanced to her side. Frank had ran to grab Will, and Annabeth was standing a few feet away. She seemed hesitant to move over and help.
Hazel still wasn't sure what had happened. Her and Reyna had spent most of the week just sparring. That sparring included Hazel trying to trap Reyna in an armbar, and Reyna tried to fight her way out of it. They all knew that Silena would target Reyna's arm and try to lock her in a submission. That was why Reyna wanted to be prepared to fight it off from any angle, and Hazel also received extra practice for her submissions.
They took a break from the submissions to practice on the punching bag. Hazel had been holding the punching bag as Reyna hammered away at it. Everything was fine until Reyna hit the bag and suddenly yelled out in pain. She had doubled over and gripped her elbow.
Now, Reyna was sitting down and gripping her arm. There was frustration on her face. Hazel frowned. While they never talked about it, she knew how much Reyna's injury bothered her. Hazel heard about all of the physical therapy appointments and how many doctors it took to clear Reyna.
Hazel wasn't sure how Reyna would react to another setback. Personally, she knew that she wouldn't take it well. Something told her Reyna would take it a lot worse, especially with a fight being this close.
A blur appeared next to them, and Hazel moved out of Will's way. Will gently grabbed Reyna's arm and straightened it. He started to take off the pad that she wore on her elbow. Reyna buried her face in her other hand. Hazel wasn't sure if she should move away or just stand there. Lupa appeared at Reyna's other side.
"Where does it hurt?" Will asked quietly. He examined Reyna's elbow and gently felt along it. His finger brushed against the scar on her elbow, and Reyna visibly tensed.
"Right there," Reyna muttered. Will gently squeezed her elbow, and Reyna hissed.
"Hazel, what were you two doing?" Will questioned. He didn't even look at her.
"Just punching the bag," Hazel answered.
"Boxing drills or just punching the bag?" Lupa asked. Hazel's mind blanked. Had there been a rhythm or pattern to how Reyna punched the bag? Or, was she just letting out frustration? "Hazel?"
"Drills. I think," Hazel answered after a moment. She knew that Reyna hadn't been in a terrible mood when she walked in, especially since the night before was their game night. Reyna wouldn't have just been throwing punches at the bag.
"Drills," Reyna muttered softly.
"And this is on top of all your other training?" Will wondered. Reyna nodded. "I assume you haven't been taking breaks since this week began."
"Yeah," Reyna muttered. She slowly lifted her head. "What's wrong with it?"
"Honestly, I think you're just sore and overworking it," Will answered. "It doesn't look like you injured it again. I would recommend resting it for the rest of the week. Stick to exercises and drills that don't involve your arm. Let me get you some pain medicine and ice."
"Thanks," Reyna muttered. Will stood and walked away. Lupa stayed by their side and studied Reyna.
"Why don't we all take a break," Lupa said loud enough for everyone to hear. She offered a hand to Reyna. After a moment, Reyna took her hand and was helped to her feet. Hazel took that as her cue to leave the ring. Annabeth followed right behind her.
Frank met them and glanced over at Reyna. A small frown came to Hazel's face. Frank and Reyna weren't talking to each other much. Even during game night, they avoided each other's gaze and didn't make direct conversation. Which made it more awkward as Hazel and Nico were the only other ones there.
"How is the training going?" Hazel asked Frank. A smile came to Frank's face.
"It's going great," Frank answered. "We're working great together, and I think we have a solid plan."
"You're going to do great," Hazel promised.
"I'm glad you believe in me," Frank said, and he slowly lost his smile. Hazel didn't know whether to comfort her or change the subject. She decided on the latter.
"Did they give a date for the face-off yet?" Hazel questioned. It was years ago that the face-off between the fighters was when their weigh-ins took place. The Olympic League used to have a different number of divisions that depended on weight. There had been a whole controversy years ago about people weight cutting and starving themselves to just make a fight. Some fighters even gamed the system with their weight to ensure they would have an advantage in all of their fights.
The league had moved away from the weight classes and relied on a different system. Now, fighters were required to maintain a healthy weight for their height, and any extreme weight gain or loss was scrutinized. Instead of having a weigh-in, the fighters would stand face to face and either trash talk or be respectful. There would be time for reporters to take pictures, and the fighters would be separated and asked questions.
It was the one time that Hazel noticed her friends didn't mind talking to the press. Reyna always seemed locked in and didn't give a long answer to the questions. Each question she gave was short and precise but also confident. It was completely different than how she was outside of that event.
Frank had only done it once before, but he had been confident in his answers. The press also didn't question him too hard and seemed to be forming opinions about him. Hazel glanced to her side and wondered how Annabeth would handle the face-off when she got there. She didn't like talking to the press, but there was also something about standing face to face with an opponent that caused a switch to flip.
"Not yet," Frank answered. Hazel nodded, and the two of them caught up to Annabeth as she held the door open for them.
"Hey Annabeth, we didn't invite you yesterday because you were busy, but we do a game night every week," Frank began. Hazel smiled. She did feel bad about not inviting Annabeth or even Piper, but the week had gotten away from all of them. "It's just a fun little thing. Would you like to come next week on Wednesday? After your training with Lupa?"
"I would like that," Annabeth answered.
"Percy and Piper can come too," Hazel said quickly. "Percy gets to be on my team though."
"No. Percy is on my team," Frank protested. Hazel cut in front of him and turned to face him. She held her fist up. Frank raised his fist.
"Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!"
Both of them chose rock. They both raised their fists again, but Annabeth interjected, "Percy can be on Frank's team next week and then Hazel's the week after. Or, all three of you can be on the same team."
"That is true. You're spared, for now," Hazel said. Frank smiled, and they continued to walk. They made it into the break room, and Hazel walked towards the charging station. She grabbed her phone and frowned as she saw two missed calls. Hazel recognized her number, but she couldn't believe it.
Hazel took her phone off of the charger and looked through her voicemail. No message had been left. If it wasn't for the fact that there were two missed calls, she would think it was some kind of mistake. Hazel called the number back and waited.
As the phone rang, Hazel's heart began to race. She wiped the sweat away from her forehead and started to pace. Frank looked at her in concern. He grabbed three sodas and placed them on the table. Frank and Annabeth sat across from each other, waiting for Hazel.
"Aunt Chloe," Hazel said as the phone went to voicemail. "I'm so sorry I missed your call. I'm at work. Just give me a call back or have Cousin Jada text me."
Hazel hesitated and then hung up. She sat down next to Frank and leaned on him. Frank spoke, "Who was that?"
"My aunt," Hazel answered. She shifted uncomfortably. "We don't talk. Not since my mother moved away with me."
"You haven't talked to them in years, right?" Frank questioned. Hazel nodded. "Why are they messaging you now?"
That was something that Hazel didn't know the answer to. She had tried to reach out to her family over the years, and it never went well. What was the difference between then and now? Hazel knew that Thanksgiving was getting closer, and a small part of her hoped that maybe, just maybe, her family was going to invite her over. It would involve either taking a plane or a road trip, but that didn't bother Hazel.
Hazel took a deep breath and shook her head. She opened the can of soda and took a long sip. The cold soda caused her to shiver, and the caffeine didn't help the anxiety that was building up inside. Frank looked like he wanted to ask her more. Instead, he just shifted in his seat. Annabeth was quiet as she watched the two of them.
"I hope Reyna is okay," Frank said after a few moments. Hazel frowned. She also hoped that Reyna would be fine, especially with the mental aspect of her injury. There was a reason that Hazel was scared to get hurt. It wasn't the physical pain that came with the injury. It was the mental block.
Hazel had already seen it from Reyna a couple of times. Some of her punches were hesitant with not enough power behind them, or she didn't punch at all. She was also more hesitant to block kicks with her arms and had even taken a few unnecessary body shots from Hazel.
Hazel understood it completely. Reyna was scared of taking one too many shots to the elbow or throwing too many punches and reinjuring her arm. It didn't help matters that Reyna's greatest fear had almost happened. It was something she would have to figure out before her next fight.
It also wasn't good that Frank was thinking about Reyna. This wasn't just about concern for a friend. Frank had to have his argument with Reyna on his mind. He seemed bothered that nothing was happening to fix the issue between the two of them, and Hazel just wished that Reyna would apologize for once.
"Reyna will be fine. She just needs rest," Annabeth said. She leaned backward. "Frank, Percy wants to spar with you every Tuesday that he has off. I'm going to clear it with Lupa, but are you okay with that?"
"I love sparring with Percy," Frank said.
"Can I have him on half of that day?" Hazel asked. Frank looked at her and seemed to think about it. Hazel crossed her arms and huffed.
"I guess," Frank said, drawing out the word. Hazel rolled her eyes but smiled. "Maybe for an hour."
"I'm sure Percy would love to spar with both of you," Annabeth said. "There is no need to fight over him and make his ego bigger than it already is."
Hazel smiled and heard the door open. She quickly turned her head and saw Reyna walk in. Reyna was holding a bag of ice to her elbow, and her lip twitched in pain every few seconds. Frank stood and walked towards the fridge. He grabbed Reyna's favorite soda and then sat it next to Annabeth.
Annabeth scooted the chair out. Reyna hesitated for a moment. Then, she walked towards them and sat in the chair. Reyna remained silent and just adjusted the ice. She finally spoke softly, "Thanks."
"I would ask if you wanted me to open the soda, but you would probably beat me with it," Frank joked. Reyna glanced up at him. There had been a tension between the two, but Hazel realized this was the moment where Reyna would apologize. Things would be fine after this.
"Yeah," Reyna muttered. Hazel waited for Reyna to say something else. Instead, Reyna just rested her head on the table and kept the ice pressed to her elbow. Frank frowned and then looked down at his phone. Silence filled the room, and Hazel looked at her phone. Just like that, the moment was ruined.
Hazel wasn't sure what it was going to take for Reyna to apologize, and if she was any braver, she would yell at Reyna to just swallow her pride. Instead, she just sat there. Annabeth looked in between Reyna and Frank, and she had a scowl on her face. It looked like Annabeth was going to say something. Instead, she stood and walked away.
Frank stood and left a moment later. Reyna looked up and watched him walk out of the room. Hazel stood as well and grabbed her soda can. She turned and then hesitated. Hazel spoke, "Why can't you just apologize, Reyna?"
"Frank is a great guy, and who cares if he wants to take a fight? I know he can beat Michael, and he does too. Even if he loses, it's not the end of his career. It's one set back," Hazel said. She looked back, but Reyna didn't meet her gaze. "We respect your opinion and always want to look to you for advice. Why can't you respect us the same way?"
Hazel sighed and looked down. She left the room without waiting for a response. It bothered her so much that there was a rift like this between Reyna and Frank that had such an easy solution. Why did Reyna have to be so thick-headed and stubborn? Why couldn't Frank just try and stand up for himself? He didn't deserve to be shoved around like that.
Hazel shook her head and walked outside. She saw Frank was sitting on the hood of his car and staring down at the pavement. Hazel sat next to him and didn't say a word. She just rested against him and relaxed. Frank relaxed as well. The two of them sat there and remained silent until it was time to go back inside.