Reyna stared down at the mug of hot chocolate in front of her. It was half empty and the third cup that she had since walking into the restaurant. This was a quiet place, owned by a small family that had moved to America about a decade ago.

A plate of food was sat down in front of Reyna, and her gaze flickered up to the waitress, "Gracias."

"Eres bienvenido," the waitress replied with a smile. "Cómo estás?"

"Estoy bien," Reyna answered with a wave of her hand. She was sure that the red of her eyes exposed her lie. She had made it a few blocks from the gym before she let a few tears slip out. Thankfully, the freezing cold made it easier to stop. And to hide.

"Si tú necesitas algo házmelo saber," the waitress said. Reyna nodded as the waitress walked away. She looked down at her plate of food and took another sip of hot chocolate. She rolled the Spanish words around her tongue once again. It wasn't often that she spoke her native language, and there were some days that it bothered her.

Reyna didn't have many memories from Puerto Rico. She lived there for ten years, but they left the country behind after her father was killed. Reyna always heard that kids were supposed to look back upon their childhood with fondness. Happy moments and a family. Reyna didn't have anything like that.

Reyna knew that she blocked out most of her time in Puerto Rico. What was there to remember besides the closet she hid in from her angry father or climbing the roofs when the house became too dangerous? Reyna stabbed her fork into her arroz con pollo.

Hylla had tried making it once before for her. It had been so terrible they both got sick. A small smile came to Reyna's face as she dug into some of the rice. The only good memories she had of Puerto Rico involved her sister. The only real family that she had.

And, Reyna just threw that away for years. She stormed out because of a stupid argument and refused to see Hylla for too damn long. Lupa was right. Reyna was an immature child. That did not change the fact that Reyna didn't want to see Lupa hurt again.

Reyna saw Lupa like a mother. One she never had. That was why she wanted to protect her. It blew up in her face. Reyna sighed and focused back on her meal. She wasn't that hungry, but she hoped that eating a meal from her childhood would provide her some kind of comfort.

Her gaze moved around the restaurant. Hylla might like this place. She never talked of Puerto Rico, but there was always a longing when she talked about it. Not to mention she had admitted to teaching Kinzie... certain phrases in Spanish.

Reyna took another sip of hot chocolate. The chair next to her moved, and she turned her head. Nico sat next to her and spoke, "Can I have some?"

"Get your own," Reyna muttered, but she pushed the plate over slightly. Nico smirked and took a bite. He then waved down the waitress.

"Can I have one of what she's having? And a Pepsi? Thank you," Nico said. He leaned forward and studied Reyna. She kept her gaze on her food. "We haven't been here before."

"We haven't," Reyna confirmed. She shrugged.

"It seems like a nice place," Nico commented. He looked around. "Family owned. Have they been around for a while?"

"They gave me a few meals when I was out on the streets," Reyna muttered. She shrugged again. "Never asked me about it. Just saw me digging through the trash one day and made me come inside. Spoke in broken English, and when I responded in Spanish, their faces just lit up. They didn't charge me for the meal and even gave me some to eat later. I come here a few times a month and leave a nice tip."

"You never invited me here," Nico said as he took a sip of her hot chocolate. Reyna gently slapped his hand. "This is really good."

"And not for you to take. I'm going to take your soda," Reyna threatened. She looked down at the table. "How did you find me?"

"Well, the snow is about two feet deep, and you decided to walk right through it. It left a great trail," Nico explained. He pulled off his scarf and passed it to Reyna. Then, he pulled gloves and a hat out of his pocket. "You also forgot these. You're going to get a cold."

Reyna shrugged and put her hat on. She wrapped the scarf around her neck. The waitress stopped by and put a soda and another mug down. Reyna and Nico thanked her. There was silence as the two sipped from their drinks.

"Did Lupa send you?" Reyna muttered. She didn't meet Nico's eyes as she looked out the window.

"I saw you storm out," Nico answered. He studied Reyna. "Want to talk about it?"

"I told Romy to leave Lupa alone," Reyna began. She sighed. "I threatened him if he hurt Lupa. She interrupted me and called me an immature child. I only heard her that mad after she yelled at me for the incident with Bryce."

"She tore you a new one," Nico remarked with a sad smile. "I'm sorry about that."

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," Reyna swore. She nudged Nico. "Can you be honest with me? Do you think I'm an immature child?"

Nico looked at her for a long moment. Then, he averted his gaze and stared ahead. Nico spoke, "Promise not to be mad?"

"That's a yes," Reyna agreed with another sigh. She placed her cup down. "Why?"

"You have to promise to not be upset," Nico began.

"I won't," Reyna said as she stared out the window.

"I think the biggest problem is that you have such a temper," Nico began. He gently grabbed Reyna's hand. She moved her gaze to look at him. "There are days when you are completely calm, and it seems like nothing will bother you. Then, the next day you blow up at the slightest inconvenience."

Reyna nodded and stared at the table. She tapped her fork against her plate but didn't say a word. Nico continued, "I know that you like to keep your issues to yourself, but that's part of the problem. If you don't let it out, it's going to build up inside until it explodes. We've seen what happens then."

"What do I do then?" Reyna questioned.

"Why don't you go to the anger management that Lupa has been trying to get you to go to for years?" Nico asked. Reyna didn't answer as she closed her eyes. "What is so wrong with that? You act like going there would be the end of the world."

"I don't need a therapist to confirm what I already know," Reyna muttered. "I know anger has ruined a lot of things in my life. It caused me to walk out on Hylla and not come back, to ostracize me from my own family. It's ruined most of my friendships and all of my relationships. Going to a therapist now isn't going to fix any of that."

"It will," Nico argued. "If you can learn how to control your anger-"

"Don't," Reyna cut-off. Nico sighed and shook his head, standing up from his seat. "Nico. Wait. I'm sorry. I know. I just don't have a good reason."

"Are you scared?" Nico challenged as he sat back down. "Is it a pride thing?"

Reyna didn't answer. She just kept her gaze ahead before looking back at her food. A shrug finally left her. Nico spoke, "I know it's hard Reyna, but anger management or therapy isn't going to make you weak. No one will look down upon you."

"I don't have a good answer, Nico. I know it sounds stupid. Something is stopping me, and I don't know what it is," Reyna whispered. Nico sighed and reached into his wallet. He pulled out a business card.

"I did some research," Nico said softly. He pushed the business card over to Reyna. "This is a therapist, but she's not a traditional one. You're not going to sit on a couch and tell the story of your life. She goes out with you and gets to know you."

"Isn't that just a friend?" Reyna muttered.

"No. It's not, and you know it," Nico reprimanded. He took a deep breath. "I really think you should consider this, Reyna. Just one visit."

Reyna hesitated and then grabbed the card. She put it in her wallet, but she had no intention of calling the number. The waitress sat Nico's food down, and he thanked her. Nico took a bite, and his eyes widened, "This is good."

"Better than your cooking?" Reyna teased. Nico rolled his eyes. "Can I ask you something, Nico? Without you getting mad?"

"Depends," Nico replied as he lowered his fork.

"Why haven't you told Hazel about your sexuality?" Reyna questioned. "You know that I would be there for you, and of all people, she would understand. She wouldn't judge."

"I'm scared to," Nico admitted. "I know that Hazel isn't going to judge me, but when I tell her, Frank is going to find out. It's going to spread around the gym and only escalate from there. I know high school was years ago, but I still remember everything that happened. I'm just worried about running into something like that again."

Reyna bit her tongue and nodded, "If you ever want to Nico, I will be here for you."

"I know. Thank you," Nico said with a small smile.

"Things still good between you and Will?" Reyna asked.

"Yeah," Nico replied, and his smile grew. "I really do like him."

"Good," Reyna smiled. "Because if he hurts you, I will kill him."

"I think he could take you," Nico joked. Reyna chuckled. "I know you probably don't want to go back to the gym. Do you want me to take you home?"

Reyna didn't answer. On one hand, she would need to apologize to Romy sooner or later, even if she didn't mean it. On the other hand, she wasn't in the mood to swallow her pride. Reyna finally spoke, "Ask me after we eat."

"Sounds good," Nico said.

Reyna nodded and focused her gaze back on her mug of hot chocolate. She didn't want to be seen as a child anymore, as someone with anger issues and an inability to open up. Reyna was going to change the perspective that everyone seemed to have of her. To start, she was going to tell Thalia the real reason she dated her in the first place, and hopefully, it wouldn't blow up in her face.