I experimented with the formatting of this chapter specifically the texting portion. Let me know how you like it. And thank you for all of the follows, favorites, and reviews.

"Am I in trouble?" Percy asked nervously as he stepped into the room. He had been relieved by Hazel and told to go to Lupa's office. Upon first stepping into the office, he saw Reyna sitting back in her office chair with an angry scowl. Lupa was staring patiently at the door like she was waiting for the moment Percy walked in.

"No," Lupa said, and a small smile came to her face. "You're not in trouble, Percy. Take a seat."

Percy slowly sat down and tried to shake off the feeling that he was in the principal's office. Lupa leaned forward and studied him, "How long do you think it will take for you to be trained and comfortable enough to run this store by yourself?"

Percy stared confusedly and risked glancing at the other assistant manager. Was Reyna getting fired? In that case, Percy would just say he would never be comfortable. If he took Reyna's place, Thalia would kill him. He couldn't just be quiet though. Lupa was expecting an answer.

"I don't know," Percy answered flatly. He just wanted to disappear.

"Percy, you are not in trouble. I am just asking," Lupa assured him. Percy sighed and knew he just needed to bite the bullet.

"Ideally, a month of training. With time during the nights and days. I know it won't prepare me for everything, but I should be comfortable enough to help with most things after that long," Percy replied.

"A month and a half then. Problem solved," Lupa decided. Her gaze turned towards Reyna.

"I don't..." Reyna began.

"Reyna!" Lupa said sharply. Percy almost jumped. When Lupa had been interviewing him and even speaking at the cafe, she always used a soft, quiet tone. She had never raised her voice and never really let emotion direct her tone. Now, she had tripled her volume and used plenty of emotions in that single word. It wasn't anger though.

"Reyna," Lupa repeated, but it was softer this time. "Do me a favor and stand."

For a few moments, Reyna just stared at the ceiling. Anger was still on her face, but her eyes were red and a little watery. Reyna finally stood and looked to the right of Lupa, "Lift your backpack."

Reyna's hand grabbed her backpack, and a sad smile touched Lupa's lips. "Using the other hand."

An angry sigh left Reyna as she let go of the backpack. Then, her left hand grabbed it. She gripped the strap and seemed to debate it. Then, she lifted the backpack off of the ground. It wasn't even halfway to Reyna's chest when she made a noise of pain and dropped the backpack. Her hand gripped her shoulder.

Reyna let out another noise of pain and sat back down in her chair. She laid her head back against the neckrest and closed her eyes tightly. Percy slowly looked in between the two and tried to hide how uncomfortable he was.

"You need to do this, Reyna. I know it's terrifying, but it worked out well the first time," Lupa said softly.

"I had no choice the first time," Reyna countered. She slouched forward in the chair and buried her face in her hands. Percy felt like he shouldn't be in the room. He wanted nothing more than to just roll the chair backward, out the door behind him, and wheel himself into the freezer.

"Should I go?" Percy slowly asked.

"No," Reyna replied bitterly. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her eyes were even redder than they were a few moments ago. It almost seemed like she was starting to sweat. "A month and a half of training. Are you sure you'll be comfortable by yourself after that for a few weeks or a month?"

"I will," Percy promised. "The managers here seem to know what they're doing, and I have Lupa here. She really cares."

"She does," Reyna agreed softly. Percy realized why he had been brought in here and asked that question. It was Lupa's way to show Reyna that she cared about her workers and had their best interests at heart. Or, she was trying to peer pressure Reyna into doing something. Or getting ready to fire her. He wasn't sure. "Okay."

"Reyna, everything will be fine. I promise," Lupa said. Reyna didn't answer. She had one hand to her chest and seemed to be breathing a little quicker. Lupa reached out and grabbed Reyna's other hand.

"Um, what's going on?" Percy asked. "Unless I'm not supposed to know."

"It's okay, you should know," Reyna said. She sighed, and Lupa squeezed her hand gently. "I've been talking to my doctor about getting a shoulder replacement."

"A shoulder replacement," Percy repeated. He shifted uncomfortably. "Isn't that, like, for old people? You look good for your age."

"You shouldn't ask a woman her age," Lupa playfully chastised.

"Thalia's right. You are a seaweed brain. I'm only twenty-four," Reyna stated, but there was a small smile on her face. It was quickly lost as her eyes drifted off to the side before shooting forward. "A couple of years ago, I had an-"

Reyna's voice cut off, and her eyes drifted to the side again. Her right hand moved to her left shoulder, and it seemed like her breath got caught in her throat. Lupa jumped to her feet and rushed to Reyna's side.

"Reyna?" Lupa questioned. She knelt by Reyna but didn't touch her. "Reyna, look at me."

Percy felt like he was frozen in time as he watched the two. Reyna's eyes were focused ahead, but there was a far-away look in her eyes. Her breath came out in rapid gasps. Lupa studied her and looked lost for a moment. Then, she gently grabbed Reyna's hands.

Reyna shoved herself away, and her chair loudly hit the wall. Reyna tensed and closed her eyes tightly. Lupa gently spoke, "Reyna, you are not there. You are at work. Okay? This is just a flashback."

Reyna didn't answer. Percy studied the helpless look in Lupa's eyes. He didn't know much about flashbacks, but he knew they needed to bring Reyna back to the present.

"Hey, Reyna. It's okay," Percy began. He moved closer to Reyna but still gave her space. "You are in Lupa's office at Gracchus Co. Trust me, I wish I wasn't here too, but we are. That's probably why you smell the popcorn butter. I spilled a lot of it on me."

Reyna laid her head back against the chair and made a noise of pain. Her hands were starting to shake. Lupa gently pushed past Percy and left the office. Percy just stayed focused on Reyna.

"We found more though," Percy continued. He didn't know if he was making the situation worse or not, but he kept speaking. "I think I also dropped like five molds of the frozen dough if you want to play hockey later."

Someone swept into the room, and Nico knelt in front of Reyna. He spoke softly, "Hey, Ramirez. You with me?"

"What should I do?" Percy asked quietly. Nico glanced at him and then reached into his pocket. He tossed his phone to Percy.

"Go to my contact list and call Hylla. Tell her Reyna's having a flashback and then give me the phone," Nico ordered. He looked back at Reyna and whispered softly to her. Percy swallowed painfully and stepped away.

Percy carefully scrolled through Nico's contacts. He had always joked about stealing his cousin's phone, and Nico always threatened him with a slow and painful demise if he even looked at it. For him to just hand his phone over now, it definitely wasn't good. Percy found Hylla's number and pressed the call button.

Three painful rings passed before a groggy voice answered the phone, "It's too damn early for this Nico. What do you want?"

"This isn't Nico, but he told me to call you," Percy said quickly. "Reyna's having a flashback."

"Put the phone on speaker," Hylla ordered, her groggy tone evaporated immediately. Percy quickly did as he was told and handed the phone off to Nico. Then, he stepped out of the office and gently closed the door behind him. A small, tired sigh left him as he saw Lupa was leaning on the wall and staring at the door.

Percy wasn't quite sure what to say, so he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. The best thing for him to do would be to go back to work. That was the thing about retail. You could be screamed at by a crazy customer or watch someone be taken out in an ambulance. The result was the same; you went back to work.

The door opened, and Nico peeked his head out. He spoke quietly, "Reyna's medicine isn't in her backpack."

"I'll check her desk," Lupa said after a moment, but she sounded distracted.

"I'll get it," Percy offered. He turned away without waiting for permission and walked towards Reyna's office. He had to feel like he was doing something useful instead of just staring. His gaze moved around the office, but he didn't see anything on the desk.

Percy walked around the desk and opened a drawer. As he looked down, he saw the pill bottle on the floor. He knelt to grab the bottle, and despite knowing it wasn't his business, he read the name on the label: Paroxetine.

Percy left the office and walked back towards Lupa's. He handed the medicine off to Nico. His cousin nodded and closed the door. Percy let out a sad sigh and glanced at Lupa. The store manager was back to staring off in the distance.

"I'm going to go back to work," Percy informed quietly. "Let me know if she needs anything."

Lupa nodded. Percy walked away from her, but before he made it back out onto the floor, he grabbed his phone and opened his texting app.

Thals. What's Paroxetine?

Percy slipped his phone into his pocket and walked out onto the floor. He frowned as he saw a line at the cafe. Percy hurried over there and stepped behind the counter to deal with the customers. As Hazel made food, Percy took orders. It didn't take long for Hazel to fly through making the food. The only thing that held her back was the food needing time to cook.

"Thanks," Hazel said as she served the last customer. She looked at Percy and frowned. "Everything okay?"

"What?" Percy asked. Then, his brain processed the question. "Oh, yeah. Just distracted, sorry. I'm all done with the meeting for now."

"Let me know if you need more help," Hazel offered.

"I will," Percy promised. As Hazel walked away, Percy grabbed his phone and hid it on a shelf underneath the register. Yeah, it was bad behavior from a manager but whatever. His eyes focused on Thalia's reply.

IDFK. Look it up.

I'm working.

Then why are you texting?

Will you just look it up?

Percy didn't receive a text for a few minutes, and he used that time to make more pizzas and set them out. He watched the cashier check customers out, and his gaze kept moving back to Hazel.

Hazel seemed to keep an eye on all of the different cashiers. She didn't stand around though. If she wasn't straightening up the nearby shelves and end caps, she was picking up items customers didn't want and asking them how they were doing. A small smile came to Percy's face as he watched. His eyes glanced down.

It's some kind of medicine for depression and some other stuff.
Is there something you're trying to tell me, Percy?
Because we can talk. Never feel like you have to hide that kind of stuff from me.

A small smile came to Percy's face. He grabbed his phone and disappeared into the back.

It's not for me. I would tell you if I had it. Promise.

Who is it for then?
Annabeth?
Nico?
Sally!?

None of the above. It's not my place to say either.

K.
Just
Make sure you tell me if you need to talk about that kind of stuff.

I will Thals.
You do the same.

I will. Now get back to work.

Aye captain!

Percy smirked and pocketed his phone. He walked back towards the counter and cleaned his area while he waited for a customer. It turned out that working at the cafe was incredibly boring. It wasn't like Nectar and Ambrosia where you ran around like a mad man hoping the endless sea of people stopped. Here, he had a lot of downtime to worry about things and become lost in thought.

Percy worried about Reyna, and he hated himself for not helping more. He was worried about why Annabeth's relationship with Luke had seemingly ended. But, his biggest worry was for Thalia. As much as he loved his cousin, she could be rash and wasn't always the best at relationships.

Thalia had this huge crush on Reyna. Whether it was actual feelings that would develop into a relationship or just something that would go away if the two had sex, the only thing that really mattered was that Reyna looked like she was in a delicate situation. At least mentally. And, Thalia wasn't good with delicate things. If the two ever did end up together, Percy wasn't sure that Thalia wouldn't end up breaking something that couldn't easily be put back together.