"I'm telling you, Jason. This weekend was amazing," Thalia said as she held her phone up to her ear. She was sitting outside on her break. Thalia tried to spend her fifteen minute breaks outside, just to give herself a breather from all of the crazy customers and some of her coworkers. It was a rollover habit from her days of smoking.
Thalia didn't remember when she gave up smoking. Just why. And, it was for Jason. Thalia would do anything for her little brother. She even fought a bully or two for him before, but that wasn't too important.
"Piper was there, so of course it was," Jason commented. Thalia rolled her eyes. She glanced at her watch and sighed. "What's wrong?"
"My break is over," Thalia replied as she stood. There was a small alcove around the side of the building that had a bench in a grassy plain. Thalia walked around the building and towards the entrance. "Do you want to get dinner sometime this week?"
"Yeah. I'll send you my schedule," Jason answered. "Have a good one today."
"You too," Thalia said. She hung up and slipped her phone into her pocket. Thalia walked into the building and began her walk back towards her office. It had been a quiet day so far. She was almost a little disappointed.
Thalia stopped walking and looked around for Percy. It didn't seem like he was on the floor. Thalia couldn't remember what he said he was training for this week, or was Reyna loosening her leash on him? Thalia knew that Reyna wasn't exactly a dictator, but she wanted people to be trained right.
"Hey," a gruff voice said. Thalia's eyes widened in surprise. "Where is Silena?"
"Well, if it isn't my favorite asset protector in this district," Thalia said as she turned around. She took a step back as Clarisse La Rue was only an inch from her face. "Dude, you have to stop doing that."
"It's fun watching you freak out," Clarisse jeered with a smirk on her face. Thalia rolled her eyes. She never thought she would become friends with someone like Clarisse, but their jobs did bring them together.
They used to work together at The Pantheon until Thalia left. Thalia would never admit it aloud, but Clarisse taught her everything that she knew.
"Also, losers aren't allowed in this store," Thalia jabbed at her friend.
"Why are you here then?" Clarisse countered. Thalia stuck her tongue out. "What's most important is that you tell me where Silena is, or I'm going to... Ramirez-Arellano?"
Thalia's head shot to the side as Reyna came to a stop. A stack of folders was held underneath one of her arms. Reyna looked at Thalia confused for a moment, but as she looked at Clarisse, her eyes widened.
"You know each other?" Thalia asked after a moment. Reyna still seemed to be surprised, and Thalia couldn't read the look on Clarisse's face. She never could. That woman was like a brick wall. Well, that was a lie. Thalia could read one emotion on Clarisse, and that was anger. She was angry all the time.
Except now. A huge grin came to Clarisse's face. She spoke, "Reyna is only the best damn combat medic I've ever had the pleasure of serving with."
A blush came to Reyna's face, and she shifted uncomfortably. Thalia felt like she had been uppercutted. She knew that Clarisse used to serve in the army, but she served with Reyna? Reyna was in the army? As a combat medic?
"I don't remember you ever complimenting anyone," Thalia finally said. She couldn't get over her shock and surprise, but it was starting to explain a lot. That had to be part of the reason Reyna's shoulder was so messed up, right?
"Anyone who can carry me for a full mile without stopping is good in my book," Clarisse almost cheered. The blush on Reyna's face deepened, and she shifted again. Thalia gawked at Reyna. "And, hey. I'm sure you don't remember, but I pulled your ass out of the fire when it came to that... event. Call it even for you saving my ass twice before?"
"Um, y...yeah," Reyna stuttered. She played with her collar and somehow looked more uncomfortable than before.
"Do you still serve? Or reserves?" Clarisse asked. Reyna shook her head. "Shit. Discharged?"
"Honorable," Reyna added after a moment. She pulled at her collar again, and her face paled slightly. Her breathing seemed like it was picking up. Thalia hesitantly reached out and grabbed Reyna's arm. It took a moment for Reyna to look at her.
"You good?" Thalia asked. She hated how tense Reyna felt, and it only worried her more.
"Y...yeah," Reyna said, but Thalia knew she was lying.
"Were the injuries that bad?" Clarisse asked. Thalia looked at the bigger woman. Did Clarisse not realize how uncomfortable she was making Reyna? After a few moments, Reyna nodded. "I hope that bastard got what he deserved."
"But look, this loser is going to give you my number," Clarisse said as she pointed a thumb at Thalia. "If you ever need anything, you text me."
"Thanks," Reyna replied quietly after a moment. Clarisse nodded to her and clasped Reyna's shoulder, her injured shoulder. A wince came to Reyna's face, and Clarisse quickly let go. "I should get back to work."
Reyna turned and walked away quickly. Thalia turned towards Clarisse and hissed out her next words, "Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?"
Clarisse remained silent, but a look of guilt sprouted on her face. She looked away. Thalia opened her mouth to speak, but another voice beat her to it, "Thalia, I need to go over a few pa...pers."
Thalia turned to look at Octavian. The HR manager froze, staring at Clarisse. A look to her side showed that Clarisse was glaring back. Thalia slowly spoke, "...You two know each other, too?"
"We served together," Octavian began. Clarisse snorted.
"You're out of the army?" Clarisse asked after a moment. Octavian nodded, somehow paling more than he had before. "What kind of discharge?"
"Honorable," Octavian slowly answered. Thalia looked between the two, feeling confused and out of place. She didn't know much about the army. From the name of it, an honorable discharge had to be good, right? It was honorable after all.
"Should've been the other kind. Honorable my ass," Clarisse snapped. "A piece of shit like you should have gotten an OTH or even a court martial."
"Reyna talked to-"
"You almost got her killed!" Clarisse snapped, raising her voice. Thalia was vaguely aware that they were starting to draw a crowd. "Her and your entire damn squad! I saw the aftermath! How fu-"
"Clarisse, that is enough," Thalia interrupted. She looked in between the two. "You're drawing a crowd."
Clarisse shook her head and glared. She stormed away. Thalia slowly looked at Octavian. His skin was pale white, and he seemed to be breathing quicker as well. After a moment, Octavian turned and stormed away. Thalia slowly followed after him.
The two of them made it into the hallway, past Thalia's office, and to Octavian's office before Octavian seemed to realize that he was being followed. Octavian looked at her and scowled. Thalia crossed her arms.
"What was that about?" Thalia slowly asked. Octavian sighed and looked away. "Are you okay? You seem pretty distressed about what Clarisse said."
"I...I made a mistake," Octavian began. He looked down. "Years ago. It almost got Reyna killed. I'm the reason her shoulder is destroyed and her knee as well. How could I be such an idiot?"
"Her knee?" Thalia repeated, blinking a few times. Thalia knew about Reyna's shoulder injury, no matter how much she tried to hide it. But her knee? That was a new one. Reyna didn't seem to have any mobility issues during laser tag.
"I'm such an idiot," Octavian repeated. His eyes looked distant, and his breathing started to quicken. "It's my fault she owes her mother so much. That stupid mistake I made. Then, she destroyed her knee. Why am I such an idiot?"
"You're not an idiot," Thalia began. Octavian looked at her and shook his head. He turned and walked into his office, slamming the door shut. Thalia heard the door lock, and when she knocked, it was ignored.
"Great," Thalia resigned with a sigh. She rubbed her face and then turned away. Thalia made her way towards Reyna's office and saw that the door was closed. A gentle knock on the door was met with silence. After a few moments, she slowly grabbed the door handle and turned it.
"Reyna?" Thalia slowly answered through the cracked doorway. She stepped into the office. Thalia froze as she saw Reyna was sitting in the corner. Her knees were drawn to her chest, and her head rested on her knees. She covered her head with both of her arms, and the hands pressed against the back of her neck were shaking. "Reyna, what's wrong?"
Thalia closed the door behind her and slowly walked towards Reyna. She spoke softly, "Reyna, can you hear me?"
Reyna didn't answer, rocking back and forth slightly. Thalia slowly walked towards her and knelt by her. She gently grabbed Reyna's shoulder. Reyna immediately tensed, and Thalia quickly pulled her hand away.
"Hey, we're not there right now. We're at work," Thalia whispered. She sat by Reyna. "I'm not going to touch you again, but you're not there. You're at Gracchus Co. Just breathe. Please. Deep breaths. In and out."
"I'll breathe with you," Thalia offered. She took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. Then, she exhaled. Thalia kept it up, and after a few deep breaths, Reyna seemed to be following her technique.
Thalia kept up the deep inhales and exhales. As Reyna followed suit, Thalia spoke, "I know a lot about panic attacks. Annabeth used to get them a lot as a kid. We've been best friends for years. She always put a lot of pressure on herself, and it would give her anxiety that turned into panic. Hell, I've had a lot of my own."
"Thinking about raising Jason alone used to scare me," Thalia admitted. She saw Reyna's hands relax as her breathing evened out. Reyna's body was still tense, but Thalia could work with that. "Yeah. We had enough money to live, but how was I supposed to raise Jason? Especially after... the accident."
"That's what they all call it," Thalia said. She looked down at her hands and played with her thumbs. "Like talking about it, naming it, gives it power. Like it's some kind of monster."
"I used to not give a shit about life," Thalia continued. She let out a shaky breath, unsure if Reyna was even listening or not. "In high school, I didn't care about my grades. I would rather smoke cigarettes and get drunk on my mother's alcohol. She was abusive."
"Always drunk and also taking her anger out on us. I did everything in my power to protect Jason from it. Acted out so that my mother would take her drunken rage out on me. I got hit with a belt so many times I can hardly use one without flashing back to it."
"One day, my mother beat me bad enough that I needed a hospital, and for once in her life, she was going to take care of me. She drove us to a hospital. While drunk. I don't even remember the accident. Just that she was too drunk to see straight. I was too bloodied and broken to realize how drunk she was. Too scared. Scared that I was going to die."
"Then, we wrecked," Thalia whispered. She hung her head. "And, I don't remember a thing. I woke up in a hospital bed. From a coma. Two years later."
"Two years," Thalia repeated. "Two years of my life gone in a snap, but my friends didn't give up on me. My family, Jason, didn't. When I woke up, I made a vow to live my life to the fullest. To never regret anything I did."
Thalia turned towards Reyna. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to kiss her. This wasn't the time or place, though. Instead, she studied Reyna. Her manager slowly lifted her head, but she still looked miles away.
"Reyna, what can you see?" Thalia asked. She wasn't sure if Reyna had heard any of that or if Thalia was just ranting to the wind.
"Desert," Reyna whispered. Her eyes closed. "Blood. Men. One of our men. They-"
"No, Reyna. No. Don't flash back there," Thalia whispered. "Focus on me, okay? You are not there. Just breathe. Please."
A knock on the door caused Thalia to look up. She slowly spoke, "Reyna's busy."
"I'm coming in anyway," Nico said. He opened the door. There was a bag of McDonald's in his hand and a tray with coffee and another bag. There was a rare smile on his face, but it was lost as soon as he saw his friend. "What the hell did you do?"
"I didn't," Thalia said quickly. "Clarisse started talking about Reyna being a combat medic. She mentioned some kind of event where she saved Reyna, and she blamed Octavian for it."
Nico sat the bag and the tray down on Reyna's desk. He walked towards Reyna and sat next to her. Nico grabbed Reyna's backpack and opened it. He pulled out a medicine bottle. Thalia studied the name on the label: Paroxetine.
That was the medicine Percy asked her about. Which meant he knew that Reyna had the medicine. But how? Thalia felt a lot of dots connecting, and she swallowed painfully. Nico looked at her and spoke, "Can we have some privacy?"
"Yeah," Thalia said after a moment. She left Reyna's office and numbly walked down the hall. The medicine; being a combat medic; those Saturdays where Reyna said she didn't feel like doing anything. Was that from therapy?
Thalia pushed open the door of her own office and sat down in her chair. She stared at her computer. Since she couldn't get a second to breathe that day and process what was going on, there was another knock. Thalia looked at Percy as he opened the door.
"Hey," Percy said. He seemed to read the look on her face and frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Reyna had a flashback. I saw her medicine. Apparently, she used to be a combat medic, and Octavian did something that almost got her killed. My techniques didn't work, and Percy, they've always worked. For you, for Annabeth. Hell, it even helped Luke when we were much younger. But, not Reyna. Why didn't it work for her?" Thalia questioned.
"Because everyone is different," Percy answered. He sat in the empty chair. "One technique won't work for everyone, but that would make a lot of things easier. It's not that easy, though. It never is."
"Why can't it be?" Thalia asked. She laid her head back. "I don't think I can do this, Percy. I can't."
"Can't do what?" Percy asked. Thalia rubbed her temples.
"I can't date Reyna. If she's having these flashbacks, what else is she having?" Thalia questioned. She placed both hands to her face and sighed in anger. "What if she has a flashback and just... goes crazy? You hear those stories all the time about the soldiers who have these mental issues, and I sound like such an asshole."
"You kind of do, but I understand," Percy said. He gently grabbed Thalia's shoulder. "It's not easy to date someone who used to be a soldier, and I saw Reyna have a flashback too. I was useless. Nico was the one who jumped into action. He was able to handle it. You might have to ask him for help."
"Ask Nico for help? Never," Thalia rejected. She rubbed her face and looked at Percy. "What do I do?"
Percy looked away. As much as Thalia liked to joke that Percy had kelp in his head or could be an idiot, he was actually really smart. He was great at people, and Thalia just didn't get how. Everyone seemed to be comfortable and at ease around him.
Thalia scared people away more often than not. They thought she was some kind of bad influence or someone who didn't know how to handle people. It was partially true. Thalia could handle people, but people like Reyna, that was a little more difficult.
"Dating anyone with mental health issues is difficult," Percy began. He rubbed Thalia's shoulder again. "You need to ask yourself, and seriously think about it, if you can handle it. Dating Reyna means you'll not only become her girlfriend but also a new pillar of her support system. Depending on how close you get, just being a friend will make you one of those pillars as well."
"What if I ruin things?" Thalia asked. "Or make it worse? Reyna looks like she's in a rough shape now."
"Because of her shoulder," Nico said as he walked in. He glared at Percy. "Off my chair. Now."
Percy quickly stood and tried to hold his hands up like he was innocent. Nico glared and grabbed a disinfect wipe from the desk. He brushed off the chair while glaring.
"Is Reyna okay?" Thalia asked as she brought her hands together nervously.
"She's talking to her sister," Nico replied. He sighed and sat in his chair. "Her shoulder is the reason her flashbacks have been so bad. It's easy to forget about a traumatic event when there is nothing around to remind you, but when an injury from it constantly aches, how can she forget?"
"Do you know what happened?" Percy asked.
"Bits and pieces," Nico muttered. He crossed his arms. "It's not my place to share, and I'm not going to share it either. I know it was bad."
"And, Octavian was involved. Clarisse was there too. She hates Octavian for something he did that almost got Reyna and the rest of the squad killed," Thalia added. Nico gave her a harsh look. "I'm just saying."
"The point is that Reyna's had a damn rough time ever since her discharge. This store saved her life," Nico explained. A look of sadness crossed his face, and his voice faded for a moment. Thalia's heart clenched at the implication. "Her sister too. After this surgery, I think Reyna will be closer to her normal self. So, why the hell haven't you asked her out yet?"
"What?" Thalia asked in surprise. She stared at Nico. "You want me to ask her out?"
"Why else would I mention your band and imply which bar it was at?" Nico questioned. He looked at Percy. "She's as dense as you. Thalia, I've been telling Reyna all week that you're not a terrible person."
"Nico," Thalia began. Tears came to her eyes. For Nico to call someone not a terrible person, that was like the best compliment he could give. "You should have told me."
"I figured you would have gotten the hint yourself or drank enough to have a little courage," Nico said.
"So, just to confirm. Reyna is a lesbian?" Percy asked. Nico smirked.
"Bisexual. So, you better ask her out before someone else catches her eye. You are literally contending with the entire world," Nico said as he stood. He looked over at Thalia. "Reyna's going to feel terrible that she had this breakdown at work. Especially after what happened with Percy. Just don't bring it up."
"I won't," Thalia promised. She shifted. "Do you think Reyna will agree to go out with me?"
"I don't know," Nico admitted after a few moments. "I know she has only had a few dates here and there over the last few years with both men and women. The dates only lasted a dinner or two. There's also the complication of her mother being a gigantic asshole who hates the thought of her eldest daughter being a lesbian, so if her youngest daughter dates a female, who know how she'll react."
"Octavian said something about Reyna owing her mother. Because of what he did. You don't have to give any details, but does it have something to do with her knee? Because if her knee is messed up, I feel bad for all the times I've made her walk across the store just so I can say hi to her," Thalia said.
"Let's just say this isn't the first replacement surgery she has had," Nico replied. "I'm going to check on Reyna. You two try not to set the place on fire for thirty minutes so I can enjoy my lunch with her."
Thalia flipped Nico off. Percy grinned and waved. Nico flipped them both off and walked towards the door. He opened the door, but Thalia spoke, "Hey, Nico. Thanks. It means a lot."
"I know it does," Nico said as he looked back at Thalia, and a rare smile came to his face. "If you do ask her out, treat her right, otherwise, I'll feed you to my rottweiler."