"I forgive you."
"Fu-" Thalia gasped as she grabbed at her chest and whirled around. "You scared me!"
"Sorry," Reyna said quickly, though she didn't sound that sorry. Reyna leaned against the door, and Thalia did not remember leaving it open. She also did not hear the door open. Thalia tried to calm her heart down and keep it from leaving her chest. Maybe, she should lay off the coffee.
"It's cool. I just almost died," Thalia brushed off. She slowly looked at Reyna. "What did you say?"
"That I forgave you," Reyna repeated. Thalia felt some of the tension from that day leave her body. She smiled at Reyna. Her manager did not return the smile, which was fair.
"I still feel bad," Thalia admitted. "Terrible about what I said. I'm really sorry."
"Thalia, it is okay. I promise," Reyna swore. She looked down at the ground and swallowed painfully. "And, if you still want to ride a motorcycle, with me, today, if you have time."
Reyna's words were choppy, nervous even. But, it was also kind of cute. It also almost sounded like Reyna was going to have a panic attack. That wasn't good. Thalia didn't let that deter her, "Of course."
"I don't have anything planned today," Thalia continued. "I can buy you dinner after we ride together."
Reyna studied her and seemed to hesitate. Then, she sighed and lowered her head. "Yeah. That's fine. I just..."
"Nervous?" Thalia questioned. Reyna nodded. Thalia stood. "I want this to be as comfortable as possible for you. If at any point you want to stop, just let me know. I'll stop immediately. Well, not in front of traffic. Unless you want a car to run you over so you can sue. It's a dream of mine really."
Thalia needed to stop talking. She almost placed her hand over her mouth to get her stupid lips to stop flapping. Reyna looked at her, and the smallest of smiles came to her face. Thalia found herself smiling as well.
"I think even sitting on the motorcycle would be a big step. There's no step if you don't want to go further," Thalia said gently.
"Thank you," Reyna whispered. She let out a shaky breath. "I'll see you outside in ten minutes?"
"It might be a little longer. I've got some paperwork to finish up, but I'll hurry," Thalia promised. Reyna nodded and left the office. A grin came to Thalia's face as the rest of her tension dispelled. She felt like an idiot for how she had acted.
Thalia flew through her paperwork as fast as she could. She packed up even faster and hurried outside. Upon stepping out of the door, Thalia looked around at the customers that filled the parking lot. She walked towards the far end of the lot where everyone parked their cars.
Upon getting closer, she saw Reyna was standing at her car. Her trunk was open, and it looked like she was grabbing stuff from it. Thalia made her way towards her motorcycle and secured her bag to it. Then, she gripped her helmet and turned towards Reyna, "Ready?"
"No," Reyna answered as she turned towards Thalia. Her face was pale, and her breathing was starting to come out in raspy gasps.
"That's cool," Thalia promised. She placed her helmet on her motorcycle and walked towards Reyna. "We don't have to do this. We can just chill out here for a little bit."
Reyna slowly looked down at her hand, holding onto a motorcycle helmet. She closed the trunk and slowly leaned again, "This is pathetic."
"It's not pathetic," Thalia retorted as she leaned next to Reyna. "I totally get it. You're terrified of getting back on the motorcycle because you're worried that the same thing will happen. I can't blame you for that."
"Don't tell anyone this," Thalia began in a quiet voice. Reyna had been staring down at her helmet, rubbing it with her thumb. She slowly looked up at Thalia. "After my accident, it took me years to let anyone else drive a car. It didn't matter if it was Jason, Percy, or a clone of myself. I could only trust myself to be behind that wheel."
"I almost vomited the first time Jason went just a little bit off the road. I kept thinking that if I didn't drive, I would get into another wreck without being as lucky as I was the first time," Thalia whispered. She looked down at her helmet. "I guess that's why I like motorcycles. If I get into a wreck, I have a helmet to protect my head."
"It's more dangerous to get into a wreck on a motorcycle than a car," Reyna muttered.
"I know. That's part of the reason why I drive it," Thalia admitted. "I'm not suicidal, but I... shit. I didn't mean it that way. That sounds bad. I'm sorry."
A small smile came to Reyna's face, and she spoke, "You never want to get into another wreck again, right? And if you do, that will be your last one."
"Pretty much," Thalia confirmed. She brought her top teeth to her bottom lip and at the same time let out a hiss of air. "That sounds really bad."
"I kind of get it," Reyna said. "It's also pretty damn morbid."
"Yup," Thalia agreed. She studied Reyna. The color had come back to her face, and her breathing was normal. "We don't even have to ride the motorcycle. Let's just get some food. If you feel up to driving right now."
"Can I ask you something?" Reyna questioned. Thalia nodded. "You said that it took years for you to trust anyone else to drive. What about now?"
"Well, I trust my close friends and family. I don't mind when Jason or Percy drive. Annabeth can have a little road rage sometimes, and that's kind of it. If I ever get into a car with anyone else, I'll grip the seat belt like it's a lifeline with one hand and the handle above the door with the other. And, I'll probably freak out the entire time."
"You didn't freak out when I drove you to get food a few weeks ago," Reyna noted. She looked at Thalia. "And, you didn't hesitate to bring up driving me now. What's the difference?"
Thalia frowned. She hadn't really thought about it. Thalia chewed on her lip to gather her thoughts, "I guess it's because I trust you."
Reyna nodded and was silent for a few moments. Thalia looked down, worried she had crossed some kind of barrier. A sigh left Reyna, and she hung her head.
"I wish I could stand up to my mother," Reyna whispered so softly that Thalia almost missed the first half of the sentence and strained to hear the rest. "I just owe her a lot of money, and she holds it over my head. I have to attend her stupid charity events and other shit."
"I know," Thalia said. She instantly froze and laid her head back. "Sorry. Nico told me already."
Reyna waved her hand and spoke, "I figured he did. I'm not mad."
"Oh, good. Because if you beat him up, he would beat me up," Thalia joked in a half serious manner. Reyna smirked slightly and nodded.
"I just wish that I could pay my mother back and be done with it," Reyna said sadly. Thalia nodded and then looked down at the ground. "Alright. Let's do this."
"You sure?" Thalia questioned as she looked at Reyna. "I swear I won't be mad. I don't want you to freak out."
"It's like you said earlier," Reyna began as she looked at Thalia. Their eyes made contact. "I trust you."
Thalia smiled brightly and put on her helmet. Reyna took a deep breath and slowly pulled on her helmet. It was black with a twinge of purple in it. Thalia walked towards her motorcycle and sat on it. She waited patiently as Reyna moved next to her but didn't climb on yet.
Reyna took a deep breath, followed by another and then another. It sounded like she was doing her breathing exercises. Thalia heard a shift, and Reyna slowly sat on the motorcycle, "Hey, that's step one. Right?"
"It is," Reyna agreed. Thalia glanced back and watched Reyna lift her visor. The paleness was coming back to her face.
"I'm not starting it unless you want me to," Thalia promised.
"I just need a second," Reyna said as she closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply and held it for a few seconds. Then, she exhaled. Reyna repeated the process for a few moments, and when she stopped, her breathing picked up again. "Damn it."
"It's okay," Thalia promised. "Like I said, this is a huge step already. We can just call it good here."
"No, no," Reyna countered. She took another deep breath. "If there's one lesson that I can take from my mom, it's that when you're scared of something, you have to face it head on. Fear can't rule you. I've done that too long. Let's do this."
"Alright. But if you need to stop, you tell me," Thalia returned. Reyna nodded and pushed her visor down. Thalia looked forward.
"Is it okay if I put my arms around your waist?" Reyna asked.
"Of course," Thalia said much quicker than she meant to. She cleared her throat. "That way if I drive like a maniac and you fall off, you can take me with you."
"I'll keep that in mind," Reyna whispered. She slowly wrapped her hands around Thalia's waist. Thalia bit her tongue as she felt the woman's forearms around her waist, along with her biceps pressing against her. Thalia started her motorcycle.
Reyna tensed but remained silent. Thalia turned off her bluetooth. She normally wouldn't drive without music, but she wanted to make sure that Reyna knew how serious she was taking this. Thalia glanced back and spoke louder than normal, "Should I drive to a restaurant? A close one."
"Y...yeah," Reyna stuttered in a loud voice. She cleared her throat and tightened her grip. Thalia winced.
"Hey, can you lighten your grip just a little?" Thalia questioned. "You're really strong."
"Sorry," Reyna said as her grip loosened slightly. Her arms felt like they were shaking. Thalia carefully backed out of the parking space.
"If you want me to stop, just tap my leg twice," Thalia offered. She didn't hear Reyna's voice. Thalia hesitated. Then, she slowly moved forward. Reyna tightened her grip again before quickly loosening it. As they made it towards the end of the parking lot, Thalia carefully turned right onto the road. The grip tightened on her again, but she ignored it.
Thalia hated that there was a lot of traffic on the road, but she carefully navigated her way forward, keeping below the speed limit. As she drove, she felt the grip loosening slightly. Reyna's helmet pressed against her back slightly, probably because the woman was looking down.
What was normally a five minute drive turned into ten as Thalia made it to a restaurant that she knew both her and Reyna would like. She pulled into the parking lot and carefully pulled into a parking space. She turned off her motorcycle.
"We're here," Thalia said gently. She felt the arms move from around her waist and turned, lifting her visor. "You doing okay?"
"I almost threw up on you," Reyna admitted. Her visor wasn't as tinted as Thalia's, so it was easy to see that she was paled again. Her breathing was labored, and her eyes were wide.
"Well, you would have thrown up in your helmet," Thalia joked.
"I would have lifted the visor first," Reyna stated, and she let out a deep breath. She hung her head. "I can't believe we actually did that."
"I would have stopped at any time," Thalia began. Reyna shook her head.
"No. This was good," Reyna whispered. She looked at Thalia. "I just feel like I'm stepping into combat. My heart is racing in my ears, and I think I'm shaking."
"Your arms weren't shaking when you were trying to squeeze me to death," Thalia teased. Reyna slowly stood from the motorcycle. Thalia did as well. "Did anyone tell you that you're a teddy bear?"
"Nico has a few times, and I keep asking him if he likes his job," Reyna joked. She pulled her helmet off and stood there for a few moments. "I just need a few moments for my legs to stop shaking."
"That's perfectly fine," Thalia promised. She clasped Reyna's good shoulder gently. "When you get your cyborg arm, how much stronger are you going to get?"
"I'm not losing my whole arm. My shoulder is just getting replaced," Reyna said with an eye roll.
"With cyborg parts, right? Which would make the rest of your arm a cyborg arm," Thalia explained. She laughed after a moment. "Come on. Let's get some food. Oh, and don't vomit on me on the way back."