95. Hiding
Reyna is not a coward.
That doesn't change the fact that she's been hiding. For months now, she's been doing everything she can to avoid this.
Hazel and Frank's wedding is today, however, and when Reyna wakes up it's with the knowledge that she'll be seeing Leo Valdez for the first time since their breakup.
A breakup that left Reyna more broken than ever.
She will never give anybody that amount of power over her again, she's decided. She will never let anybody in so deeply, letting them wrap their love around her so tight that it's still there after she's tried so hard to wash it away.
She will never let herself fall for anyone else like she let herself fall for Leo.
And yet.
She has a pang of longing every time the coffee shop guy flirts with her. Not for him, but for the good things that come from relationships. For what she had with Leo.
Before she ended it.
She's kept in touch with their friends. She speaks to them regularly, hangs out with them occasionally, but whenever she knows Leo will be there she has an excuse and a bottle of wine ready.
Then, suddenly, it's the wedding.
Reyna sits front row and she sees Leo on the other side of the aisle. Same row, same room, same air.
He hasn't seen her yet.
She hadn't been prepared for the pain of it. The absolute piercing feeling of having lost someone you never imagined living without.
She barely pays attention to the wedding.
And then it's over and the couple walks down the aisle, looking so happy it hurts to look at them too, but Reyna tries. She smiles when they meet her eyes and congratulates them outside and hugs them and she does her best, okay?
But she turns to give somebody else a chance to speak to them and there's Leo, just standing there. Stunned and staring, not being able to take his eyes off of her like she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him all day.
The look on his face makes her wonder if he even knew she'd be here.
They're staring at each other, everyone else a faint memory, a distant hum, until Percy purposely stands between them on his way to the married couple.
And that's it.
She looks away and tries to back off, but their circle of friends notice, of course. Right away she gets looks, Annabeth grabs her wrist, whispers, "If you just talked to him..."
She gently breaks away from her friend, just shaking her head, before going off to speak with Nico and Will.
Reyna mingles. She keeps and eye on Leo at all times, it seems, making sure he's no where near her, that she can't even hear his voice. When he seems like he's coming towards her she escapes to somewhere else, someone else, and pretends she doesn't see him coming.
But at the reception, it seems she's lost new people to talk to and meet.
And his friends are her friends.
So they can't avoid it any longer, really.
People are dancing. It's dark, music is playing and they're standing in front of each other.
Reyna meets his eyes. "I'm sorry."
It's long overdue and he grimaces as if her words pain him.
"Me too."
His new number is slipped into her coat pocket. She finds it the next morning.