One week.
One week was the only time that Annabeth had before her title fight against Leila. One more week to prepare to show the world what she was made of, and Annabeth Chase was made of more than what people knew.
The last week had been spent with most of her days at the gym. The first half of the day was meticulously going over strategy with Lupa and her fellow teammates. Hazel and Frank both looked overwhelmed with how into the details Annabeth went, but Lupa didn't seem to mind. The second half of Annabeth's day was spent putting her strategy into action.
Annabeth sparred with both Frank and Hazel, making adjustments when needed. Lupa kept a careful eye on them. Everyone seemed to know how much this title fight meant to Annabeth. It was also a good distraction from their missing member.
Annabeth knew that Reyna was a large part of the gym, but it wasn't until now that she realized just how much. There were times when Hazel or Frank would turn to ask a question, and they just froze. Annabeth did her best to answer those questions, but there were also times when she was too focused on her own training.
And speaking of Reyna, Annabeth wasn't sure what was going on between her and Thalia. She came home from the gym later than normal, and Thalia was usually on her laptop in the middle of a work meeting. Annabeth was asleep by the time Thalia was done.
Thalia was usually asleep or still waking up by the time that Annabeth went in. There were days when Thalia just wasn't at the house, like she was trying to avoid Annabeth; but hopefully, she had done the right thing and just broken up with Reyna. It would save everyone a lot of heartbreak.
Annabeth forced herself to focus back on the dummy in front of her. It was the same height as Leila, and while it wouldn't fight back, she was acting like it could. Annabeth lowered her hands slightly as she threw another punch.
"Keep your guard up."
Annabeth lowered her hands and turned around in surprise. She spoke, "Reyna? What are you doing here?"
Reyna looked much better than she had the week before. The bruises were mostly gone, and the cuts were healed. She wore blue jeans and her Wolves jacket. Both hands were in her pockets, but Annabeth could see the cast on her wrist that was peeking out.
"Lupa wants me to learn some more of the office stuff in the gym," Reyna answered. "And, I was going to go insane if I had to stay in the house for another day. How's the training going? Are you staying confident?"
"I'm trying to," Annabeth answered, and her shoulders drooped slightly.
"I heard that you've been training hard this past week. Don't forget to take a break. You don't want to hurt yourself," Reyna said, patting her shoulder. She smiled at Annabeth as she studied her, which was weird. It just didn't seem like Reyna would be in a good mood if she broke up with Thalia.
"Reyna, did you and Th-"
"Reyna!" Hazel yelled as she raced to their side. She threw her arms around Reyna, being careful of her arm. A wince still sparked on Reyna's face.
"Hey Hazel," Reyna greeted as she gently hugged Hazel with her good arm. "Did you miss me that much?"
"We all did," Frank said as he walked towards them. Hazel let go of Reyna, and Frank gave Reyna a quick hug. Then, Hazel pulled their injured friend into another hug, with Frank joining the group hug. After a look from the two of them, Annabeth smiled and joined as well. All of them were careful to avoid touching the cast that stood out like a beacon.
"You guys are never hugging me again," Reyna complained. Annabeth pulled away and noted how wide Reyna's smile was.
"You know that you missed us," Frank teased.
"We missed you too," Hazel added. Reyna kept her smile, even as another arm wrapped around her shoulders.
"Don't beat up my girlfriend too much," Thalia teased as she joined their conversation. A smile came to her face as she looked at them… until she made eye contact with Annabeth. And that was because Annabeth's eyes were starting to narrow as she studied her best friend.
"Thanks for the ride," Reyna said as she turned and kissed Thalia. While Thalia only gave her a peck on the lips, Annabeth's gut twisted, and her stomach lurched. She felt a little sick. "Nico said he would take me home."
"Just take it easy," Thalia said. She pulled away and turned. Annabeth made it to Thalia's side and grabbed her forearm tightly.
"Let me walk you to your car," Annabeth offered, well, ordered, as she swallowed back the bile in her throat. It made her sick to her stomach that Thalia was still dating Reyna. Why would she not tell her? It wasn't fair, and it was just... wrong.
Thalia didn't argue. She just kept her gaze ahead and her mouth shut. Annabeth felt her stomach settle as she tried to think logically. It had been a week. It was possible that Thalia did talk to Reyna and explain what happened. While Annabeth knew she couldn't forgive someone if they cheated on her, Reyna could be different.
Thalia could have told Reyna, and Reyna decided to forgive her. Annabeth really hoped that was what happened.
"Should we talk about this?" Annabeth questioned as they stepped out into the lobby. Thalia stopped walking and stared out the door. Annabeth saw Mellie glance up at the desk. She forced herself to smile at Mellie before looking back at Thalia and lowering her voice. "Did you tell her?"
"What do you want me to say?" Thalia muttered. Annabeth felt her stomach twist again. She grabbed Thalia's arm and led her out the door. "It's none of your business, Annabeth."
"It is my business, Thalia. You are my best friend. I don't want to see you get your heart broken, but I also don't want to see you treat someone like this. Reyna doesn't deserve it," Annabeth explained heatedly. She shivered at the bitter wind, but they were going to have this talk.
"I know I should tell her, but I just can't," Thalia muttered. She sighed and started to pace in front of the door. "I don't want her to take it out on you."
"You're not using me as an excuse Thalia. That's not happening," Annabeth stated with finality. Thalia stopped walking and looked at her. "Just tell Reyna the truth. It's going to be hard, but it will only be worse the longer you wait. Saying it last week would have been difficult; telling her now is going to be impossible."
"Then, I won't tell her," Thalia decided.
"Wouldn't you want to know?" Annabeth countered.
"Then, why don't you just tell her?" Thalia snapped as she stopped pacing. "If you care so much, why don't you tell Reyna the truth?"
"It's not my place," Annabeth answered. She crossed her arms and tried to get feeling back in them. The wind cut right through her as she only wore her shorts and a tank top. Thalia studied her and sighed. She opened the door for Annabeth, and the two walked back into the lobby.
Mellie glanced at them before focusing back on her computer. Annabeth looked at Thalia and watched her closely. There were bags underneath Thalia's eyes, and she looked exhausted. Annabeth waited for her to come to her senses.
"Why do you care so much?" Thalia asked in a soft voice. She moved closer to Annabeth. "Reyna's been an ass to you ever since you joined the gym. Piper's told me that. Percy has as well. Even Jason has noticed that."
"Just because Reyna didn't treat me right doesn't mean I should just let this happen," Annabeth whispered as frustration started to fill her voice. Her teeth almost chattered, and if anger could warm her, she would be overheated very soon. "You're just reaching for any excuses that you can think of instead of facing the consequences."
"And, Reyna is my friend. We've grown a lot closer ever since Christmas," Annabeth added.
"Or you just feel like you owe her," Thalia muttered. Annabeth glared at Thalia, and she felt her fingers twitching.
"Thalia, you know what you did is beyond wrong, and if you were being cheated on, you would want to know. You would be raising absolute hell, and we both know it. I also know that you feel guilty, but you are trying to avoid the consequences because you don't know how to deal with it."
Thalia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She hung her head and let out an angry sigh. Annabeth tensed as she heard another pair of footsteps join them. She turned her head to see Reyna.
"Hey, Thalia. I almost forgot," Reyna began as she walked towards them. That small smile was still on her face, even as she struggled to get her wallet out of her pocket. "I owe you for lunch."
"Don't worry about it," Thalia deflected, not even forcing a smile. Reyna looked up from her futile attempts to grab her wallet and studied them.
"It's something wrong?" Reyna asked as a frown slipped onto her face. Thalia exchanged a look with Annabeth, and after a moment, Annabeth gave her an encouraging nod. Thalia then looked back at Reyna.
"Do you remember what I told you about Zoë?" Thalia began. Reyna nodded and looked between the two of them with confusion evident in her eyes. "Well, she and I... we..."
Reyna's frown deepened, and Thalia let out a sigh. She spoke, "Annabeth, can Reyna and I talk alone?"
"Of course," Annabeth answered. She gently squeezed Thalia's forearm and walked away. This was going to be hard, but it was better this way. It was also unfair to throw all of this on Reyna after her car wreck, but was it worse for Thalia to admit that she had cheated on Reyna now or in a month or two later when Reyna felt better?
Annabeth made her way back into the gym and felt her gut twist in anticipation. She knew that Reyna would be pissed about what had happened, but she really hoped that Reyna wouldn't take it out on her. And if she did, they would just be back to the awkward first stage they started in.
Annabeth stopped by Hazel and watched her. Hazel was talking to Piper quietly. Piper had her phone in her hands and a small frown on her face. They were still dealing with the aftermath of Hazel's family throwing out all of the slanders and insults. Octavian and Piper had been trying to deal with most of it, but Annabeth knew the media wanted an official comment from Hazel.
One of the smaller things that Annabeth was grateful for at the gym was Octavian. He was just so great at dealing with the media and keeping them from distracting the fighters. The rumor that had been circling around about Frank and Reyna dating had started to gain steam until Octavian shut it down by stating that Reyna had a girlfriend but refused to say who, and that only got the media going more as they tried to figure it out.
At the moment, Octavian had a lot on his plate with his family issues. Piper had stepped up to the plate and was doing her best to fill his role, and she was dealing with the media just as well. With more experience, she might even be better than Octavian.
Annabeth walked towards them and caught the end of Piper's sentence, "...I wouldn't worry about it, Hazel. If you ignore your family, they will stop. I wouldn't entertain any kind of interview."
"I won't. Thank you," Hazel said as she looked Piper in the eye. Her gaze moved to the newcomer. "Ready to spar some more, Annabeth?"
"If you still need to take a break, you can," Annabeth answered. She smiled at Hazel and grabbed her water. Annabeth took a sip and tried to calm her swirling stomach. Piper looked at her and frowned. She waited until Hazel walked towards Frank to raise an eyebrow.
"What happened?" Piper questioned.
"Nothing," Annabeth replied with a shake of her head.
"I know that look, Annabeth. Something is eating you alive. Did Reyna say something to upset you?" Piper questioned.
"I'm sure this is going to get out soon because Thalia should be telling her right now," Annabeth began. She moved her gaze back towards the door that led to the main entrance of the gym. There was no yelling or the sounds of things breaking. "But, Thalia cheated on Reyna."
Piper stared in shock at Annabeth. Then, her gaze moved around as if she was trying to decipher what Annabeth had just said. Annabeth sighed and spoke softly, "They had an argument, and Thalia told me that she slept with Zoë."
"What?" Piper voiced her confusion. She placed a hand to her forehead in an attempt to quell the coming headache. "Is this an early April Fools joke? Please tell me you're just joking."
Annabeth shook her head and heard the door open. Her head whipped to the side, and she saw Reyna walk into the gym. Reyna walked towards them, and Annabeth felt like her stomach had been placed on a carousel. Piper tensed slightly.
"Hey, Piper. Lupa said you can help me get my laptop set up. If you're not busy," Reyna began.
"What did Thalia have to tell you?" Annabeth asked quickly, because it felt like Thalia had not told Reyna about cheating on her. There was no way that elephant could stay in the room. Piper elbowed her in the side.
"She apologized for not visiting me in the hospital and told me about why she didn't. She also said she was sorry for not telling me earlier," Reyna answered. She shrugged and looked at both of them. Her eyebrows narrowed slightly as if she was confused. "I get family issues, though. I wouldn't want to be alone if I was in Zoë's shoes."
"Are you and Thalia happy?" Annabeth blurted out. Piper elbowed her again.
"Is something wrong?" Reyna questioned as she attempted to cross her arms and then couldn't. Annabeth just stared at her fellow fighter. She knew in her gut that Thalia had not told Reyna, and now, Annabeth was sitting on this secret that she wanted to blurt out. But, she just couldn't.
"Jason was worried about you two," Piper interjected. She leaned on Annabeth. "We both know how protective he is of Thalia, and he was super worried when she didn't visit you and then heard about the argument. I've been telling him that everything is fine, but he won't believe me."
"Unless something changes, everything is fine," Reyna replied.
"I told him it was. He worries too much," Piper confessed. "As for the laptop, it is in my office. We can set it up together."
"Thanks," Reyna said. "I'm going to stop by and talk to Lupa first."
"I'll see you after," Piper promised. Reyna nodded and looked at Annabeth. She gave her a nod as well and walked away, making sure to catch Hazel and Frank along the way. Piper looked at Annabeth.
"Why wouldn't she tell her?" Annabeth muttered.
"I don't know, but you cannot be so obvious," Piper whispered as she rubbed her forehead.
"I should tell her," Annabeth began. Her gaze moved to Piper. "What do you think?"
Piper hesitated before shaking her head, "I don't know. It feels terrible to keep this secret, but Thalia will tell her eventually, right?"
"I hope so," Annabeth breathed uneasily. She let out a deep breath and looked down. For now, she will focus on her fight. She couldn't let this personal drama get in the way.
That was her excuse for now. After her fight with Leila, she couldn't, and shouldn't, put this aside and ignore it. Hopefully, Thalia would just tell Reyna the truth before then. If not, Annabeth didn't know what she was going to do.