"Just get it over with," Reyna muttered to herself as she eyed Lupa's office. She had just gotten to the gym and knew that she needed to get this out of the way. Swallowing her pride and apologizing was hard enough, but to apologize to Romy, it felt nearly impossible.
Hylla was right, though. Reyna needed to give Romy a chance. And, that would allow Reyna to stay close if Romy tried to hurt Lupa again. And God help him if he did. A sigh left the fighter as she hesitated at the door of the office.
Reyna was supposed to go to the office anyway, but part of her didn't want to. Things between her and Lupa were awkward. They had talked a few times since Lupa yelled at her, but it was purely about the work that Reyna did on the computer. Nothing else.
There was this weird tension between the two, and Reyna didn't like it. She was so used to Lupa being the one person she could talk to about anything. It didn't feel like that now. A nervous sigh left Reyna as she shifted the backpack on her shoulder. Then, she opened the door of the office.
Romy was sitting at Lupa's desk and looking down at a book in front of him. A small frown morphed his face, and he looked confused. Reyna slowly spoke, "Need help?"
"Um, no. Sorry," Romy declined as he looked at her. He quickly looked away. "I was just helping Octavian out. He wanted me to make reservations for a restaurant. I just can't find their number in the phone book."
"We have a phone book?" Reyna asked in surprise. Romy nodded and held up a yellow book that looked to be five years old. Her gaze moved to Romy. She couldn't bring herself to apologize just yet.
"This is the only one I could find," Romy began.
"Why not just look up the number on your phone?" Reyna asked. She slowly took her backpack off and placed it on the couch. Romy's face turned red, and he looked away. Reyna frowned.
"I don't have a phone," Romy mumbled. Reyna studied him for a moment and slowly grabbed her phone from her pocket. She placed it on the desk in front of him.
"Here. You can use mine," Reyna offered. Romy looked at her and smiled slightly. Reyna remained impassive. "What is the occasion for?"
"Lupa is meeting with a few coaches from around the league," Romy answered. Reyna nodded. She knew that Lupa would meet with the other coaches once a month and have dinner. They hardly talked about their trainees, other than light bragging and teasing. It was more of reflecting on their days as a fighter or even bad-mouthing some of the decisions that the league made. While some of the fighters held grudges with each other, most of the coaches were good friends.
"Make sure to get a table larger than the number of guests Lupa said you'll have. The other coaches sometimes bring guests unprompted, and it's easier to just have the extra space ready for them," Reyna explained.
"Thank you," Romy said as he slowly typed into her phone. "Can I use this to call, or should I use Lupa's?"
"You can use my phone," Reyna permitted. She looked down. "And, I'm sorry. About the other day. I shouldn't have said what I did."
"It's okay," Romy said with a shrug. "I understand that I hurt Lupa beyond what I know. I also know you're just trying to protect her. If the roles were reversed, I'd be the same way."
"I didn't give you a chance," Reyna replied with a shrug. She sat down on the couch and slowly grabbed her laptop. "So... sorry. Again."
"I forgive you," Romy promised. The conversation between the two fell silent. Reyna grabbed her laptop and opened it. By the time she had turned it on and gotten a few files opened, Romy had made the reservation. He handed her phone back to her.
Reyna nodded in acknowledgment and studied her screen. She would spend half of her time in the office and then help the others after lunch. Reyna printed off her spreadsheet, and before she could grab it from the printer, Romy retrieved it.
"Thanks," Reyna began. "You can just leave it on Lupa's desk."
Romy nodded and placed it on top of the desk. He turned towards her and tapped his fingers on the desk nervously, "What did Lupa tell you about me?"
Reyna looked at him and pondered the question. He watched her with a nervous frown. Reyna slowly spoke, "That you fought in those underground fights. And about your twin. She also told me about how great of a fighter you were."
"That's part of the reason I fought in the underground fights," Romy confirmed quietly. He sighed and shook his head. Reyna's gaze turned into surprise. The office was so quiet that they could have heard a pin drop. "I thought that those fights had the best fighters in the world. It was about proving who was really the best, and the cash didn't hurt."
"There were no rules. No regulations to stop the fight. If you broke a bone, you just kept going. If you died, you weren't meant to win," Romy continued bitterly. His eyes grew distant. "I loved it so much I became addicted. The taste of blood in my mouth, the vibrations in my hands, and my heart thundering in my ears. It only got worse when I kept climbing the ranks."
"I can still hear that bloodthirsty crowd, demanding precious crimson be spilled. Fighting for my life in that dirt hovel entrapped by barbed wire. The adrenaline that ran through my veins made me feel amazing. It was a high that I couldn't get enough of."
"That high only lasted during fights, and since my body couldn't handle those kinds of battles every night, I turned to drugs to keep it going. It worked… at first. Then, I had to keep fighting. I turned to any kind of drug and pain killers I could find to keep it up, no matter what it did to me."
"It took me a very long time to realize it, but those underground fights are too ruthless and voracious. It is a world-devouring beast, consuming and warping anyone who dared to enter its maw," Romy whispered. Reyna just stared at him as she listened. Words escaped her at the moment. "My brother tried to save me from that monster, and I wouldn't let him."
"It took me too long to become sober," Romy whispered. He shook his head. "I did any drug I got my hands on. Quitting cold turkey almost killed me, but I'm glad I did. I know I have a lot to prove to Lupa. And to myself."
There was silence in the room as Romy finished. Reyna stared at him, mouth half-open to say something, but nothing came to mind. She swallowed painfully and closed her mouth. Romy's right hand clawed at the sleeve on his left arm. He did not meet her eyes.
"Why did you tell me this?" Reyna finally asked. Romy looked at her.
"Because of what you said," Romy answered. "You don't trust me and don't like me. I need that. I need someone who will call me out on my shit. Who will make sure that I don't hurt Lupa. That monster that came out during those fights is still with me. I'm trying to keep it buried. I need someone who I know will protect Lupa from me. I can't hurt her again."
Reyna nodded slightly and found it still hard to swallow, "I will keep an eye on you, but I'm still going to give you that chance."
"It's more than a lot of people will do after hearing all that," Romy whispered. He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes as the door opened. Reyna glanced to the side as Lupa walked in, and she tensed. She expected Lupa to see the tears and yell at her. Thankfully, Romy seemed to notice and grabbed Reyna's shoulder. "Thank you for the support. It means a lot."
Reyna nodded. Romy let go of her and turned towards Lupa, "I made that reservation."
"Using an old phone book?" Lupa asked as she walked towards her desk and sat her things down. An amused grin came to her face as she picked up the book in question.
"It wasn't in there," Romy cleared up with a shrug. "But, Reyna helped me. I'll let Octavian know."
Romy turned and left the room, leaving Reyna and Lupa alone. Reyna studied her mentor and tried to think of what to say. She finally looked down. There were two things she was supposed to do that day. That she promised herself she would do.
One of those was to apologize to Romy, and she was going to push the other one off until later that night. Maybe, it was best to do it now. Reyna slowly grabbed her phone from her pocket. She walked towards the exit but stopped at Lupa's desk.
"I, um, got that spreadsheet done for you," Reyna began. Lupa looked down at the paper. "I hope it's okay."
"It's almost perfect," Lupa said after a few moments. She looked at Reyna. "I thought you weren't able to make any sense of it."
"I wasn't," Reyna confirmed. "I spent a few hours last night working on it, after talking to my sister and Kinzie. I have to make a call… but I'm sorry. About what I said to Romy."
Reyna didn't wait to hear a response. She left the office and made her way down the hall. Reyna stepped into a side room. It held extra supplies for the gym like spare gloves, gear, and other training equipment. She scrolled through her contacts and slowly pushed the call button on one of them.
Each ring caused her heart to double how quick it was beating. She knew that Thalia wouldn't answer, and it didn't surprise her that it went to voicemail. Reyna closed her eyes. She hadn't rehearsed this, but it needed to get out.
"I'm sorry," Reyna began as she swallowed painfully. "I know you're about to hang up now if you haven't already, but on the small chance that you are still listening, I wanted to apologize. Dating you just to get back at Jason was dumb. It was childish, and I regret it."
"I know I started dating you for the wrong reasons, but I really fell for you," Reyna continued. "I didn't show that because I didn't open up to you. The truth is that it is hard for me to open up because I'm scared of letting someone get close and being hurt by them. Guess it was bound to happen."
Reyna sighed and stared at the ground, "But, that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that I hated when we first broke up. I never really got over you. I tried a few dates here and there, but it never went any further. Dating Gwen was great, but we weren't meant to be. I wasn't ready to open up to her."
"When we started dating again, I found myself wanting to tell you everything. To let you in like I've never let anyone else. And, it hurts so much that you would cheat on me. And acting like you don't feel bad. But, that's not why I called. You're probably not even listening anymore, but I called you because I am sorry for only dating you to get back at Jason."
"It was wrong of me. Beyond wrong. I know that. I'm sorry for it. I regret everything that I said while we were breaking up," Reyna said softly. "I understand if you don't want to see me again, but you and Jason are loved by Lupa. Our breakup shouldn't make things awkward at the gym. If you stop by, I'll stay out of your way."
"And, I'm sorry," Reyna repeated once more. She ended the call and placed her phone in her pocket. Even though her day just started, she felt drained already. Reyna slowly pressed her back against the wall and slid down it into a sitting position. Her head hung.
Reyna just needed to focus on being at the gym. When she got home, she would work on opening up to Nico more. She needed to work through her emotions in a healthy way. And hopefully, this would be a good start.