After five minutes of trying to move the motorcycle, Reyna realized that it was going nowhere. It had taken somewhere around ten minutes to get the stupid bike out of the ditch, and she nearly fell multiple times. Not to mention the damn thing almost fell onto her.
When Reyna managed to get it out of the dirt, she was soaking wet and covered in mud. Then, she tried to turn that stupid thing on. Which worked, but it wouldn't move after that. She wasn't sure how to drive it.
"This was such a stupid idea," Reyna muttered to herself. She hung her head and tried to wipe the rain out of her eyes. What the hell was she even doing? Reyna slowly stood from the motorcycle and walked towards her car. She opened the back seat and sat down in it.
Reyna reached into the front seat to grab her phone, and she stared down at it. Her hands were freezing cold, and she felt like water was weeping off of her. There was one person who knew about motorcycles, but was she really going to call them?
A sigh left Reyna; she hated this. Why did she decide to do this in the first place? Reyna turned her head and sneezed into her sleeve. Then, she looked back at her phone and clicked on the name. It rang for a few seconds until a voice answered, "Reyna?"
"Hey, Lupa. I need help," Reyna began. She felt her voice dying on her, but she cleared her throat and forged ahead. There was no way she could allow any lapse in the conversation that Lupa could jump on. "Thalia crashed her motorcycle; she's fine. I took her back to my place and went back to dig her motorcycle out of a ditch. I don't know how to drive one."
"Where are you?" Lupa questioned after a moment. Reyna looked at the nearest sign and told her. "I'll be there soon."
"Thanks," Reyna said. She hung up before Lupa could say anything else. Her heart thundered in her chest, and she rested her head against the seat in front of her. This was all one big giant set of mistakes. First, she should have taken Thalia to Annabeth or Jason's place and just left her there. Then, she should have called a stupid tow truck or mechanic or whoever the hell dealt with these things.
Reyna reached forward to turn her heater up. The rain fell in a soft trickle now, but it didn't help that she was already soaked. And covered in mud. And getting that stupid mud all over the backseat of her car. As Reyna started to get feeling back in her hands, she saw headlights turn the corner and recognized Lupa's truck which she rarely used.
There was a flatbed hitched on the back of it along with some straps. Reyna got out of her car and walked towards the motorcycle. Lupa stopped her truck near the vehicle and got out. Her eyes looked Reyna up and down.
"Are you hurt?" Lupa questioned.
"Just cold," Reyna answered. She didn't meet Lupa's eyes. "Thalia was driving drunk."
"Are you sure?" Lupa asked. Reyna nodded and grabbed one of the handles. Lupa helped her, and they slowly pushed it toward the flatbed. Together, they were able to secure it and strapped it in. Reyna turned her head and sneezed again. Her nose was getting stuffed, and she could tell she was getting sick.
"I can give you a ride home," Lupa offered.
"I already have my car here. It's fine," Reyna declined. She stood and turned towards her car.
"Reyna," Lupa spoke up again. Reyna froze and took a deep breath. She slowly turned to look back at Lupa. It looked like there was a lot Lupa wanted to say, but the rain started to pick up around them. "Go home and get some sleep. If you don't feel well in the morning, just send me a text."
"I will," Reyna promised. She took a step forward and then looked back. "And, thanks. For coming out here."
"You're welcome," Lupa smiled. "If you ever need anything..."
"I know," Reyna cut off quickly. A sigh left her. "I'm still not ready yet, Lupa. Not for this conversation. I don't know when I will be."
"I understand," Lupa said so quietly that Reyna barely heard it past the rain. Reyna turned and walked towards her car. She sat in it and stared ahead. Tears stung her eyes, but she tried to convince herself it was just rain. How the hell was she even supposed to talk to Lupa about what happened?
Reyna knew they needed to talk about it, but she didn't know where to start. She didn't know how to even sort out all of these emotions that she was feeling. Another sigh left her as she turned her heater up to full blast and started the drive back home.
The second that Reyna pulled into the driveway was the second that it stopped raining. She looked up at the sky in annoyance and then walked into her apartment. Nico immediately looked at her. A concerned look came to his face.
"I'm going to shower. Do you mind heating up my food?" Reyna asked.
"I'll take care of it," Nico assured. "Do you want hot chocolate too?"
"Please," Reyna agreed. She walked towards her bedroom and stepped inside. Reyna turned on the light and glanced at the bed. Thalia was still asleep and was curled up on her side. She looked completely out of it, which was probably a good thing.
Reyna grabbed a pair of clean clothes and made her way to the bathroom. Her shower was very hot and very quick as she did her best to get all of the mud off of her as quickly as she could. It took forever to get all of the mud out of her hair, and Nico was going to kill her if he had to clean the shower.
Reyna finished her shower and dressed quickly. She cleaned out the shower the best she could all while her mind was on the woman that was sleeping in her bed. Why was Thalia driving drunk? She knew better than that. It was going to kill Jason to hear that his older sister was doing the same thing that got their mother killed.
A sigh left Reyna, and she walked back to the living room. Her nose twitched at all of the delicious food that Nico had heated up. He even used the air fryer to heat up the egg rolls. Nico nibbled on the cheese sticks, and Reyna grabbed one. She sat next to him.
"You look lost in thought," Reyna commented.
"Just worried about you," Nico admitted.
"I'm fine," Reyna lied. She sniffled and wiped her nose. "Maybe a little sick. Kind of regret not just driving by."
Reyna sighed and laid her head back against the couch, "What the hell was Thalia thinking? That was so stupid of her!"
"It was," Nico agreed without delay. "Look, it's nothing to worry yourself over. We'll make sure she gets home safe tomorrow."
"Jason's going to freak out," Reyna cringed. Nico gently grabbed her shoulder. Reyna slowly looked at him and shook her head. "I just feel bad for him. He's going to learn that his older sister was doing the same thing that got their mother killed. I just…"
"I know," Nico promised. "But, it's going to be okay. Thalia has a great support system, and they're going to figure out what is going on. She is going to be fine. You need to eat some food and try to relax."
Reyna nodded her agreement and focused back on the table. Nico ate with her and put on a show that the two had just started to watch. Reyna leaned against him and tried to focus on it. Her mind felt exhausted and frayed. Another clockwork sigh escaped her.
"Can I ask you something?" Nico asked softly, almost carefully.
"Always," Reyna replied as she glanced at him. Nico met her eyes and studied her.
"Where were you tonight?" Nico questioned. Reyna kept eye contact with him.
"Do you remember how you gave me Rachel's business card? I stopped by her place and had an appointment. I had another one tonight," Reyna explained. "She gave me a number to an anger management therapist. I'm just trying to keep my emotions under control."
"I'm really proud you're doing this," Nico said softly. Reyna smiled slightly.
"It sucks," Reyna admitted. A small laugh left her, and it turned into a cough followed by a sneeze. "It sucks. I hate it so much, but I think it's helping."
"Just try to stick with it," Nico advised.
"I will," Reyna promised. "Now, we're going to eat until we're sick while watching this show. I'm going to turn off my brain for the rest of the night."
"That's not too hard for you," Nico teased. Reyna rolled her eyes and threw most of her weight into him as she leaned on him again. Nico groaned in pain. "Whoops. Sorry."
Nico stole an egg roll, and she stared at him. He grinned as he took a bite of it. Reyna rolled her eyes and reached for one of her sandwiches. Her gaze shot to her bedroom before focusing back on the television. That was a problem for the morning, and right now, she just wanted to relax with Nico.