Reyna really regretted her decision. She had woken up before everyone else and decided not to get food from the hotel. Instead, she decided to walk down the street to a local cafe. Reyna bumbled through ordering and paying, but thankfully, the man at the counter was nice. Now, she was sitting awkwardly in the cafe with her breakfast and coffee.
It felt awkward to be by herself, and she kept on her phone. A sigh left her as she scrolled through the news about their interview. Then, her gaze moved to the bits of speech she had. It was just so hard to put the damn thing together. There was so much she wanted to say, but the more she typed, the harder it was to ignore the feeling in her chest.
Reyna tapped her finger on the table. She was so upset at Lupa still, and it felt like no amount of therapy or talking to someone about it was going to help. This anger and resentment just kept boiling in her chest. A sigh left Reyna as she hung her head.
"Is this seat empty?"
Reyna opened her eyes and looked up at Octavian. He held onto a plate of food and a coffee. Reyna motioned to the seat, "Of course. Sit down."
Octavian placed his things down and took a seat. For once, he didn't wear a suit. His white shirt was perfectly wrinkled and without a stain. His black pants did look to be more dressy than casual, though. A hand ran through his hair as he took a sip of coffee.
"I didn't know you were awake," Reyna began.
"I can't sleep," Octavian answered. "I spent most of the night on the phone with my mother. It sounds like she is divorcing my father."
"I'm sorry," Reyna began. Octavian shrugged.
"They only got together because she was pregnant with me. And a baby out of wedlock would have destroyed the reputations of both their families. Did you know that our Christmas dinners were just everyone jockeying for position within the family, trying to get allies like we're small kingdoms at war?"
Reyna wasn't sure what to say, so she just shifted. Octavian took a long sip of coffee. Then, he placed the cup down and stared at Reyna. His eyes were bloodshot.
"You're supposed to be enjoying the vacation," Reyna finally said.
"Yeah," Octavian sighed. He rubbed his face. "But if I don't answer my mom, it's because I sided with my dad. If I don't answer my dad, it's because I'm selling him out to my mom. Everyone is picking sides, and I just can't do that. I just... I don't get it."
"I wish I could help," Reyna began.
"Throw my phone out into the street," Octavian muttered.
"Do you really want me to?" Reyna asked. Octavian let out a strangled laugh.
"Yes, but I can't," Octavian said. "How are you doing? Lupa told me about the therapy."
"Yeah," Reyna said. She averted her gaze. "I started regular therapy and seeing anger management. I don't know if it's really helped? I mean, it has, but...
"I feel this anger anytime I look at Lupa, and I don't know how to get rid of it. I'm just so mad about everything that has happened. She lied to me, Octavian. For years. How...how do you get over that?" Reyna asked.
"I don't know," Octavian admitted. He let out a bitter chuckle and bury his face in his hands. "I wish we could just snap our fingers and fix all our problems."
"That's why I became a fighter. I can just punch my problems away," Reyna joked.
"We should unwind together," Octavian joked. Reyna almost laughed, but as Octavian lowered his hands, she realized he was dead serious.
"Unwind?" Reyna repeated. Her nose crinkled. "Wait! Like..."
"No!" Octavian corrected as he visibly flinched. "Ew! No! Never like that. You're too..."
Reyna leveled Octavian with a glare. He met her gaze, never one to back down from her or her anger. He finished, "...muscular."
"I'm too muscular?" Reyna repeated. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I like more petite women," Octavian shrugged honestly. Reyna glared at him again. "Oh please. I know your type. Confident, strong, with eyes a shade of blue."
Reyna felt the blush hit her cheeks, and she dipped her head behind her coffee cup as her ears started to burn. Octavian raised a triumphant eyebrow and took a sip of his coffee. He spoke, "But, I think you would be a good wingwoman."
"And you'll be my wingman?" Reyna asked.
"Why not?" Octavian shrugged. He put his cup down. "I know that I need to unwind, and I need a break from all of this drama with my family. We can go to a club, get some beers, and maybe even get a date to bring back to the hotel. And if not, we can still unwind and enjoy the night out."
"You know what, let's do it," Reyna said. It wasn't often, or ever really, that she went out with Octavian. Sure, they were out together when the team was celebrating a fight or having a team dinner. But, the they did not go out together just the two of them.
"Great. I'll find a nice bar we can go to. Somewhere we can dress up nice but not be too fancy. And a place that speaks English," Octavian decided.
"You don't have to profile it like you do a fighter," Reyna commented. "You can just ask Piper."
Octavian nodded, but his eyes flickered away. His frown was not hidden by his coffee cup. Reyna took a bit of her food and thought for a moment. She spoke, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Octavian said quickly.
"Hey, I'm your wingwoman. I won't judge," Reyna said. Octavian sighed and took another sip of coffee.
"I appreciate that Piper works with us now. She is a great manager and a great spokeswoman. It's just..."
"It almost feels like she's replacing you," Reyna guessed. A dark look passed over Octavian's face.
"Exactly," Octavian muttered. "Lupa has been looking at her more and more to handle things with the press and get all of you ready for fights. It's like she doesn't need me anymore and wants me to train my replacement."
"I don't think it's anything like that," Reyna assured. "We can see how much this family stuff is weighing on you, and I think that Lupa is just trying to alleviate some stress from you. But, there's no replacing you, Octavian. You know that, right?"
"Piper does a pretty good job," Octavian muttered.
"Yeah, but let's be real here. Piper is smart, and she's nice. She's good at her job, but you're amazing at the job, Octavian. I don't trust her like I trust you to negotiate with the league. You know the rules inside and out, and you're ruthless," Reyna said. She felt like she was fumbling over her words, but Octavian's shoulder did relax.
"And I get it," Reyna continued. "I felt the same way when Annabeth joined. It was like Lupa was trying to challenge me and had a new favorite. It took some time to get over those feelings, and they still pop up from time to time."
"I should probably talk to Lupa about it," Octavian sighed. He rubbed his forehead and exhaled a deep breath. "She does care about us."
Reyna felt her gaze moving away, and she stared down at her food. Silence filled the table for a few moments, and then, Octavian looked back at her. Reyna glanced up at him.
"Poor choice of words," Octavian decided. Reyna shrugged and averted her gaze again. "Just do me a favor, Reyna. Please don't let this fester. And what I mean by that is don't let it boil in your chest for months and then years and then decades."
Reyna didn't respond and just focused on her food. Octavian seemed undeterred, "That is what my family did. They let all of their hatred and anger simmer inside for years, and it turned into this bitterness that aged for years."
"It's not like I want to be mad at her," Reyna grumbled. "It's just that I don't know how to forgive her. And that anger keeps boiling and boiling inside."
"Like a poison," Octavian stated. "Just... imagine how much better you would feel if you just let it all out."
"I know," Reyna sighed. "But, just... how do I do that? We both know that I held a lot in until it exploded out, and I'm working on not doing that anymore. But when I look at Lupa, I feel that old anger. I don't know what's going to happen if I let it out."
"I think you know how to control yourself enough," Octavian stated. "If you didn't, you probably would have punched Lupa when you first found out. Your explosive anger has always been more verbal or hurting yourself. Not physically hurting those you care about."
"Yeah," Reyna sighed. "Alright, when should we go out?"
"I can't do it tonight, so let me get with Lupa and see our schedule," Octavian said. "There is some press things I need to do."
"We'll definitely do it before we leave," Reyna agreed. Octavian smiled at her and stood to get a refill on his coffee. Reyna stared at her nearly finished food. Hanging out with Octavian was the last thing she expected to do on her vacation, but hopefully, it wouldn't be too bad. In fact, she was looking forward to it.