Thalia waited for a response for a long time but she didn't receive one. That was fine, she didn't expect one, at least not from Reyna. As it would turn out people in Thalia's life weren't big on explanations. They didn't care much about justifying their actions. They tended to ask for forgiveness. Acting first and speaking later was the go to.

Unfortunately, this meant the entire ride was silent from the moment Thalia had asked Reyna her question. What'd you expect? Thalia slowed only when she entered her neighborhood, occupied by one story houses all a plain tan color. It wasn't anything impressive. Just unimportant houses for unimportant people.

The rumbling of the engine slowed until the motorcycle stopped in the driveway next to a beat up car that had seen better days. It wasn't like they had a lot of money to fix the car anyways. Thalia only lucked out on her bike due to work. It was a miracle it hadn't been stolen yet, either. If she had to guess, the only reason it hadn't was due to fear. Someone would have to be stupid to steal her belongings. She wasn't a newbie when it came to revenge.

Shaking her head, Thalia slipped off the bike and stomped on the kickstand. When the bike settled, Reyna clambered off and awkwardly held out the helmet. Thalia took it and tucked it under her arm with ease.

"Wait here," Thalia encouraged. Reyna nodded and stood awkwardly in the familiar driveway. Thalia ran off inside leaving Reyna to ponder what her plan was. The only thing Reyna was certain of in this moment was that Thalia was very, very different. She'd grown a lot taller since Reyna had last seen her.

They were approximately the same height now, give or take half an inch. Thalia had always had beautiful eyes but there was something different about them now, mysterious almost. She'd grown leaner, even more athletic before and her style had only increased in "punk vibes". Then there was the hair, now with blue streaks and shorter than it used to be. Lastly the double helix pierced ear. It was extremely odd. No, not odd. It was perfectly fitting for Thalia. The correct word would be unfamiliar.

Reyna's thoughts were interrupted as Thalia returned, "Mom's not home so feel free to come in."

Not wanting to be rude, Reyna tucked her hands in her pockets and followed the other girl inside. The house smelled relatively the same but there was a lingering sour like stench that Reyna didn't remember being there. She watched as Thalia eased the front door shut before resting her helmet on a table by the door. Shedding her leather jacket she made her way to the kitchen in search of a snack.

Reyna followed closely behind but wasn't expecting to find what she saw. There were old wine glasses stained with different liquids resting in the sink. The open fridge held all sorts of alcoholic beverages and it had never looked so much like a bar before. There were old vomit soaked rags in the sink as well. The entire scene made Reyna sick to her stomach. What in the world happened?

"Your kitchen...the bottles." Reyna noticed that Thalia's shoulders tensed at the mention of the contraband resting about.

"Don't worry. They're not mine." Thalia replied, abruptly shutting the fridge door. Perhaps she wasn't as hungry as Reyna had thought. Or perhaps she'd lost her appetite.

"Oh...sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like I was accusing you-"

"It's my mom." Came the flat remark cutting off Reyna's sentence. "But that's not important, you have some explaining to do."

"Can we go upstairs? I haven't seen your room in a while." It was another diversion and Thalia knew it but if it got Reyna to talk so be it. Thalia guided her down the hall to the last room on the right and opened the door.

"It's different than before. I hope you don't mind." Thalia reached over to the wall and flicked on the lights. It was indeed very different. The walls had previously been plain and boring but now there was hardly a clean inch of space. There were band posters decorating the space above a cluttered desk. Strings of blue lights hanging from the ceiling like strands of stars but the most impressive was the wall next to Thalia's bed.

It was completely covered in pictures and postcards of all sorts. Some of them Reyna recognized, most of them she didn't. Thalia sat cross legged on her bed watching Reyna with an intense scrutiny as the other girl examined the wall closer than before.

Reyna smiled lightly at a photo she knew too well. It was her, Thalia, Jason, and Hylla smiling with heir arms slung around one another. Can't believe she kept this. It was from fifth grade.

Next to it was a picture Reyna had never seen before. It seemed more recent, maybe from last year. It was similar to the other one but there were new faces. Reyna recognized the auburn haired girl from earlier but their were two more. One who looked to be of an Italian descent, and then another girl with dark hair and caramel colored skin. Lastly of course there was Thalia smiling brightly in the middle.

"Who are they?" Reyna asked glancing at Thalia from over her shoulder.

"My friends." Was the reply.

"What are their names? Were they good friends?" Reyna asked turning her attention back to the wall.

"Yeah. Yeah they were." The sadness that seeped into Thalia's voice was enough to draw Reyna's attention back again.

"What are their names?" Reyna questioned again, sitting across from Thalia on the bed.

"The girl right there," Thalia pointed to the picture. "That's Bianca, Nico's sister. You remember him, don't you?"

"Yeah of course." Reyna nodded recalling the young boy who reminded her very much of Thalia.

"Yeah she uh, died in a car accident. The one next to the red head is Zoë Nightshade. She just disappeared one day. No warning. Nothing. Gone." Thalia's eyes drifted away from the photo but Reyna could see the sadness in them. "There's only two of us left from that photo."

"I'm sorry. That's got to be tough, especially if you were close. I've never understood how someone can l leave like that." Reyna sighed, shaking her head.

"Gee I don't know." Thalia's tone of voice changed and Reyna could hear the hostility in it.

"Listen, my case is different. You knew ahead of time." Reyna replied.

"It's not different at all. It was like you fell off the face of the planet. What's worse you just bailed right after everything happened." Thalia shook her head and flopped down onto her back.

"What did you expect me to do? I couldn't fix your problems Thals and I had to take care of my own." Reyna ran a hand through her hair.

"But you could have stayed. We could have figured things out together." Thalia insisted, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"I was trying to do something. I was trying to get away from this place so I wouldn't be stuck here forever. Not like my dad. This place drove him nuts, Thalia." Reyna argued. She didn't mean to sound as harsh as she did, but she couldn't help it.

"Reyna, you left me alone. My dad left two weeks before, just bailed without an explanation. Then Jason left for his education which I can forgive him for but he left me alone with mom. Once dad left and then Jason she got worse. All she does is come home drunk and men come home too. It's like I don't exist. Everyone just left.  You were my last hope and you bailed too. Do you expect me to be happy?" Silence settled like a thick blanket between the two. Reyna didn't know what to do or say. She understood Thalia's bitterness, but she couldn't shoulder that burden either.

"I'm sorry. I really am. But it seems like you had people here to help you." Reyna glanced back at the photo.

"Yeah. Sure." Thalia laughed bitterly. "Doesn't make things better anymore does it? I may have friend but it doesn't stop assholes like Octavian. He pulled a fucking knife on me today."

"That was you?!" Reyna asked her eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"Yeah....wait, you're the one who spooked him? That's why he went after you in the parking lot isn't it?" Thalia asked, sitting up slightly. Reyna nodded in response.

"Who was the other boy?" Reyna questioned.

"Luke Castellan." Thalia's gaze lowered. "That's him."

She pointed to another picture where the same boy Reyna had seen was smiling happily while piggy backing a blonde girl with curly hair. "We used to be friends but something happened and he changed. Now? He's with all those stupid rich kids like Octavian, Orion, and Drew."

"I'm sorry. That really sucks." The guilt that slowly began to creep into Reyna's chest was nearly too much. "Thank you for saving me back there. It means a lot. Make sure to tell your friend thanks for me as well."

"You act like we won't see each other." Thalia laughed.

"Well, I just thought...."

"I still go to school there." Thalia said gesturing out the window for emphasis. "I'll see you around. Besides, we clearly have the same lunch."

"Yeah I guess you could say that." Reyna laughed. "You know I wouldn't mind hanging out with you. If that's okay. Picking up where we left off might fix some of what's going on? Maybe things can go back to how they were?"

"Things aren't going to be the same Reyna, I hope you understand that. There's things I can't change that happened when you left. " Thalia stood up and shed her leather jacket revealing yet another surprising feature. A tattoo.

It was a simple design except for the coloring. Wings that started from her shoulder blades and sprawled out down her arms. The feathers were colored to look like the stars in a night sky and were outlined in white. It painted a beautiful picture of the cosmos.

"I like the tattoo. It's very poetic." Reyna mused.

"That's not all of it." Thalia said glancing back at her childhood friend. "Here."

She wriggled out of her black tank top and clutched it in her hand. Reyna was surprised to see that there was indeed more to it. An arrow traversed straight down the path of her spine the very tip disappearing just below the waistband of her jeans.

"Did that hurt?" Dear god I'd never get anything like that.

"Like hell." Thalia laughed putting her shirt back on. Reyna rolled her eyes already feeling like they were back like they used to be. Only it wasn't meant to last. The sound of the front door banging open caused Thalia to nearly jump a foot in the air. "Oh shit."

"What?" Reyna asked as Thalia peeked out the window.

"Mom's home. Come on, you gotta blast." Thalia worried, popping open the window and beckoning Reyna over. "Just go, we can talk later."

"Are you sure?" Reyna asked despite the fact that Thalia was practically throwing her out the window.

"Just go!" Thalia winced hearing uneven footsteps walking down the hall. Reyna didn't argue anymore and toppled out of the window as Thalia slammed it shut just as the door was thrown open. Reyna winced feeling the palm of her hand scrape against the ground. She could hear yelling coming from inside.

Getting to her knees, she carefully peered through the window glancing through a gap in the curtains.  Beryl Grace looked nothing like Reyna remembered. She wasn't as lovely and happy and wise. Instead, she looked thin and pale with dark circles clinging to the undersides of her eyes. Her eyes themselves seemed dull and lifeless, her blonde hair not as neat and pristine as it had been.

I shouldn't be snooping. Reyna tore her eyes away from the scene and turned towards the driveway scampering off down the sidewalk. The walk home took much longer than expected and it was starting to grow dark by the time Reyna made it home. Just as she was walking through the front door the phone in her back pocket dinged.

Thals: You still have this number right?

Reyna smiled, surprised that Thalia hadn't deleted her number a long time ago.

Rey: Yeah. Didn't know you still had me in your contacts.

Thals: Didn't have it in me to get rid of it. Anyways, tomorrow after school you think you can hitch a ride with me and my friend to the farm just out of town?

Rey: Yeah sure. Why?

Thalia: It's where she and her brother live. Anyways, I figured you deserve to be filled in after what happened today. There's some shady stuff going on here.

Rey: I figured that much was true but...I have a feeling there's a lot more to the story.

Thals: You have no idea. She just told me something happened today.

Rey: What? Is it bad?

Thals: The police just found a burning car outside of town. No one was in it thankfully.

Rey: Whose is it?

Thals: Silena's. You remember her don't you?

Rey: Yeah of course. Is she okay?

Thals: No one knows.

Rey: How come?

Thals: No one can find her, Reyna.

Rey: What's that supposed to mean?

Thals: Exactly that. She just disappeared. Gone.

Thals: Exactly like Zoë.