Thalia didn't go to school the next day. Skipping out was understandable given the circumstances, but it made for a lonely day. One Reyna wasn't looking forward too. The man who'd driven drunk was arrested but there was no erasing what actually happened. In truth Reyna felt horribly sorry. Were things this bad after I left? How could I just leave her there like this?

But as soon as these thoughts came,  Reyna was reminded of why she left. Why she was so eager to escape in the first place.

"Can't believe the psycho's daughter is back."

"Did you hear her sister is a fucking waitress and works some other low job. Like she can at least do better than that."

"Yeah I know. Johnny went to the restaurant last night. Said the service was complete crap. Bet the girl can hardly carry a tray."

And so on went the whispers that made Reyna's blood boil. What was worse were the rumors surrounding the disappearance of Silena. People had made up numerous things. That she staged the accident and ran away cause she was the reason Charles died in the fire.

"I swear she killed him. A girl that pretty has to be psycho." Or better yet, "She just looked like she could do something like that."

How would they know? None of theses idiots even know what actually happened. I sure as hell don't but I'm not saying stupid things like that. The insensitivity only grew worse with time. Reyna hadn't heard or paid attention much to the conversations that floated around campus and she was suddenly wishing she still wasn't paying attention.

"Bianca was just a wild child. I'd be the same after having to raise a brother." An honorable thing most people wouldn't do. Reyna couldn't help but respond softly in her head.

"Her dad is some sleeze ball. You see the creep? He looks like the type who drives a big old white van and kidnaps kids. Bet thats how he got Hazel. Just stole a black kid off the streets." Laughter like the sound of wild dogs followed suit. It only got worse at lunch. The gossip would reach a loud rumble. It was nearly overwhelming. Reyna attempted to distance herself from the mayhem to try and focus on things that actually mattered but it was useless.

A boy and girl next to her were watching Artemis weave her way through people towards her brother with a perpetually bored expression. As if life no longer held anything interesting.

"Can't believe she freaked out on Orion last year." The boy shook his head as if he were a disappointed parent.

"Are you kidding? Anyone would literally die trying to get laid by Orion. The man is a hot beast." The girl smiled earning a slightly annoyed look from the guy.

Reyna attempted to glance over her math homework from earlier in the morning but the words vibrated in her skull like angry flies.

"Apparently not everyone. You know if she just let it happen I bet she'd have liked it." The guy smirked. Reyna's hands shook slightly at the remarks.

"But no, the whole lesbian thing is just a joke. She's like the straightest person I've ever seen." That was it. Reyna was done.

"You two idiots have absolutely no idea what you're even talking about. Stop criticizing someone you don't know. People have a right to say no to things without it being frowned on by society. And as far as sexuality goes clearly you don't find a human being's worth in their personality or their treatment of others. " The two unfortunate victims of Reyna's wrath gave her appalled expressions but she had yet to finish. "Lastly, the people here who spread rumors about what's going on with the tragic events need to stop. We need to respect those who've been hurt by these things rather than pointing fingers and making things up. You're just a bunch of affluent kids who think you can do and say what you want but you can't. As for my sister, piss off! She's the most amazing person you will ever meet and you have no right, any of you, to insult her as a person."

By this point Reyna's heart was pounding furiously and her pulse rushed like a river.

"Guess crazy runs in the family." The boy sneered. grabbing the girl's hand and stepping away like he was avoiding a piece of garbage. As soon as they left, Reyna snatched up her bag and started for the bathroom. That was it, she needed to cool off. She needed to ignore everyone. They could say whatever they wanted about her but not people they didn't know. Especially when they didn't know the struggles they faced.

Kicking the door open it slammed hard against the wall as Reyna threw her bag on the counter. "Those idiots! I can't believe them."

She groaned in frustration tugging lightly at her hair and pacing in an attempt to get her rage out. Slowly she calmed until it was just shallow breathing that remained.

Pulling out her phone Reyna hesitated before typing.

Rey: I want out of this school now before I hit someone.

Thals: Sorry I wasn't there

Rey: It's not your fault, people are just...

Thals: I know. Stop by my place after school. I need the company. It's lonely and...

Rey: You're still upset. I know. I'll be there and maybe bring a movie. We can watch it if you aren't busy.

Thals: I wouldn't mind, I need a distraction.

Rey: See you then

Sighing, she slipped the phone back into her pocket and grudgingly returned to the outside cafeteria. All she had to do was survive two more class periods.
———
Thalia was out on the drive way in the hot sun despite the cool fall breeze trying to fix the damage from last night's events. She was still raging on the inside but her exterior was surprisingly calm.

Tools were scattered nearby and she was currently trying to repair the stucco. Of course, hiring someone would be easier but when your family's funds were spent on alcohol you couldn't really afford it.

A strange substance that had yet to set decorated her arms as her hair stuck up wildly from sweat. As the stucco began to dry, she tried to fix the front lawn where tire marks had torn through the dirt.

She'd tried to salvage as much of it as she could but for the most part Thalia was stuck walking to the nearest store, buying a large bag of soil, walking back, and filling the trenches in the yard.

After soaking the lawn with water to aid in the blending of new and old soil she returned to the outside wall and painted it though the colors didn't quite match.

"Man you got a lot done today." Thalia turned to see Reyna standing at the end of the driveway with her back pack in hand.

"Well, I can't miss school another day." Thalia sighed standing up slowly. Her entire body ached from the long day of work. She'd collected her broken motorcycle, took it apart as best as she could, managed to sell the good parts and scrap the damaged ones. Fix the rivets in the driveway with a cheap concrete mix and fix the house.

"I know." Reyna observed her friend's appearance. Dark circles clung to the undersides of her eyes indicating that Thalia hadn't slept much last night. "Let's go inside."

Thalia nodded standing up and taking a moment to collect her things before putting them up before leading Reyna in through the garage. Like usual the house was empty.

It was even messier than before if it was possible. Reyna didn't pay much attention to it. "You should get cleaned up."

"Why, you think I smell?" Thalia asked attempting to make a joke. Reyna rolled her eyes and Thalia took the hint that it was simply a concern for her well being. Thalia conceded the point and cleaned up. The warmth of the water was relaxing enough but the clean clothes were the best part.

Digging through her closet for some comfortable socks stuck in a bin somewhere Thalia stumbled across something she hadn't seen in ages. "Huh."

Stooping down she picked it up and dusted off the small box. Easing the lid off she stumbled across old photos. Ones that went farther back than the oldest one on her wall. "Rey come here!"

Reyna didn't hesitate to find her way to Thalia's room to find the other girl sitting on her bed, back pressed back against the wall, holding a bundle of what looked to be photos.

"Look at these with me. They're soooo old." Thalia laughed examining the first one.

"Let me see." Reyna smiled making her way over, dropping her bag, and sitting next to Thalia. The first picture was completely laughable. It was both of them young, buck naked, running through sprinklers with Jason trying to sit on one in the back.

Though Thalia was nearly a year and a half older than Reyna they were nearly identical in age just by looking at them. They'd ended up in the same school year partially due to Thalia's birthday and the fact that she was held back in second grade.

"Look at your pale butt." Reyna laughed.

"Why the hell is Jason trying to sit on that?" Thalia asked with a small smile. She set it aside and revealed the next one. It was the three of them dressed up as super heroes running around Reyna's house.

Thalia had drawn lightning bolts on the side of her head to be the flash. Reyna recalled drawing the superman symbol on Jason's bare chest while she wore blue underwear outside of her pants and used a jump rope to be Wonder Woman.

"Oh my god that's embarrassing." Reyna winced unable to believe that she'd ever actually done something like that. Thalia laughed lightly moving on to the next one.

This time they were a bit older. Maybe eight or nine. It had been Valentine's day at school and naturally everyone had worn Valentine's Day clothes. Not Thalia. She'd stolen a white shirt from Jason and wrote COOTIES on it.

"Stupid thing is you couldn't figure out why you didn't get any Valentine's." Reyna snickered. She of course had at least worn a red shirt.

"I got four. One from Jase, Mom, Hylla, and you." Thalia remembered. "You made sure yours was the biggest."

"I felt bad." Reyna admitted. "I was making up for your disappointment."

"Thanks for that." Thalia sighed resting her head back against the wall. "You know sometimes I wish I could just go back to those moments. The ones in the pictures and stay there."

Reyna glanced at the next one. They were wearing ugly Christmas sweaters standing with their arms around one another with happy smiles with lost teeth. Maybe they were in fourth grade or so. "Yeah, me too."

"I never wanted this." Thalia gestured with her arms to everything. "I don't think anyone does."

"When you're a kid you don't think things like this happen. You just believe it will be exactly like the stories you're told." Reyna nodded.

"Adults lie to you from the start. This isn't some fairy tail." Thalia sighed swallowing hard. "You know how hard it was trying to act like I didn't care you left?"

"No." Reyna admitted feeling her shoulders slump slightly.

"To act like I was okay when Jason left too. What's better is the fact that he has a girlfriend now." This bit of information jolted Reyna's thoughts.

"What?" Thalia gave her a sympathetic look.

"I know you guys had a rough break up." It was an understatement. Reyna had felt completely inadequate during that entire situation. She could recall the conversation perfectly. It had been a massive blow to her self confidence.

"Is it the same girl he said he liked?" Reyna asked.

"Yeah." Thalia's eyes held a deep apology.

"Hmm." Reyna nodded. "I bet she's pretty cool."

"You're not mad at her or something?" Thalia asked her eyebrows creasing together.

"Not her. It's not her fault. I can't say I necessarily forgive your brother for what happened." Thalia had expected that much.

"You never really told me what happened." Thalia said collecting the pictures and putting them away.

Reyna snorted. "I'm not going to ruin your opinion of your brother."

"Reyna, believe me I know my brother can be an ass." A bit of silence passed between them before Reyna sighed.

"It was on the weekend. Maybe two months before he left and three before I did. We'd been hanging out at the old park for old time's sake. Messing around and I thought things were fine but they obviously weren't." Thalia leaned back onto the pillows of her bed and closed her eyes listening closely. "I can't quiet remember how the subject was brought up. But he said it wasn't working. That there was a disconnect. He felt like I wasn't really trying to make it work, that maybe I was holding back which wasn't fair because he was such an open book. Like I was too guarded and cold. He said maybe space would help. That I needed to think about what I wanted."

"But he didn't acknowledge that maybe he was part of the problem too?" Thalia asked eyes opening to study Reyna.

"I mean he didn't need to. He was right, it just didn't feel like what people describe being in a relationship is like. But I felt that maybe he was being unfair. It wasn't like I'd ever dated anyone before. It was new and I was naive. I think more than anything he just impressed me. To an extent, looking back on it, I think from the start he was looking for a way out." Reyna shook her head in dismay.

"That's stupid. A dick move. You don't just date someone because you don't want to hurt their feelings. Breaking up is going to crush someone more than just saying no." Thalia's voice had a harsh edge to it.

"Yeah, well apparently saying no is considered a bad thing in today's society." Reyna thought back to the earlier conversation she had over heard.

"Maybe. If it makes you feel better, you have one Grace on your side. I'm glad you're back. It just feels normal. Like things aren't as horrible." Thalia sat up at last to observe her friend. "It's a little less sucky. For all of us."

"Are you still going to try and find out what happened to your friends?" Reyna asked thinking back to all the rumors.

"If I can." Thalia nodded determination in her eyes. Reyna got the notion that she'd heard plenty of the made up stories and wanted to set things right.

Reyna thought for a second before pulling out her phone and scrolling through the news. "What do you say we go check out the crime scene?"

"For what?" Thalia asked confused.

"The car that belonged to Silena. What's  left of it. It's dark, no ones gonna know. We just can't touch anything." Thalia's eyes lit up with a burning curiosity and Reyna knew she had her hooked.

"My,my, Reyna you know the way to a girl's heart." Thalia smirked standing up. "Nothing like a detective hunt."

"Shut up and change." Reyna laughed. "We have a mystery to solve."