The Storm

Gone

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.