“Siren?” he spoke out loud.
“I’m here,”she whispered solemnly.
Alarm bells chimed in his head.
“You sound off. What’s wrong?”
Her huff of laughter was half-hearted.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“And if I do?”
“Luckily for me, it’s not up to you, and you’re not here to make me.”
“Oh,” his tone was sly. “Tell me more about this ‘making you’ idea. Would I use force?” He hoped his attempt at cheer would bleed into her.
“You wouldn’t have to if you made the right moves.”
“Okay, I see you, Siren. You’re a romantic. You want to be wined and dined before that cute ass is sixty-nined.”
“You’re insufferable, Brooks, honestly!”
The laughter that burst through their bond felt like sunshine in his veins and he couldn’t help but chuckle alongside her.
“I can’t take you seriously when you cackle like that. Dammit to Hades, Siren, you sound like a dying nymph.”
“Oh, you’re one to talk. You brood so loud I can hear it across the realms!”
“I do not brood,” he said, mock-offended. “I suffer in silence like a man. And even if I did, do you not think I deserve a little brood time? I’m locked in a damn asylum.”
“Well,“ she replied, her laughter dying down.“You make a fair point there. I suppose if brooding makes you feel more in control, then that’s your prerogative.”
“And don’t ever fucking forget it, wise ass.”
They sat in companionable silence, each keeping a tight grip on their tenuous connection like it was a lifeline.
“How was your night?”
“It was… rough. I didn’t get much sleep.”
“You were exhausted when we hung up.”
When he was pretending and believed that she was real, neither Brooks nor his Siren understood how their connection worked. They didn’t know how to summon it or stop it. ‘Hanging up’ was a familiar term and it made them laugh. He had been the first to describe it that way and it caught on quickly.
“My body was exhausted. My mind wouldn’t stop racing.”
“Funnily enough, that’s how I spent my night, too.” Doubt crept in and he covered his face with the flat, useless pillow.
She sighed,“I guess we aren’t pretending anymore.”
“No, Siren. No we’re not. We’re back to you being the luring, seductive part of my brain that just wants to keep me company before I face the hell today will bring.”
“What kind of hell?”
“I just have a feeling that I’m going to go through another round of extensive treatment.”
“Like, they’re going to put you in another coma?”
