My face twisted as I pulled away.
Damn.
Always forgot how strong the medicinal taste in that was.
One of the glasses still spilled over my hand when I brought them over to Merrily. I was too lazy to grab a paper towel, so I licked the sickly-sweet liquid off my fingers after I handed her the glass I hadn't already drank from.
I was on a roll, as far as manners went.
On. A. Roll.
Fuck manners.
"You ignored my question," she pointed out. "Dare said you two were looking friendly."
"We're friends again. Don't overthink it."
"He helped you through a panic attack, though."
"Friends can do that for each other."
"You and Niall were never just friends. You had sex in a bathroom the same night you met."
"I remember." Every minute of it. "We're trying something new. There's no plan to see each other again, so friendship is fine."
Merrily took a sip of the cider, then made a similar face to the one I'd made as she coughed and shuddered. Hopefully the awful flavor didn't overstimulate her before the drink's effect kicked in. "That's disgusting. Did it taste that bad last time?"
"I don't know, but we're living on the edge with this shit. Embrace it."
"This cider is definitely notliving on the edge."
My magic was growing restless, so I took a swig of the cider before I set my glass down on the pretty wooden tray that rested next to Merrily on the couch. She used it to hold drinks and food, so she didn't have to hold them on her lap.
She was entirely unsurprised when I walked over to the wall and kicked my legs up in a handstand. Not because of the cider, but because my power was driving me crazy. The small amount of physical exertion required for the handstand usually helped a bit.
"Handstands already?" she asked.
"Yup. Trying to hide from my problems and ignore my magic. Like always."
Her lips curved. "Wow, we have the same life goals."
I lifted one hand long enough to make a finger gun and pretend to fire it at her, still upside down."We're cool like that."
We heard the front door close loudly. Callum didn't announce his arrival, but we didn't expect him to.
I eyed Merrily as she tipped her glass back and drained the entire thing.
"You impress me," I told her.
"I'm impressive," she agreed.
"How many abusive assholes did you kill this week?"
She shrugged.
She never answered the question. Refused to even acknowledge that she made bargains to kill people who abused women. Mainly, people who abusedsirens. Their magic drew problematic assholes toward them.
I didn't know why she wouldn't talk about it. Probably because of the shit in her past that she also refused to talk about. She was covered in scars the same way Darius was, even if she chose to hide them with clothing.
