I swallowed the rest of my cider and gagged at the flavor that remained on my tongue.
Then climbed to my feet, and kicked my legs up in another handstand.
"What are you going to do?" Kat asked me.
"I have no idea."
"You need some kind of plan," Merrily said.
"I hate plans."
"It's the cider talking," Merrily told Kat.Mer had already started swaying a little. She was going to crash soon. Chugging hers had been a terrible call.
"I just want Niall to have chosen me," I said, sighing.
I was still upside down. It sucked, but it was better than curling up in a ball on the floor in ultimate stress.
"Darius said Niall helped you through a panic attack." Callum studied me. "He did the thing?"
"What’s the thing?" Kat checked.
"He figured out how to talk her through the panic when they were together. They call itthe thing."
"He’s the Liv whisperer," Merrily said. "We all miss him."
"Is Darius right? He did it?" Kat asked me.
"Darius has a big mouth."
Merrily lowered herself to the floor on her back.
"You should bargain with Jonah about the debt," Kat told me. "If you know for sure one way or the other about whether or not you’re mated, you'll have a better idea about what to do. If he's fated to you and he bonds with Gwen, you might as well be with Niall."
"She doesn't trust Niall, Kitten. It's not that simple," Callum told her.
"But he said he could feel your magic," Kat protested. "And you didn't die, so isn't there a chance he's right?
"Maybe," I admitted. "Maybe I would've made him kill his brother for nothing."
"Maybe you should just let it go," Merrily said with a massive yawn "You miss him. He misses you. The situation was a nightmare for everyone involved. He still says he could feel your magic, and you didn't die. What does it hurt to believe him?"
All three of us stared at her.
"At least he doesn't visit your dreams to fuck you all night every night," she added.
There was a beat of silence before I said, "You need help."
"Desperately," she murmured.
"Merrily's right. You could just believe him," Kat suggested. "If you loved him, and you think he loved you, it wouldn't hurt anything."
But where would it leave me?
"It doesn't matter who's right. The most important thing right now is to bargain with Jonah. You need to know if he's your fated mate or not before you decide what move to make next," Callum said. "If he's not your fated mate, you never need to tell him about any of this.
I might get out of telling him the truth.
That was the best news I'd heard all week, by far.
