G.P.O. had eight tenets to being a hitman and research was, in fact, number five. They reallyweretraining him up. It felt strange to hear our code coming from the person I’d quit the job over.
Distracted for a moment, I hadn’t noticed Mykie following Vivian. To mycompletehorror, I heard Mykie say, “So Theo tells me you killed and beheaded four guys?”
I could’ve exploded. I knew Mykie wouldn’t keep her mouth closed. Why be gentle when she could dive headfirst into the most fucked up, highly sensitive topic unprovoked?
To my surprise… Vivian cackled. “How many more do I need before I can join your club? I’ll have Ida make us matching jackets.”
My displeasure melted away and I smiled. This goddess would do just fine around my people. The same way she’d taken to me and all my rough edges. Mykie was witty like her. And as they started bantering about body count and leather jackets, I realized my friend was comforting Vivian in her own way.
Theo
Vivian wasdelightedto have Ida around. They’d been fussing over each other all night like mother and daughter. Their happiness was contagious, making for a pleasant dinner as we ate the food our guests had brought from a café in town.I was hopeful we could have more of these visits.One day. Right now, we needed to hold our ground and heal.
“No wonder you can’t find anything in your size!” Ida exclaimed to Ragen. She was sitting on one of the logs surrounding Vivian’s table, holding a tape measure up to his torso. “You come back next summer, and I’ll have a few things waiting for you. Vivian write down these numbers. Shoulders—"
“I need some fresh air,” Mykie sighed, standing from her seat across from Ida and exiting out the front door.
Noting an unexpected tension in her voice, I excused myself to follow. Ragen’s eyes were watching with intent to follow, but he was currently tied up being fitted by Ida for a new wardrobe.
Mykie was leaning against the front of the cabin, lighting a joint in the dark of night. Her foot propped against the wall was casual, but her pinched expression betrayed her.
“What’s going on?” I asked, resting beside her.
She took a long drag. “The scenery is justsoooonice. I thought I’d enjoy it for a bit.” The sarcasm in her voice was tangible. Her hand waved loosely toward the horde of beasts waiting around the border for scraps. At least they were being mostly quiet tonight—maybe confused why I hadn’t killed these intruders yet. “You want some?”
“Sure,” I said, not expecting her to pull a second joint from her pocket and light it for me. But that’s what she did.
I took the offering, inhaling and exhaling the herby smoke. “Hard to know what to do with your hands, right?” I asked gently.
She sighed. “And my mouth.”
“No, your mouth is blabbing at its usual rate,” I teased. “I’ve never seen Vivian laugh so much.”
“It’s when I’m not talking that it feels weird.” Her ears tilted back against her head.
“You entirely done with it?” I didn’t need to say “alcohol”, we both knew what was up. One year ago, she would’ve shown up with a couple of bottles of hard liquor and not had any to leave with. This event was sober aside from the mild blunt.
“I guess I’m just taking it one day at a time. I was done with it yesterday. And the hundred days before that. And I’m done with it today. Gonna try to be done with it tomorrow. They have me on a pill to make itsafe. Did you know it’s not safe to stop drinking? It’ll kill me if I continue but couldalsokill me if I just give it up and move on with my life without medical intervention. How fucking fun to learn that.”
I’d listened to Mykie talk about things that upset her more times than I could count, but this was the first instance whereshe was sober for it. I felt some relief that our friendship wasn’t dependent on me being her bartender. “Something tells me it wasn’t the fear of death that made you want to quit.”
She grinned, smoke escaping between her triangular teeth. “Call me on it why don’t you?” She flicked the glowing head of ash to the ground. “Some days I’m doing it for me. Some days for Ragen. Some days I keep going just because it’s easier than starting all over again.”
There it was, another intimate connection to Ragen. I knew when to push and when to hold back. Now wasn’t the time to ask about her relationship status.
“There’s some logomé in the cabinet,” I offered. “If you want something to drink that isn’t water, ask Vivian if you can have somecoffee.”
“You know what friend,” she said as her hand smacked against my shoulder in a firm pat, “that might be just what I need.”
Mykie pressed her joint into her arm scales and watched it fizzle out before turning to go inside. I looked back toward the field and took another pull. Despite the wall of beastly skulls watching from the distance, it was gorgeous outside.
A moment later, Mitus appeared through the opened door. The overwhelming urge to leave tingled up my spine, causing me to shiver. I avoided small talk with him on principle, not wanting him to think of us as friends. The last thing he needed was that level of betrayal.
“Hey,” he said, standing stiffly where Mykie had just been. “Care to share?”
I passed him the blunt. “All yours, I’m done with it.”
I was hoping that’d be a convenient out, but he spoke before I had the chance to start walking away.
