Siren's Mark

Chapter 10

ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

"Well, that was fun," Kieran says with a chuckle.

Fun is not the word I would use. I rest my head in my hands. The hospital lobby is surprisingly quiet, even for 11 at night.

I'm such a fucking twat.

This girl has made me bloody crazy. When I look at her, she somehow—against my will—manages to make me feel things.

Kami sits beside me, draping her legs casually over the metal arms of the blue upholstered chair.

"Okay, what the heck, Zane?" she asks.

"I dunno. Fuck." I sigh.

"You lost your shit back there, man," Kieran says, grabbing a magazine and taking a seat in the corner. "I'm supposed to be the one with the temper."

"She makes me so goddamn angry that I just want to fucking..."

"Strangle her?" Kami asks.

"Kiss her," I say. The words leave my lips before I have a chance to filter them out. Kieran lets out a laugh in the corner.

I shoot him a deadly glare. "If you want to keep your tongue, I suggest you shut your fucking mouth, Kieran."

He mimes zipping his mouth shut. If only he could do that for real.

"And you thought the best way to make your feelings known to her was to say shitty things to her and get into a screaming match in a bar before beating some guy she was kissing to a pulp?" Kami asks.

Well sure, when you say it like that, it sounds like a bad plan.

"Kieran's right," she says. "Your game is shit."

Kieran tries to muffle his laugh. I think seriously about giving him an impromptu tongue-ectomy.

"I don't know how to do this, Kami. I know how to talk to every bloody person on the planet. Immortal, human, everyone. Everyone but her."

"You're used to always getting what you want," she says. "Me too. I get it."

She's right. I hate the idea of Ava wanting someone that's not me.

Does that mean I'm jealous?

No.

Yes.

Fuck.

"So kiss her or work your touchy voodoo, man," Kieran says. "Can't you just make her like you?"

I've controlled people with my powers in the past, used a kiss or two to stir up a little romance. But Ava is different. I want her to actually want me, not just because she has to.

"I want it to be real with her," I say.

"Jesus, Zane," Kami says. "This girl has really done something to you."

You have no bloody idea.

"Well," she says. "You should probably start by not telling her you're gonna go fuck other girls. Didn't appreciate that by the way. Ew... No thank you."

"Yeah, sorry, I was caught up in the moment. She seemed jealous of you and I wanted to use it against her."

The words sound disgusting as they make their way to my ears. I'm a giant fucking twat.

"You know, you could have tried telling her we were just friends."

"Yeah, but I'm a giant fucking twat."