Siren's Mark

Chapter 11

𝔸𝕧𝕒

"I want you??" Jen squeals. "He actually said that??"

Jen turns to me in shock, her hands slightly turning the wheel. I grab the wheel to steady it.

"Geez, Jen, watch the road!" I shriek.

"I'm sorry, I'm just stunned. Like, what kind of Jane Austen crap is this? People don't say this stuff in real life. Especially men! So, are you guys a thing now?"

"I don't know..." I say with a shrug.

Are we a thing? We have this whole conversation, but then we never really got into details. It seems like we are... maybe a thing? Or on our way to becoming one?

"How do you not know?" she asks.

"Well, you walked in during our conversation and we never really got a chance to finish it."

"My bad, I didn't expect you to be having this intense moment in the hospital at 7:30 in the morning. Really, I should've known."

Jen has always had quite a penchant for sarcasm.

"I'm not blaming you," I say. "I'm just saying I don't know. I think we're not-not a thing."

"Well that's helpful," she says. "You've gotta keep me updated on your not-not boyfriend then."

I roll my eyes and rest my forehead on the passenger side window.

"Ow!" I yelp, having just leaned directly on my wound.

"Don't put pressure on it!" she scolds. "You just got stitches! You could pop them!"

"I didn't do it on purpose! And it was only two stitches; it'll heal fast."

She chuckles for a moment.

"Shayna said the bar is gonna be closed tonight while they clean up. Sounds like it was a real mess. You're gonna have to watch who you kiss, or lover boy's gonna tear up the whole town."

"I don't plan on kissing random strangers anytime soon, thanks. I've learned my lesson."

"And you've got the wound to prove it!" she says with a laugh.

"Oh, shut up. You're just gonna mock a poor, helpless, injured lady?"

"Only because she totally has it coming for all the times she has mocked me."

As we pull into the parking lot of my apartment building, I notice a familiar white Range Rover in the parking lot.

Shit.

It's Mike.

****

"If it's Mike's car, then why isn't he in it?" Jen asks as we step out of the car.

We turn the corner toward my apartment and I instantly recognize Mike's silhouette in front of my door.

"Hey," he says softly. His hands are tucked in the pockets of his jeans and he's shifting awkwardly back and forth.

"Hi Mike," I say.

He seems to register that I have a bandage across my forehead.

"Jesus Christ, Ava, what happened?!" he gasps.

Jen pulls me aside and asks me if I want her to stay or give us some privacy. I tell her to go and she leaves as I turn my attention back to Mike.

"Hey," I say as I unlock the door. "Come in, we'll talk."