Siren's Mark

Chapter 28

𝔸𝕧𝕒

Jen hands me a cup of tea as she slumps next to me on my couch. I'm wrapped in a blanket because I'm feeling shitty, as usual. My head is pounding and it feels like bugs are crawling under my skin.

"Have you finally talked to Shayna?" I ask, taking a sip of my tea.

Almost instantly, I burn my tongue and pant like a maniac trying to cool it.

Hot. Hot. Hot.

"I did actually!" she proclaims proudly.

"Really?? It only took like... a month and a half of hiding your ex-girlfriend in your own home." I smirk as she slugs me in the shoulder with a pillow.

"I see how it is, hater," she says with a playful glare.

"I'm mostly kidding," I say. "How'd it go?"

"She said she's okay with it! So I guess I worried for nothing."

"Well, that's a relief at least."

I take another sip of my tea and immediately regret it, burning my tongue again.

Why do I literally always do this?

"Yeah," she says, reaching into her purse and handing me a white bag. "Here's your prescription, girlie."

"Oh thank you for picking this up, you're my hero."

"No problem. What is it, though? The pharmacist insisted on telling me all of these scary side effects: seizures, face swelling, paranoia... and I swear she said dizziness, but isn't that one of the symptoms you're trying to treat?"

I laugh. "Yeah, that's pretty much common for everything they give me. Helps with one thing, messes up another thing."

She grabs the information sheet and reads it over.

"'Not breathing'??" Jen gasps. "How is that a side effect?? And how is that not just called 'death'?"

I giggle as she continues reading.

"'Pale lips'?" she continues. "Well yeah, no shit if you're not breathing!"

"So basically, I'm going to be a zombie."

"'Experiencing things that are not real'? What the heck is this nightmare drug?"

"They want me to try it for the pain and headaches. They said if it works then we'll know it's a neurological problem. So it's like a test run for a few weeks."

"A test run that could end in death?" Jen scrunches her face. "Heck, every time I talk to you I remember how totally insane the medical industry is."

"Glad I can be your education," I say sarcastically.

ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

After my conversation with Kami, I drove straight over to Pike's. I'm getting to the bottom of this right now.

The door swings open to reveal a mostly-empty bar, which I would expect for midday.

"We're not open yet," Kieran's voice shouts from the back room.

"Well, look who it is! He lives!" Kieran says as he emerges.

I'm not really in the mood for his usual rubbish right now.

"After last Thursday, I assumed Ava had fucked you into a coma or something!" he says, adjusting things behind the bar as I approach.