Page 121 of Tortured Soul
“I’m good,” I clipped.
He tilted his head to the side. “You, a notorious coffee addict, are refusing the one I’m offering?”
My throat bobbed.
Yeah, I guess I couldn’t have been more obvious in my blatant distrust.
He took a long sip from it, not letting go of my gaze. His eyes looked strange…a bit red, but somehow their blue was brighter.
“See? Not poisoned. And black, no sugar, no milk. Just like you asked when I retrieved you at the barrier.”
My heart made a strange loop in my chest at the faint gleam in his eyes. Was that a peace offering, or was this, once again, going to escalate and turn into a fight?
I weighed my words in my head before I ultimately answered, “Thank you, but I’m good. I’m supposed to meet Marcus for coffee.”What a liar.
Although, it would give me the opportunity to finally get the very few items that I had left there.
His coffee handing hand lowered slightly as he nodded. I didn’t wait for him to say anything else as I turned around and left, walking as fast as I could to escape the house and the two men living in it.
I’d have plenty of time in the future to be stuck with them, I might as well enjoy a little air now.
I didn’t know why I was so surprised to see that the key still opened the door. Was I expecting them to change the locks or something? Maybe.
I placed it in the bowl on the console before taking off my shoes and walked up to the kitchen.
Marcus lifted his eyes from his cereal box and his jaw dropped before he grinned.
“Fancy seeing you here,” he said and I rolled my eyes.
“Amazing what just a couple of weeks can do to your attitude,” I crooned.
He shrugged. “You grew on me. I kind of miss your brat energy around here now.”
I chuckled, going to the coffee machine to pour myself one, only for him to stand up and gently push me away, pressing on my shoulders to sit me at my usual spot.
“You know I know how to use it, right? Also, I’ve only been away for like…three nights.”
He gave me a playful look. “You’re a guest now, and you’ve been through enough since you got here. You canat leastlet other people take care of your coffee when they offer. After all, weallknow coffee is the way to your heart.”
My throat bobbed, struggling to swallow through the dryness.Maybe I should have accepted Carter’s peace offering…
“And second,” he continued, “the apartment has been too quiet these last three nights.”
“Come on,” I groaned. “We always argued at least once every evening only to end up scrolling our phones in silence on opposite sides of the couch while the TV played in the background.”
He sighed, pressing the button to pour the coffee. “Ah, I miss the good old days. Now I’m scrolling on my phone alone, and no one chuckles or scoffs next to me to the point that I’m getting irritated. It feels sad.”
I turned my head just enough to meet his eyes, a playful expression plastered on his face.
“You’re full of shit.” I laughed.
He placed the cup in front of me before sitting back on his seat, plunging his whole arm into the cereal box.
“So, how’s life with your two…mates?” He winced the word. “Sorry, I’ve known from the start, but it’s still hard to picture them getting along with a woman who’s not Carrie or Ann.”
A groan escaped me as I took the first sip of the burning drink.
“We’re not getting along, so you can stop trying to picture it. And I’d rather not talk about it. Carter and I fought again, and I had to spend most of my evening plucking shards of glass out of his back and wings.”
