April, 2019

My head was spinning before I even opened my eyes, so I knew facing the day was going to be a hellish experience. Nonetheless, after giving myself a few moments to grip onto the sheets and ground myself in which way gravity was pulling me, I reluctantly squinted open my eyes.

Just as expected, the world was whirling, inhibiting me from recognising which way was up or down.

But a familiar figure sitting in a chair ended up pulling me back, centering me in the room. The double vision of him eventually merged into one as I locked eyes with his brilliant blue ones.

Though unlike every other morning that I had woken up in a stranger's bed, this time Ben wasn't sporting his usual disappointed gaze. No... This time he almost seemed... smug.

Immediately, I began to feel myself sobering up as my heart quickened in my chest.

Because exactly who did I sleep with last night to make him actually... happy?

Though an inkling of the who slowly began to dawn on me as my eyes darted around the room, taking in the decor and colour palette.

Fuck, was my first thought as my eyes took in the corals, peaches, and whites.

Fuck fuck, was my second thought as I noted the tufts, fluffs, and tassels hanging off the pillows and tapestries adorning this particular girl's room... one of those responsible for the decor of the rest of the house.

Fuck fuck fuck, was my third and final thought as a tanned arm threw itself over my body, a perfectly manicured hand filling my vision. Through the process of elimination, I had some inkling of who this was now.

Faye was too dark-skinned for it to be her.

Jade and Theodora were as pasty as me.

Which meant it had to be...

I rolled over in her embrace, eyes hesitantly seeking out the expected face.

And, sure enough, beautiful swirling locks of blonde cascaded over her tanned, round cheeks, finding the perfect places to cover her naked breasts.

A pink plushness coated her ridiculously full lips.

And thick, long eyelashes that brushed her cheekbones were quick to flutter open under my terrified gaze, revealing the hypnotic seafoam eyes that laid beneath.

I was greeted instantly with a pearly grin before Serena's sirenic voice graced me with a melodic, "Morning, Ollie."

At once I sat up, the sheet falling down from me, exposing my also naked body.

Eyes wide in alarm, I yanked the fabric back up, concealing myself as I scanned the room for any clue of what happened last night. And, sure enough, my dress lay discarded by the door, my bra hung over her chair, and my underwear was right by the bed... and accompanying my clothes around the room were what I assumed were hers.

"Did we—" I started to ask.

But her enchanting voice cut all questions from coming out of my mouth. And, somehow, she made the words she spoke sound like a song, despite their crudeness. "Fuck like our lives depended on it?" She leaned close to my ear. "Oh, you bet. I've been desperate for a taste of you since Ben brought you into our lives... But unfortunately you had been off-limits for so long. And then you disappeared! Though, to my luck, I ran into you last night before anyone could snatch you again. I've always wanted to finger a Fairy."

My mouth went dry as I pulled away from her, desperately trying to swallow so that I could speak.

But what could I say?

Somehow, in this vast city, I ran into her... on my birthday of all days. And somehow I was so distracted or drunk enough I followed...

I shook the assumptions from my head as my brows knotted together, a new line of thoughts coming to the fore.

I've never been this drunk that I didn't remember the previous night... But no matter how hard I try... I can't remember meeting her at the club.

Which left me with only one question to ask. "Did you use your siren magic on me to get me here?" I whispered, fear caressing every syllable in my tone. Because there had been only a few times in my memory where I had blanks like this—a couple from Lukas when time jumped too far after he evidently wiped something from me and that time I met his mother.

"Oh honey," she laughed, "I didn't even have to try that hard. I mean, I started using it when I ran into you. You seemed so scared when we locked eyes like you were avoiding any of us knowing you were back."

A chill washed through me as I wondered if this was something I admitted to her last night in my stupor... or if she just could guess as much by the expression on my face.

"But once you had another drink in your hand and were possessed by the music... it seemed you didn't care who I was. You were too lost in trying to forget whatever was going on up here." She gently tapped a finger to my temple, a slight cloud washing over her expression as she looked at me with the first genuine emotion I had seen cross her face this morning... almost as if she were worried for me. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared.

"So you tried to siren me?"

"Mhmm." Her hand reached for my hair, toying with my locks but I kept flinching backwards, away from her affection.

"But didn't in the end?" I needed answers. And I wouldn't let myself get pulled into her magical allure before I got them.

"Well... it wasn't necessary. Why waste effort trying to make you think you wanted me when you already did?"

With that, I heaved a sigh and leaned forward, snagging my underwear from the ground. "You know, even if you didn't use it on me, you can't just do that to people. They should be able to make up their own minds about who they want to... fall for." I was sure my choice of words weren't right, but I was too desperately in need of a coffee and a longer nap to overcome this hangover than to find the correct terminology.

Nonetheless, sobering me slightly more was her next comment. "I don't use it often, Ollie. Only when people seem to need it to let loose. And, when I first saw you, you seemed very troubled..."

It didn't take long for flashes of that alley to come back to my mind. The very memory I had been trying to escape last night still haunted me in harrowing echoes. But I shook it away and climbed out of bed, quickly darting to the desk to retrieve my bra.

"But when I started to try to lure you in," she went on, ignoring my obvious hurry to retreat, "I must say... I was surprised to learn it wasn't your first time with siren magic."

I cocked an eyebrow at her, pausing after I finished hooking my bra together. "You know it wasn't. Faye used it on me that time during dinner."

A coy smile coaxed its way onto her face as she climbed her way across the bed, closer to me, her hair still forming a convenient curtain, concealing her most revealing parts. "As someone well-experienced with Faye's siren... trust me when I say it wasn't hers. In fact... it wasn't anyone's I recognised... But the magic was... familiar. They're really rare, but... I could swear it was a Triton."

"A Triton?" I countered. "What's that?"

Her eyes danced over me, as if weighing up the cost of telling me this information. But then a smirk spread across her face like she had come to a conclusion. "If I'm to tell you, then you're going to have to promise me something."

"What?" I sighed, already growing tired of the games she kept playing. Mermaids... they're a nightmare. I don't know how Erica could deal with Faye as a partner.

"That you'll stay for the day."

"I... I can't. I've really got to—"

"Run away from us?"

My retort fell short as she quickly yanked away my cover, revealing the lies I was going to hand her.

Her face then went serious before she said, "You hurt a lot of people when you left, Ollie. I'm not going to force you to meet everyone again. But you owe some people an apology. Like your best friend."

Lukas?

"I've never seen Erica so distraught about losing someone. I mean, she didn't even cry as much when Faye broke up with her."

"They broke up?" I demanded, already wanting to run to her and hold her.

A knowing smile crept onto Serena's face. "You'd have known if you kept in touch."

"I..." I was thinking of the best way to tell her how I couldn't. How I needed my space. But, yet again, she displayed my weaknesses in front of me, forcing me to confront the harsh truth of what I had done.

"Behaved like a child who couldn't even take ownership of the friends she had hurt by leaving? You know, Ben wasn't the reason we liked you. Far from it... He was a brother to us, but... You had quickly become part of our family once you first stepped foot into our lives. Ben or not, you're a part of us. And it's not right to leave your family in the middle of the night without a word."

Feeling the guilt swamp me that I had indeed impacted more people than I had thought, I mumbled an, "I'm sorry." Though her words were only a reinforcement of what Ben had been trying to tell me all this time... I needn't have feared coming back to them. I really shouldn't have run from this whole life. There was only the one person who I needed my space from.

"What's in the past is in the past. But you will stay today. And, while you're here, in London, you will slowly make amends."

My head snapped up. "There's some people I can't face again though."

"I won't make you talk to him," she countered, evidently knowing who I was alluding to. "I'm sure he doesn't want to see you either."

Her words hurt more than they should, but I did my best to remain unphased. Because if he hated me, then... this would be easier to keep my distance. Even if he got wind of my being here, it meant he wouldn't come looking for me. And I could live with that.

"Okay. I'll stay. But first you tell me about these Tritons."

Serena agreed to my request, but added a step for me to follow before she would: that I showered, changed into clean clothes, and had some breakfast. Though as I reluctantly agreed to her conditions and struggled to negotiate on the clothes she wanted to loan me, it was hard to ignore how still and silent Ben had been.

And when I snuck a glance his way as Serena turned her back to grab another shirt, I couldn't help but notice the glee and smugness was long gone from his face.

Seeming to feel my worried watching, his eyes ever so slowly met mine, an undeniable guilt consuming his gaze.

I wonder what Ben is feeling guilty about...