Page 54 of Song of Lorelei
“Shut up, Will,” Carrie snapped, stealing a piece of scrap paper from Lorelei’s desk. “It’s not funny!” She balled it up and threw it. It bounced off his forehead, which only made him laugh harder. If anyone knew how to unarm Carrie, it was Will.
Growling with frustration, Carrie whirled back on Lorelei, jabbing a perfectly manicured finger into her chest. “And what did you just say to me?”
Lorelei saw red. She might be cured of her cravings for human flesh, but that wouldn’t stop her from biting the damn thing off. “Don’t touch me,” she hissed, slapping Carrie’s hand away.
Carrie lifted her hand again, like she was going to keep poking her, but paused. Fear flashed across her face, followed by a dawning realization. Her mouth hung open for one long moment before every emotion was replaced with rage. “Oh my god. It WAS YOU! You’re the sea bitch who tried to eat me!” Carrie took a bold step forward and shoved.
Fucking shit fuck. Lorelei caught herself on her desk, claws and teeth elongating. Pushing off, she got into Carrie’s face, gleefully watching the woman’s pupils shrink. “Still might if you touch me one more time,” she snarled.
She didn’t even need to use her siren song. Carrie backed off.
“Why are you two just standing there?” Carrie yelled frantically at Lila and Will. “Call in security!”
“Um. How about you just leave?” Lila folded her arms across her chest and nodded pointedly toward the door.
“Are you serious right now? She’s a flesh-eating monster. We need to report her to the authorities.”
Will rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay. We’ll get right on that, Spamela.”
Carrie shrieked. “What the fuck did you just call me?!”
“Spam-e-la, rhymes with ‘Pamela.’”
“You are unbelievable. How can you side with her? She literally ate a piece of me! I’m going to have trouble walking for the rest of my life!”
For once, he didn’t have a clap back. There really wasn’t one for that.
Sobering, Lorelei pinched the bridge of her nose. She’d always feel terrible for tearing a chunk out of Carrie’s leg, no matter how much this woman infuriated her, but she didn’t hate herself for it. However, now that the cat was out of the bag, she could finally give the apology Carrie was owed.
If only she’d stop yelling long enough to listen.
“How’s it right that she gets away with this?” Carrie continued, gesticulating wildly. “What if I’m not the only one she’s done this to? What if she’s a mermaid serial killer…”
Taking a deep breath, Lorelei cut into the clamor. “I’m sorry.”
The apology surprised the woman enough into momentary silence, so she continued, likely to never get the chance again. “I’m sorry for taking a chunk out of your leg. I hate that I did that, and would take it back if I could, but as much as it’s unforgiveable, that happened during a time when I couldn’t control myself. I had a brain virus, one that’s kind of like rabies, and it hijacked my behavior, cut my decision-making down to base instinct, and drove me to do things I wouldn’t ever do otherwise. But I’m as good as cured now.” Cured was putting it loosely, but she wasn’t about to try explaining how virophages worked. “So, you don’t need to be afraid that something like that will ever happen again, at least, not from me. We might not like each other, but you didn’t deserve that.”
Mouth screwed up into a tight line, angry tears streamed down Carrie’s cheeks. With the heel of her hand, she swiped ferociously at them. “I’ve been scared of my own shadow, every small creak in my house, for a whole year now. I don’t sleep. But when I do, they’re filled with nightmares. You took away my peace, my sense of safety.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for that, too.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do with ‘sorry’? Sorry doesn’t give me back the year I lost. Or my health.”
“I know,” Lorelei repeated, queasy, and at a loss for words.
What could someone say to adequately apologize for that? Or do to make appropriate amends? Saying sorry was easy, but saying sorry in a way that meant something? That took time. And it wasn’t abundantly clear to her yet just how to go about doing that.
Carrie wasn’t done.
“I even bought a gun—and I hate guns.”
There it was. Now that, too, was out in the open.
A sharp, strangled cry erupted from Lila.
“What?” Carrie snapped.
Was she seriously that obtuse?