“Never,” they said at the same time. Danzig tucked his phone away. That reminded me of my own issue.
“I need to get a new phone. Mine stopped working a few days ago, and I had to dig out my old one. Thankfully the SIM card worked when I put it back in this one. It's doing the job but likes to overheat.”
Marduk winced. “I'll pick you up a new phone on the way in. Who's your carrier? What kind of phone do you like?”
“You don't have to do that,” I said when Danzig opened a kitchen drawer and tossed Marduk the dead phone.
“Here's the one that doesn't work. I found it when I was looking for a spoon earlier.”
Marduk caught it with one hand. “Great. I'll get you the same one or better.”
I gave up. “Fine, but if they don't have one in stock, then don't bother.”
Danzig held up his perfectly working phone, displaying the time. “Don’t we need to leave now or you’re going to be late?”
I nodded, grabbed my keys and purse, and we all walked out together. It really wasn't that early, but I'd never been a morning person.
Marduk veered off to a parking spot with two motorcycles in it, while Danzig stayed close to me. I glanced up at his scarred forehead.
“How are you feeling?”
He reached up and ran his finger over the healed wound. “It’s a little tender but doesn’t hurt.”
I shook my head, marveling over it. “Something like that would've put me in the hospital for weeks.”
“We Jörmungandrs are tough, even in the magical world,” he said.
“I'm glad for that,” I said as I got in.
“Our mom says the same thing,” Danzig said, eyeing the passenger seat.
The vehicle was nice, but also an average sized four-door sedan. The size meant that Danzig had to squeeze himself inside. I winced a little as he wiggled around and adjusted the seat, trying to get comfortable.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
He stopped moving and looked up at me with confusion. “Why are you sorry?”
“Because you’re uncomfortable?”
He still looked confused. “How is that your fault?”
I opened my mouth, about to answer, then stopped. Why was I apologizing because he was so large that my perfectly average-sized car was too tight for him?
“I think it’s because of my ex,” I said, realizing I’d gotten in the habit of taking responsibility for everything. “I arranged everything about our lives, so when anything went wrong or wasn’t entirely right, it was my fault.”
Danzig made a derisive snort. “The guy sounds dumb. Could he even tie his own shoes?”
I chuckled, feeling so much better with Danzig’s easy humor and kindness. “Probably not.”
“Let’s get this thing going,” he said, patting the dashboard. “The sooner we leave here, the sooner we can hit a drive-through coffee shop and get something fancy that Marduk will hate.”
That made me full-out laugh. “Further proof that you’re siblings."
“Oh, you have no idea,” he said with a mischievous grin.
Danzig
Living as long as we did mean dealing with tedious situations became easy, almost routine. However, it turned out I liked spending time with Bec at the office. It was much nicer than the parking lot or coffee shop.
