After she helped Emily cope with someone lying to her for way longer. No hypocrisy on her part there. Nope. Damn, she needed to tell her friends.
✥ ✥ ✥
What was Emily going to be doing? Probably lying in bed, refusing to get up, maybe with a bottle of whiskey to keep her company. She always went to whiskey when she was drinking to get drunk. Hannah tried to think of what she could do to help her. They had time for a quickie, barely, if that was what took, but she felt like getting some food in Emily would probably be a better plan. What would Emily like most? Hannah had never seen her like this before, so she had never had to figure out the best comfort food. Maybe something fried and some chocolate?
With sandwiches and a giant chocolate-covered doughnut in the shape of genitals in the back of the car, Hannah drove home. They definitely didn’t have time for that quickie now, so she hoped she’d chosen right.
Locking the door behind her, Hannah climbed down the steps to their apartment, expecting to find the place quiet. Instead, she heard music coming from her right and smelled waffles. Well, at least that meant she’d chosen something in the right ballpark. “Babe?” she called.
“Hey, Hannah.” Emily smiled at her from over the waffle iron. “Do you want any food?”
So much for her being all depressed and hiding under the covers. “I actually got you something.”
Looking surprised, Emily turned, smile faltering for a fraction of a second. “Oh? What’d you get me?”
“Roast beef and cheese and a doughnut.”
“Well, I’m pretty hungry, so split this waffle with me, and I can still eat all that?”
Hannah hadn’t been able to afford a doughnut for herself, so that sounded pretty good. “Yeah, sure. You feeling okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Hannah stared. Should she say it? She didn’t want to drag Emily back down, especially when she needed to go to work. “No reason, I guess?”
“I missed too much work over the weekend, so I wanted to make sure I had enough carbs to get through the day.”
“Like you ever need that excuse.”
“Waffles are good, okay?” She reached toward the iron protectively, keeping it safe from anyone who would dare criticize its importance.
“Yeah. That’s why I’m eating half, remember?”
Emily brought it over to their little table and drizzled syrup on top. “Work go okay?”
“Yeah, it was fine. There was a minor issue from billing, so I had to actually look over the transaction myself and fix the error, but we caught it in time. Mostly, it was just a normal day.” She grinned. For years, she’d been waiting for a normal day, and despite all the magical insanity going on in the background, she was thrilled to find that it was really happening. A nice accounting job and a beautiful woman to come home to. All of her dreams were coming true, and she had superstrength to boot.
“Where’s the sandwich?”
Hannah set the bags by the waffle, and Emily tore one open. “Mine is the turkey with lettuce and mayo.”
“Yep, this one’s yours.” She shoved it aside and reached for her own. “I’m glad your work is going well. I know how worried you were about it.”
“I wasn’t that worried.”
Emily smirked. “Of course not. Well, I have a bunch of crazy drunks at Ragnarok to deal with pretty soon, so thank you for this.”
“It’s no problem.”
“Really, honey…it means a lot.”
Grinning, Hannah bit into her own sandwich. “Well, I’m glad I could help. I know how rough yesterday was for you, and I wanted to look after you.” Shit. She had decided not to bring that up. Wow, it had only taken her five minutes to screw up.
“I told you, I’m fine.”
“Babe—”
Emily held up her hands. “No. I’m okay. You don’t need to worry. I’m a big girl, and I don’t need you looking after me. I appreciate the food, really, but I promise I’m okay. Just let me be.”
“But, Emily…”
“No. It’s okay.” She ripped off a chunk of the sandwich and swallowed it before adding, “A lot happened the last couple weeks. Found out that a lot of things I believe about myself were wrong, so it makes sense that the entire basis of my friendship with my best friend for the last eight years would be a lie too. I don’t feel like dealing with it. I processed enough last night. I just want to shove some food in my face and go bartend.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”
“That’s never how I deal with stuff. Now, please, can we drop it?”
Hannah didn’t want to. She wanted to work through this and figure out how to make sure Emily’s friendship with Alys could continue. Anger tearing things apart was never worth it, no matter how justified that anger was, so long as everyone still cared about each other. “Okay.”
Emily sighed, turning her gaze from the bread-load of beef back to Hannah. “If I promise to talk to them on my day off, will it make it easier for you?”
“A little.”
“Okay. Fine. I can do that. They might have some useful information anyway. They sure as hell know what’s going on better than we do.”
“Thank you.”
“Since I have to do that, when are you going to tell Megan and April?”
Hannah’s eyes widened, and she wished that she had gone with the quickie idea. She was trying so hard not to think about it, and Emily just had to bring it up. Food gave too much time for talking. “I don’t wanna.”
“If I have to talk to my friend after everything, then you can certainly do the same.”
“But what if they think I’m crazy?”
“Hannah, you can lift a fucking car one-handed.”
Hannah kicked the table, sending it a few feet away and leaving Emily with nowhere to set her sandwich. “But that doesn’t mean the other stuff is any more believable.”
“It convinced me.”
With a sigh and another groan, Hannah shrugged. “I’ll talk to them.”
“Try to do it soon. I can say firsthand how bad it feels to have these secrets kept from you. It’s already been a week. Don’t make it any more than that.”
“I’ll invite them over.”
“Please do.”
Sinking into the chair, Hannah tried to avoid meeting her gaze. She’d been trying to make sure that Emily took care of herself and did what was best for her friendship. It was no fair having that turned around on her. She took another bite to avoid having to say anything more.
“You’re wonderful, and I love you.” Emily’s voice sounded so soothing. She probably felt she’d gone too far by comparing Hannah’s behavior to Alys’s.
“Love you too.”
Emily finished her sandwich and waffle, gave Hannah a syrupy kiss, and grabbed the doughnut box. “I’m heading to work. I’ll eat this in the car. You have fun with Megan and April.”
Hannah glared back.
“It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“I guess. Have a good night at work.”
“I will. Have to get chewed out for missing the last two days first.”
“Think you’ll get fired?”
Emily shook her head, her usual confident smile returning. “Not a chance. I’ve been there for years, and they love me. I can miss the occasional few days without any problem.”
“Okay.” That made her feel a bit better. At least that fight with Alys wouldn’t cost Emily her job or anything. They exchanged another kiss, and Emily left, leaving Hannah alone with her phone and the knowledge of exactly who she had to deal with. Eventually she’d be able to work up the nerve to call them, to confess everything, but first, she decided to finish her waffle and have a beer.
Chapter Twenty
Hannah stared at her phone. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out why this was as scary as it was. Even coming out hadn’t been this scary, though she had cowered from it for a long time and avoided letting anyone other than Megan know
in high school. So maybe it was exactly as scary as coming out. “What do I even say?” she whined. “Well, turns out I used to be a guy…not like that.” Groaning, she sank into the couch, trying to force herself to call, or at least text, her friends.
She had a few texts from both of them, as well as Facebook notifications, and an entire conversation in their group chat. It had been over a week since she’d last talked to the people who she’d rarely gone more than a day without talking to. They likely suspected it was due to her internship, and she’d wanted to let them continue believing that. But now she couldn’t hide it any longer, not if she wanted things to go any better than they did for Emily and Alys.
Could you two come over tonight? It’s important. She clicked send in the group chat before she had a chance to reconsider, grateful that in her haste, she’d managed to avoid any serious typos. She let the phone fall onto the hardwood and threw her arm over her eyes. She was beyond terrified. They were going to think she was insane.
The fact that she could prove her claim did little to make her feel better.
Grabbing another drink from the fridge, she put a show on and tried to pay attention. It didn’t work for the first show or the second or even the third. She’d only made it a few minutes into each one, so she decided to see if the fourth time was a charm and drained the rest of her beer.
Her phone chimed. Almost too scared to answer it, Hannah stared at the screen on the floor. The preview at the top of the screen showed April: Of course! I’ve missed you. I can’t wait… Her desire to see the rest of the message overcame her increasing aversion to dealing with her friends—or perhaps all Midgardians—and she snatched up the phone. …to tell you about everything that’s happened. Life has been all over the place for me, but I’ll tell you all about it in person. Want me to make anything? the message continued.
It certainly beat having to cook. Do you still have that vegan mac and cheese recipe? Make that. Also garlic bread. Apparently, the sandwich and waffle hadn’t been enough. There were some downsides to being a god, and it mostly went into the grocery budget.
Of course. The response came a few minutes later. Haven’t had it since that attempt. I may need to go shopping, but it sounds great. 7:30?
As Hannah started typing that she didn’t want April to go to any trouble, a message from Megan came in. Garlic bread sounds great. 7:30 works for me. I can’t stay too late though. Academy has been kicking my ass.
For some reason, it was starting to seem less scary. Maybe she just needed reminding of the fact that these two had gone through everything with her and were likely to take this new revelation as well as anyone could possibly be expected to. Awesome. I’ll see you then. She added several heart emojis and a smile and sent the message. Now she just had to figure out how to tell them.
The beer and TV didn’t seem to have any answers. She tried looking online, but apparently, her situation was surprisingly unique. Lifting a car it was, then.
✥ ✥ ✥
We’re almost there. Want to meet us at the bus stop? Damn it. Hannah had been hoping that Megan had a car already. Now what was she going to lift? Throwing on her shoes, she ran up to the other end of Lents park to wait for them. Fortunately, it was a short ride from the school, so at least the trip probably wasn’t too bad.
After a couple minutes of pacing, the bus pulled to a stop in front of her, and after one other person, her friends climbed out. April threw her arms around Hannah, and Megan promptly joined in. “It’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Work been keeping you that busy?” Megan asked as they pulled apart.
“Kind of.” She was supposed to stop lying. Why was it so difficult to be honest about finding out that she was a Norse god? It wasn’t like she was on drugs. Though it might sound like she was, and some drugs could give superstrength. That could be a problem. “What about you two? I went through the texts I missed. Congrats on those dates with the new guy, April. Three in one week? I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, I think Ben and I may actually get together. I haven’t had a steady boyfriend in a while. I’m kind of nervous.”
“Oh, come on. It hasn’t been that long.”
“A month or so. Ben seems like the kind of guy that things could be serious with. I’m not saying we’re running off and getting married or anything—”
Hannah chuckled. “Of course, that’s more my style.”
“If you and Emily eloped and you didn’t invite me, I will actually stop being your friend.”
“We didn’t.”
“And she didn’t propose?” April stopped in the path, her eyes narrowing and planting Hannah in a withering glare.
“No. And before you ask, I didn’t either.” Hannah tried to sound annoyed, but she was grinning too broadly for it to be believable. It was so nice spending time with her friends again. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed them. “I promise, I wouldn’t get married without you.”
“Damn right,” Megan said.
“You’d better not. And maybe I’ll be able to bring Ben as my date.” She was grinning even wider than Hannah. “We’re gonna have ‘the talk’ soon. I want him to be my boyfriend, and I think he wants that too, and I’m very annoyed that you’ve been away, and I haven’t been able to gush about him to you. I had to talk to Megan. She’s terrible at this stuff.”
“It’s true.”
They went around the back of the house, and Hannah let them into the apartment. “What about you, Megan? Any cute boys in your class? I’m sure you must’ve suplexed someone and had them go all crazy for you.”
“We don’t suplex.”
“Really?”
“We have other throws.” She collapsed into the couch. “But, no. No guys have been interested in me.”
Hannah cocked her head, staring. “No guys? Not no one?”
Her cheeks colored. “Well, obviously, it was unrequited.”
She grinned at her. “It sure doesn’t look it.”
“I’m not into girls.”
“Well, clearly you fooled her.”
April ran in from the kitchen. “I didn’t have time to cook, but I brought all the ingredients. But who’s the girl, Megan? You haven’t told me anything.”
She groaned, leaning back in the couch. “Because there’s nothing to tell. She’s interested, she thought I was gay, I’m not, so nothing’s happening.”
Hannah beamed. “Sure you don’t want to give it a chance?”
“If I was going to, it would’ve been back when you had that crush on me in high school.”
She stared, her jaw dropping. “Wait. What? No. How did you know?”
“You’re really not subtle,” April said. “Not that I was there, but I can’t imagine you managing to hide it.”
“Yeah,” Megan agreed. “I actually thought about it too, but I didn’t think I could handle it. Besides, you were already my best friend, and I wasn’t going to jeopardize that.”
Hannah shuffled her feet as she considered her responses. She wanted to run away and hide in the bedroom, but they were only staying for a little while, and she didn’t have time to waste. “Need any help in the kitchen?” she asked, turning to April for a rescue.
“Sure, why not.”
Half an hour later, they sat in the living room with mac and blended potato, onion, garlic, and yeast, as well as some garlic bread. “So, I’ve been trying to give you time, but what is it that’s so urgent?” Megan asked. “A week with no word, then you say to come over and that it’s important, and you have yet to say anything more on the subject. Is everything okay with you and Emily?” She took a bite, her eyes lit up, and she took another.
Oh, I’m a god. Did I not say? She wondered if saying that would actually go any worse than her actual plan. “It’s been really complicated. Not her and me—well, sort of—but we’re great. I…” She sighed, touching her forehead to her knees as she tried to figure out any way to not sound insane.
“What?�
�� April asked. They were all on the couch. Maybe she should demonstrate it first and explain everything later.
“Let me show you.” Standing, Hannah turned around and bent low, setting her feet firm on the ground as she slid her hands underneath the couch.
“Wha—”
Before Megan could finish the word, Hannah lifted them off the ground. She had to stop short lest she smash their heads into the ceiling. That hadn’t occurred to her until it was almost too late. “So. I’m Thor. Reincarnated. Emily is Sif. Our grown-up god kids came to Earth and told us. I figured this would be the easiest way to tell you. Please don’t hate me. I promise I’m not on drugs.”
Jaw almost on the floor and eyes bulging, Megan seemed at a loss for words as the couch touched the floor again.
“Like, the actual god, Thor? Like, he’s, she’s…you’re real?” April looked almost as startled, but she was taking it better than Megan.
“Yeah.”
“You have lightning powers?”
“No.” She sulked. “Apparently, that’s a misinterpretation of the mythology…history? Terminology is complicated. It’s real, though. I’ve been to Asgard. Well, not Asgard exactly, but the world it was in before it was destroyed. I can’t think of the name of it right now. I crossed the Rainbow Bridge.” Realization dawned on her. “I can show you. Come on, we can go right now.”
Megan shook her head, her mouth still hanging open.
“And you’re sure?” April asked, looking between her and the couch, gripping the cushion for support. “I mean, you don’t seem any crazier than usual, and you just lifted something pretty heavy.”
“I can lift a car, no problem. I just don’t have one in my apartment.” She looked about the room, searching for anything more impressive to pick up. “Is there anything that would prove it better?”
Thor: Daughter of Asgard Page 17
