Author: Emily Goodwin
Date: 2012-04-17 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Mermaids; Romance; Fantasy; Young Adult; Paranormal; Paranormal Romance; New Adult; Urban Fantasy; Adventure; Love
Description: After the brutal and mysterious murder of her sister, Melia is forced to leave her life as a merrow and live on land, pretending to be human. Feeling very much like a fish out of water, Melia struggles to fit in and to accept that the Pacific Ocean she loves so much may never again be her home. Melia is unable to hide her fins from outsider Jamie Forester, who possess the gift to see into the Otherworld. Jamie—and everyone she knows—views her ability as a curse, isolating her from the rest of society. Melia sees the curse as a gift…and a way to find out what really happened to her sister. Eigh

Beyond the Sea

a novel

by Emily Goodwin

©2012 Emily Goodwin

www.emily-goodwin.blogspot.com

Acknowledgments:

I would like to thank everyone who helped make this book possible; those who helped with research, encouraged me to keep writing, took countless pictures of the Pacific Ocean for me, and listened to my theories about merrows and mythology. I owe a big thanks to my editors and beta readers for doing the ‘dirty work’.  You guys are awesome.

To my husband. I love you.

-Chapter 1-

Jamie Forester was different. Always was, always would be. Like her two sisters, she had light brown hair and fair skin. Unlike her sisters, she dyed her hair dark and didn’t go tanning. Also unlike her sisters, Jamie was shy, quirky, and a day dreamer. She preferred the company of books; she read more than she spoke. She didn’t like crowds and wasn’t good at making friends; Lacey Parker had been her only friend since freshman year. She spent Sunday mornings volunteering at the animal shelter and never stayed out late partying (as if she’d ever gotten invited).

She wasn’t athletic, she wasn’t artistic, and she couldn’t carry a tune to save her life. Jasmine, her older sister, was the star of the family. She was smart, pretty, had perfect hair, perfect skin and was an exceptional violinist; it made her parents’ dreams come true when she got that acceptance letter. But even with her off at Princeton, Jamie still felt the cold draft of her sister’s shadow lingering around the house.  She was only two years into her biophysical chemistry degree, and Jasmine was already ahead. Plus she was dating Andy, a ‘super hot’ junior majoring in neuroscience.

Jamie’s little sister, Jill, was two years younger than Jamie. She was tall, thin, pretty and popular. She was the kind of person you either wanted to be friends with or hated. She was fun, flirty, and good at getting her way. And she was cunning, never letting anything or anyone stop her from getting what she wanted. Jill had a new boyfriend almost every other month and had racked up more dating experience in her first year of high school than Jamie ever had in her entire life.

It wasn’t the giant academic shoes to fill or being a forever caterpillar to her sister’s social butterfly that made Jamie feel so alone. In fact, she had a talent too, one rarer than anything her sisters could do. But it was that very talent that isolated Jamie from not only her family- but from most of society.

Jamie had been six years old when her grandpa died. Her family had flown out to Memphis, her mother’s hometown, to stay with her widowed grandmother. The day after the funeral, and Jasmine and Jamie were playing in her grandmother’s small flower garden when Jamie suddenly felt the atmosphere change. Screaming, she ran for the house thinking it would storm. The air always felt like that before a storm. She reached for her mother, needing a reassuring hug to make everything better. After some comfort and a promise that the clear, blue sky would not suddenly turn gray, Jamie pulled away from her mom.

“Why did grandpa change his hair?” she asked, causing her mother, aunt and grandmother to look at her with pressed lips and shake their heads. Of course, they all thought she was thinking of how strange he looked in his coffin, his gray hair plastered over his stiff skinned head, but Jamie protested.

“It’s black. And long.” She pointed at a detached garage, filled with old parts. Restoring cars had been her grandpa’s favorite hobby. “He’s wearing a red shirt and keeps walking in and out of the garage. He won’t answer me.” She frowned, big tears welling up in her eyes.

It was amazing, comforting, and a blessing then. To see the spirit of her grandfather after he had just passed brought closure to the family.  It was a curse now. A curse Jamie hated. A curse her mother no longer wanted to believe in. It was scurrilous, unfair, and cruel. It followed Jamie everywhere she went. She tried to get rid of it. She tried to ignore it. But she couldn’t; it was part of her. It grew with her, evolving in an obstinate fashion. It suffocated Jamie, disturbing her sleep, distracting her studies, refusing to let her socialize…

The ghosts were one thing. Tolerable, even. After all, no one could deny that she saw her grandfather’s spirit. When The Dark Man started haunting Jamie night after night, her parents began to worry. And when she said faeries lived in the garden, they took her to therapy. She eventually learned to just keep her mouth shut. A year passed. She stopped taking the medication. Another year passed, everyone seemed to forget the whole ordeal.

Jamie’s mother blamed her shyness on the fact that they were a military family and moved frequently, just knowing Jamie would grow out of it, when she went to high school. When she got a boyfriend. When she went to college. But Jamie knew it wouldn’t go away. Ever.

Lacey was overweight. She had stringy, thin hair; she was an easy target. And she was the most caring person Jamie had ever met. They became instant best friends, and she believed Jamie since day one. They spent countless nights holding séances, scouring antique stores for ‘magical’ items, sneaking into abandoned buildings in hopes of finding something haunted, and visiting every public garden they could in search of more faeries.

Yes, the entire school thought they were weird. But it didn’t matter because they had each other. They understood each other, knew what it was like to be the odd one out. Aside from Jamie’s abilities to see into the Otherworld, Lacey was just like her. They liked the same food, the same movies, the same music. Both adored Harry Potter, both longed for a magical land to hide away in. Both had fathers in the military. Both had older sisters they would never live up to. They were both going to go to the community college and major in social work. They were going to make a difference in the world, to help unfortunate souls like themselves.

Their senior year would be the best one yet, they just knew it. They had elaborate plans for every long weekend and every holiday break. They saved up all summer to go on a road trip in the fall, to eastern Oregon to visit the Painted Hills. There just had to be magic hidden there, and they would find it.

Jamie should have known the trip would never happen. She started getting a bad feeling a week before Lacey came over crying in the middle of the night. Three days from then, her family was moving to South Carolina. The girls kept in contact, promising to stay friends forever. Lacey made new friends while Jamie didn’t. Lacey got a fresh start, Jamie was stuck. Stuck being the school weirdo, stuck being alone.

Their internet conversations grew fewer and fewer until it was a rare occurrence. For the next two months, Jamie’s mother took her out on Friday nights. They went shopping, ate dinner at every restaurant in San Morado, and saw movies together. They even joined a Tae Bo class. Jamie loved her mother and enjoyed spending time with her, but she knew how much of a feeble excuse hanging out with your mom on a Friday night was for a social life.

Even Jill had to point it out. “You know Mom only takes you shopping in hopes you’ll stop wearing those ugly black clothes,” she stated one Friday night as she checked herself out in the shared bathroom mirror. Jamie knew it was true. Her mother felt sorry for her, was worried about her. She knew her mom was trying to make her happy. Jamie didn’t want to be that pathetic girl anymore. Little did Jamie know that what made her so different would be the catalyst to change everything.

It was Wednesday afternoon. Jamie sat in the back of Mr. Thomson’s chemistry class, tapping her pencil absent mindedly on the table as she tried to figure out her formula. Since Lacey moved, she had no lab partner. It took her twice as long to do the assigned projects, but she didn’t mind, as it gave her an excuse to not talk to anyone. She heard the door open but didn’t look up from her book. The class was nearing the end and everyone was chatting away.

Then the energy shifted. She shot her attention to the front of the room. She noticed her just before the rest of the class did. A hush fell over the room.

“Class, this is Melia VanBurren. Let’s make her feel welcome,” Mr. Thomson said, curiously looking at his new student.

Melia smiled nervously at the class. No one spoke.

“Well, Melia, dear, there are two empty seats in the back.” Mr. Thomson waved at Jamie. “Take your pick.”

At the table next to Jamie sat Peter Anderson. She glanced over at him, taking in the glossy eyed way he stared at Melia. Jamie used to have a crush on Peter. Tall, tan, blonde and muscular, it wasn’t hard to see why. A rim of navy circled his sky blue pupils, Jamie noticed a while back. Girls often spoke about getting lost in his dreamy eyes. He hung out with the popular clique but seemed different from them. Nicer perhaps, not so much of a follower. Peter’s lab partner and former girlfriend, Janet Williams, was out sick today, leaving the seat next to him available.

Jamie couldn’t stand Janet. Janet was overly tan to the point of being orange, wore too much makeup and really lacked all natural beauty. She dressed flashy and was overly confident. She tricked you into thinking she was hot, and never hesitated to put anyone beneath her-literally and figuratively. Jamie’s mother once told her bullies were really sad and lonely on the inside. Well, if that were true, then Janet must have missed out on a lot of hugs as a child.

Melia slowly walked down the aisle of lab tables, her heels softly clicking on the cold, tile floor. Jamie looked down as Melia stepped in between her and Peter’s table, sure she would choose the latter.

“Can I sit here?”

Jamie’s head snapped up. “Uh, s-sure.”

“Thanks.” Melia smiled. Her voice was smooth, alluring, calming. “I’m Melia.”

“Jamie,” she said nervously. She eyed Melia up and down. The girl was freaking gorgeous. She was tall and thin, but not wispy thin. Her breasts were large enough to make Jamie jealous and her white dress hung off her body in an incredibly flattering way, accentuating her flat stomach, narrow waist and curvy rear end. Her legs were long and lean; her feet nestled in expensive, silver Jimmy Choos. Melia sat, tucking her hair behind her ear and looking curiously at the chemistry book. Gold streaked her brunette locks, which, by the way, fell down to her middle back in loose curls. She smiled again at Jamie, flashing captivating sea green eyes and flawless skin. She only wore mascara.

She looks like an eff-ing Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, Jamie thought bitterly, already planning on calling Lacey to vent as soon as she was able, well, if Lacey would answer this time. Melia set her bag on the table. Jamie knew it was designer, like the rest of her ensemble, and knew it cost more than she made all summer.

Something seemed odd about her, and it wasn’t her very forced-sounding introduction or the fact that she was wearing a tennis bracelet with diamonds so large Jamie was sure the thing was worth more than her car. It was the way she looked around the room, nervously, suspiciously, as if she wasn’t sure of what to do. She apprehensively touched the chemistry book, then put her hands in her lap, then nervously yanked on her necklace.

Jamie did what Mr. Thomson asked and shared her book with Melia. She explained the lab project to her and scooted the microscope in the middle. Melia looked at it like it was an alien. Strange, thought Jamie and was relieved when the bell rang. Too enthralled in her new lab partner, she hadn’t realized how fast the remaining time had gone. She jumped up, shoving papers into her folder. Melia sat calmly still, watching the class mill about.

“Need help finding your next class?” Peter asked Melia, smiling in such a charming way that Jamie felt her heart melt.

“Sure,” Melia said, returning his smile. As she rummaged through her purse for her class schedule, Jamie watched Peter look Melia slowly up and down. Melia followed in step behind Peter and paused, turning quickly around. “Bye, Jamie.”

“Uh, bye,” Jamie sputtered. She rushed to her English class and took her seat in the back. To her surprise, Melia walked in, spoke quickly to the teacher, Mrs. Leary, and took the seat behind Jamie. Every male in the room sat up a little straighter, ran a hand over their hair and smiled as Melia passed.

Jamie was jealous. This girl is gorgeous. And probably a total bitch since she looks rich too. It’s not fair, she mentally said with a sigh.  When Mrs. Leary told Melia to borrow someone’s notes to copy, she automatically turned to Jamie. Jamie reluctantly handed Melia her notebook, worried she might flip to a page filled with supernatural inspired drawings.

She followed Jamie down the hall after class. She stopped at a locker, staring at it as if trying to will it to open. Jamie’s heart skipped a beat; that was Lacey’s old locker. She knew the combination and doubted the school had bothered to change it. She also knew that particular locker was hard to open. Lacey had struggled with it until she discovered you had to push the door in while turning the combination lock. Jamie’s own locker was right next to it. She quickly shoved her books inside, preparing to offer help, but was beaten to the job.

Melia was whisked away by three cheerleaders. Kaitlin, a pretty red head, shot a disgusted look at Jamie. After complimenting Melia’s designer handbag for the fourth time, she said, “Ugh, I saw you talking to Jamie Forester. That girl’s a total freak. She thinks she can talk to the dead!” The cheerleaders burst into laughter.

Tears pricked Jamie’s eyes. She pretended not to hear and pushed her head inside her locker, pretending to look for a book. After the little crowd was gone, she grabbed her lunch and ate it in the bathroom. Jamie flew out of her desk at the end of the day. She wanted today to be over with. She didn’t want to look at Melia’s beautiful body or be around anyone who thought she was a ghost-seeing freak anymore.

“I’ll try to write this all down tonight,” a honey smooth voice came from behind Jamie. She jumped, turning to see Melia holding her English notebook. There had to be at least fifteen pages of notes to copy. It would take forever.

“You can just photocopy it,” Jamie suggested. Melia’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Photocopy? Like take pictures of it?”

“Really?” Jamie asked incredulously.

Melia nodded. Cursing herself for offering, Jamie led Melia to the library and showed her the copy machine. But Melia didn’t know how to use it.  She knew Melia was staring at her as she copied page after page. She avoided looking up and made a bigger deal of stacking the copied pages neater than necessary.

They walked in silence to the parking lot, Jamie fishing the keys to her Jeep out of her backpack as they went. A yellow Lamborghini revved to life.  A woman just a beautiful as Melia waved to her.

“See you tomorrow!” Melia called over her shoulder to Jamie and rushed to the sports car. Jamie shook her head. She wished she was old enough to drink. A glass of wine sounded good right now.

*

“Is it true you can talk to the dead?”

“What!?” Horrified, Jamie hushed Melia. They were sitting in chemistry the next day. The entire class was silent, busy concentrating on their lab assignment. That was the third time Melia spoke loudly, clearly not understanding the concept of ‘inside voices’. She had done other odd things as well, like sticking her finger in the Bunsen burner, asking, “Why don’t they build a really big pool for the elephants in Africa? I think they’d like that.”

“Can you talk to the dead?” Melia asked again, quieter this time.

Jamie was about to say no when she caught the look in Melia’s eyes. It wasn’t mocking or jeering. It was hopeful and desperate. “Yes,” she whispered.

“Can you talk to someone for me?”

“Maybe.”

Melia smiled. “Can you come over after school?”

“Yea, I, uh, guess.”

Jamie’s heart pounded at the end of the day. Part of her thought this was a cruel trick. Maybe Kaitlin and Janet put her up to it. But there was something in Melia’s eyes, a silent pleading that Jamie couldn’t ignore. She threw her backpack in the back of her car and waited.

Wearing another pair of designer heels, short denim shorts and a sheer, flowy light pink blouse over a tight tank top, Melia looked like she was walking out of a Vogue photo shoot. Her hair was stick straight today, half held back in a pretty gold clip that matched her gold bangles and necklace. She got into a silver and purple Audi R8 and led the way to her house.

The breath caught in Jamie’s chest. Her palms sweat. She swallowed. The heavy iron gates slowly opened. She nervously stepped on the gas, carefully navigating her way up the winding driveway to a mansion. Jamie remembered the day the construction started about two years ago. The entire school had been in an uproar, as the mansion was located atop a high, flat hill that jutted out at a sharp angle, overlooking the ocean. The view was amazing, and it had been a notorious party spot for years. Of course, everyone’s parents had been happy to give up that location.

The house was grand, with tall, floor to ceiling windows, fancy landscaping, and a winding brick drive. Jamie thought the house looked out of place in the modest town of San Morado. The yellow Lamborghini parked in the driveway belonged on the streets of L.A., not here. Referred to as The Ridge, it was still just as much a topic of conversation today as it was two years ago. She followed Melia inside, feeling sloppy and underdressed in a house so grand. Everything was immaculate. Jamie felt like she was in a museum.

A gigantic brown dog lumbered down the stairs. He pounced, putting his paws on Melia’s shoulders. On his hind legs he was taller than her. Jamie was horrified.

“This is my Irish Wolfhound, Wolfy,” Melia informed her.

“Wolfy,” Jamie said as the humongous canine greeted her with a slobbery kiss. “How original.”

“Don’t let his size scare you. He’s quite nice.” She opened the door to let Wolfy run outside.

The foyer was the size of Jamie’s bedroom—or bigger. A beautiful curved staircase with hand carved wooden railings welcomed you upstairs. Jamie’s eyes walked up them, curious as to what was behind the fancy balcony. Melia dropped her Louis Vuitton messenger bag and kicked off her shoes. She motioned for Jamie to follow. They went down a gallery hallway, through a butler’s pantry and emerged in the kitchen. Melia hopped up onto a huge island counter. Sunlight sparkled off the expensive granite. Jamie tried not to be obvious as she took in the enormity of the kitchen. The refrigerator was masked, covered with the same fancy wood that made up the cabinets. The tray ceiling was painted a pale blue, just a shade lighter than the walls. Everything was so elegant.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, looking out the window.

“Uh, no. I’m fine,” Jamie lied.

“Oh, well I am.” She jumped off the counter, grabbed a glass from the cabinet and turned on the faucet. After staring admiringly at the running water for a full minute, Melia filled her glass. Just then a twenty-something year old man walked in.

“Hello Melia, how are you today?”

“I’m well,” she said, holding her glass up to the sunlight. “This is Jamie.”

“Nice to meet you, Jamie. I’m Charles. Would you like anything to eat?”

“Uh, no, I’m, ok.” She smiled and flushed. Charles was cute. Very cute. He had short, curly dark hair and puppy dog brown eyes.

“Suit yourself,” he said smiled. “And Melia, my dear, what will it be?”

“Grilled cheese.” She took a sip of water.

“Again?”

“It’s my favorite.”

“It’s only your favorite because you refuse to try anything else,” he teased. “I’ll bring it up to you.” He turned to Jamie. “Are you sure I can’t interest you in my cooking?”

“Oh, you really should have something,” Melia spoke, her voice dreamy as she held the glass up again. “Charles is going to be a world famous chef someday!”

“Says the girl who only eats grilled cheese.”

“I eat other stuff!” Melia protested, laughing.

“Ok,” Jamie agreed, realizing that Charles wasn’t Melia’s attractive older brother. He was her personal chef.

Melia led the way upstairs to her room. Mr. VanBurren was an investor from New York. Jamie heard a rumor that he owned his own plane to fly him back and forth for business meetings. She marveled at the chandelier in the foyer, thinking what it would be like to have him for a father.

“Wow,” Jamie blurted, unable to help herself when Melia opened the door to her room. The entire west wall was floor to ceiling windows, giving a breathtaking view of the ocean.

Melia sat on her bed. Jamie perched on the edge. The room was huge, way bigger than Jamie’s. The décor was a bit bipolar, Jamie thought, as she took in the ornamental white crown molding, and the intricate flowers carved on the white dresser (which matched the nightstands, bookshelf, desk and headboard). A beautiful framed picture of an ocean sunset hung above the bed.

Haphazardly taped to the wall next to it were pictures torn out of magazines depicting animals and scenery from Africa. Several stuffed animals sat awkwardly on the bed, sticking out from the sophisticated ivory bedspread. A huge plasma TV hung on the wall directly opposite, above a dresser that was covered in wooden zebras, lions, giraffes and elephants, as well as a handful of sand and a cluster of sea shells.

“How do you do it?” Melia asked.

“Do what?”
“Talk to the dead?”

Jamie fiddled with a loose string on her sleeve. “I, uh, I don’t know. I just do.”

“Have you always?”

“Yea.”

“Wow,” Melia said quietly, sounding truly impressed.

Jamie looked up. “You said you wanted me to talk to someone.”

“Yea.” Melia jumped up and flew to the dresser, opening it with such enthusiasm that several of the wooden figurines toppled over. She returned with a necklace. Jamie gently took it, fingering a sparkly pink shell laced with the most interesting kind of thread.

“It was my sister’s,” Melia said, biting back tears.

Jamie swallowed. “How did she die?” she asked gently.

“She was murdered. I don’t know why, though.”

“What was her name?”

“Lana.”

Jamie closed her eyes, feeling the energy of the necklace. Still afraid the snobby cheerleader Kaitlin might jump out of the closet laughing, she let out a nervous breath. She shook her head, eager to end this when something ran through her.

Water.

It felt like water.

But it couldn’t be. Her eyes flew open. The shell felt hot. Melia’s eyes were so hopeful, so desperately sad…murdered…don’t know why…What if it had been her sister? What if she found Jasmine or Jill’s lifeless bodies? She closed her eyes again.

She was sinking. Going down, down, deep down. It was dark, but she could see. Her hair floated out in front of her. A fish swam past.

“Did she drown?” she whispered.

“No,” Melia whispered back. She put a hand on Jamie’s. Suddenly, Jamie was there, in Melia’s world.

She was swimming, she was free, she was happy…and she wasn’t herself. Seeing the world through someone else’s eyes, she turned, waiting for her younger sister to catch up. She dove down deeper into the water. Corals and brightly colored fish passed by. She laughed in excitement. She couldn’t wait to show her this; she’d love it! Finally she slowed, twisting so she looked up at the surface of the water. It was sunny and clear today, making it easy to find. The dark spot loomed ahead. With a swish of her tail she was off again, zooming to it.

“Shhh!” she told her sister as they popped out of the water. “We don’t want them to see us yet.”

Melia nodded and followed, silently slicing through the water, her sea green eyes focused on the yacht. They circled around it, laughing.

“There she is!” the older sister, who Jamie was channeling, whispered. She took the starfish from her bag and threw it like a Frisbee. It hit a woman square in the back. Both girls sank down, laughing. When the starfish whizzed past them, they laughed even harder. Melia popped back up first.

“Hi Mom!” She waved.

The water churned. Everything went black. Jamie knew her vision was changing. She was on the beach. She hurt all over. Blood dripped down her arm but she couldn’t give up. She had to find it. It would put an end to this. Waves splashed, echoing inside a cave. In there. It must be in there.

A maelstrom of confusion and cold water pulled her in. Images flashed before her. Teeth. Claws. Hands grabbing and pulling. Flesh tearing. Screaming, crying, pain…

She dropped the shell and fell backwards off the bed. Jamie lay on the floor, panting. What the hell…?

“Are you alright?”

Jamie struggled to her feet. “What are you?”

“You saw her?” Melia rushed over. Jamie backed away, hitting the bookshelf.

“I-I-I don’t even know what to say.”

Melia clutched the shell. “Did you see her?”

“Yes, I-I don’t know. What are you?” she asked again.

“It’s probably best if I show you,” she said, gingerly putting the necklace on her bed. Silently, Jamie followed her downstairs. The smell of grilled cheese hit Jamie, reminding her of reality. She shook her head. This was crazy. All crazy.

Melia stopped in front of a large pool. She unzipped her shorts and shimmied out of them. Gracefully, she dove into the water. She paused at the bottom. A normal person wouldn’t have felt it. But Jamie Forester wasn’t normal.

And neither was Melia.

She resurfaced, shyly smiling. Jamie sank to her knees, scraping her skin on the stone that surrounded the pool. “Oh. My. God.” She blinked. Melia didn’t change. “You’re a…a…mermaid,” she whispered. “No, this isn’t real.” She tried to stand. “Very funny. Ok, you can stop now.”

“You’re special, Jamie. You see things others can’t.”

Jamie crawled forward. “This isn’t real.”

“Yes.” Melia swam forward. It was as if she didn’t move. She glided through the water. “It is.”

“No way,” Jamie exhaled. Running a hand through her hair, she leaned closer. Melia still looked human, from the waist up, that is. Her Chanel blouse clung to her bronze skin. Her legs and feet had transformed into a fishtail, her skin now a scaly purple and gold. Thin skin appeared between each finger, making her hands webbed. She splashed backwards, flipping her tail for Jamie to see. Fearing it would be too much, Melia changed back into human form. She put on her shorts and sat on the edge of the pool, kicking the water.

“Can you tell me what you saw?”

Jamie blinked. “You gotta answer some questions first.”

“Ok.”

“You-you’re not human.” Ok, that was a statement, but Jamie felt she got her point across.

“No. I’m a merrow, well, half merrow technically, that’s why I can appear human when I want to. You humans refer to us as ‘mermaids’, and I’m afraid you’ve very much romanticized us.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “Why are you here?”

“My mother. She fell in love with a human. She likes the land,” she said bitterly.

“And you don’t?”

“It can be nice. I miss home.” She looked out at the ocean. “But I just can’t go back, after what happened to Lana. I need to stay with my mom.”

“Oh, ok.” Jamie stared at Melia. “Just tell me the whole story.”

Charles cleared his throat. “Your food is ready, girls.” He set a tray down and hurried off. Melia stood, extending a hand to Jamie. They sat under a big, green umbrella. Jamie picked nervously at her grilled cheese while Melia took a bite. After she swallowed she said, “Edward VanBurren isn’t really my father. My real father was a merrow. My mother is an Oceanid. Oceanids don’t favor the water as much as merrows. They look like humans and act a lot more like humans than merrows. They are happy on land as long as they are near the sea—any sea that is. Merrows prefer the ocean, only the ocean. Merrows can’t transform like Oceanids can. A lot of Oceanids prefer the land.” She took another bite.

“My parents’ marriage was arranged. My mother never wanted to live in the ocean. After my father died, she began coming up to shore, talking to humans. Then, six years ago, she met Edward VanBurren. He has a big boat. It’s called something, but I guess it’s not important. One day, he fell overboard. We’re allowed to show ourselves, but it’s, well, frowned upon as your saying goes. You have to be careful with who you reveal the secret too. My mother saved him. He thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and pleaded to see her again.

She loved him, almost as much as he loved her, but she knew they could never be together. Obviously, he can’t live in the sea. Lana and I knew she wanted to go the land. But for three years she stayed in the water with us, only seeing Edward every once in a while. Lana and I knew what she was sacrificing, so we agreed to sort of half live on land. Then, my mom and Edward got married. Lana and I spent the summer in New York with them, the rest of the time we lived in the ocean, only surfacing and acting human for special events. A year later, Lana… ” Tears welled in her beautiful eyes. “After Lana died, I moved to New York. But I hated it, so Edward built me this house as a compromise. My mom’s scared I’m going to go back to the ocean.”

Jamie dropped her sandwich back on the plate. “How long have you been on land?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

“Full time? A little over a year.”

That explains the oddity, Jamie understood. Melia finished her food.

“Want to walk down to the shore with me?”

Jamie just nodded. She couldn’t believe what was happening. Ghosts, yes. There are how many reality shows on about them? And faeries, well they were just spirits, nature spirits. But mermaids? No, there was just no way. This was a dream. She wasn’t really here, eating the best grilled cheese ever. She wasn’t sitting on the patio of a multi-million dollar house. The most beautiful girl in the entire school was not sitting next to her, with dripping hair and a ruined designer blouse.

Everything felt surreal as she made her way to the shore. Melia walked a few feet into the water and lay down.

“Isn’t that sound wonderful?”

“It is,” Jamie agreed honestly. Questions buzzed in her head. She pulled off her shoes and stood near Melia. Water lapped around them. And Melia still looked human.

“How do you change? I mean, you’re in water and still have legs.” The question sounded ridiculous as it spilled from her mouth.

“I change when I want to. It’s a bit awkward to go leg-less on land,” Melia said with a smile. “I can stay human looking in water too.”

“Oh.” Jamie sank down on her butt, soaking her jeans. But she didn’t care. “So your body…it is human?”

Melia sat up. She put a hand above her right breast. “My heart is here. My lungs are different too, of course. My heart beats faster, I have more than one set of eyelids and my temperature’s lower. Other than that, I’m just as human as you are.”

Yeah, just as human as I am, minus the tail, ability to breathe underwater, and I’m sure a pet dolphin or two… Jamie thought to herself sarcastically. She was so overwhelmed. She wanted to know everything. How could she breathe underwater? Why change into human form at all? Did they talk underwater? What did she eat? Where did she sleep?

“Do you talk to fish?” she asked, unable to help herself.

Melia laughed. “Do you talk to dogs?”

“Oh, sorry,” she said, embarrassed. “I guess I’ve seen The Little Mermaid too many times.”

“I like that movie. It doesn’t do a good job truly showing the merpeople though.”

Jamie hugged her knees to her chest. “What happened when you decided to live on land?”

“I was ‘humanized’, with tutors and teachers, all telling me things they thought I should know.”

“Oh. They missed a few things,” Jamie said, and then laughed, remembering the photocopier incident? “What about school? I mean, what do you need to learn under the sea?”

Until sunset, the girls sat in the water, Melia telling Jamie everything there was to know about her transition to human life.

-Chapter 2-

A golden sphere burned in the sky, centered between glowing red and purple clouds. The rhythmic lapping of waves on the shore was soporific. Peter tore his eyes away from the peaceful ocean and shook sand from his blonde hair. He blinked out of his reverie and grabbed his surf board, deliberately moving slowly as he begrudgingly prepared for the walk home.

Already he longed for his bed, his skin sunburned and his muscles tired from a day full of hiking, beach football, and surfing. He audibly groaned when he recalled the three page English paper he had put off writing.

“Hi Peter!” a girl called as she waved, tiptoeing along the shore.

“Hey,” he called back with a smile. The girl grinned broadly and turned quickly to her friend. Distracted, neither saw the wave that crashed against the sand. Having been avoiding the tide, they both shrieked as salt water sprayed their faces. Stifling a laugh, Peter turned. He felt guilty for not knowing the girl’s name. He had seen her at school, and knew she was a grade or two lower than him.

He had just made it off the beach when another female voice called to him.

“Hey Peter!”

He stopped, recognizing the voice at once. “Janet.” He didn’t turn, but waited until she caught up.

“Want a ride?” She jingled her keys in the air.

“Sure,” Peter said only because he was in a hurry to get home. He kicked himself for not driving to the beach this morning. Silently, he walked next to Janet. Peter desperately tried to come up with something worthwhile to say. What do you say to your ex-girlfriend who cheated on you but acts like nothing’s changed? he wondered to himself.

“I saw you out there, on the waves,” Janet said, speaking softly.

“Oh, uh, yea.”

“You looked good.” She unlocked her convertible Beetle. Peter didn’t see the point of locking it in the first place, since she had left the top down. He put his board in the back and plopped down in the passenger seat.

“Thanks,” he half heartedly said in return, not looking at her.

“Peter,” she began, resting her hand on his. He jerked his hand back. “Peter, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

“Like what?”

“Weird. I don’t want it to be weird.”

“It’s not,” he mumbled, already regretting getting in the car with her. Even though Peter caught Janet with another guy, Janet expected to be forgiven. “Let’s just go, ok? I have a paper to write.”

Janet nodded. “For Mrs. Leary’s class?”

“Yup.”

“Me too.” Janet stomped on the gas, slowing only to gawk when the gargantuan white house came into view.  The Ridge marked the end of the little alcove of beach Peter loved so much. Beyond The Ridge the terrain changed drastically from sandy shores to cave landings and drop-off, rocky cliffs. Engrossed with curiosity over the owners, Peter was only vaguely aware that Janet was speaking.

“…three months away, but it’s not too early to start looking for a dress.”

“Huh?”

“Peter, prom, duh.”

“Yea, right.” He stared out the window. Prom. Three months away. He didn’t want to think about it yet. Wait, did that mean Janet was dating someone else already? He shook his head; it didn’t matter to him anymore.

“Thanks,” he said quietly as he quickly got out of the car, yanking his surfboard from the back. He turned toward his house before Janet had a chance to say anything else. As the Beetle sped away Peter regretted the standoffish way he acted. He didn’t want Janet to think he was losing sleep over the loss of her. He had liked her, and enjoyed having someone to spend extra time with but wasn’t heartbroken from the breakup. Instead he was embarrassed.

Embarrassed that he wasn’t enough for her. That she felt the need to cheat. Of course, his best friend Connor assured him it wasn’t his fault, and, given Janet’s history of cheating, it was only a matter of time.

He held the board vertically in front of him and opened the door.

“Don’t even think about bringing that dirty thing in the house!” Sue Anderson, Peter’s mother, barked, looking up from a stack of papers.

Peter sighed. Hello to you too, he thought, and set the board on the porch.

“Peter! Look what we found!” his little sister, Ava, beckoned excitedly. Her twin, Adam, dumped a bucket of sandy shells on the white living room carpet. Mom would have an aneurysm if I did something like that, he thought to himself. “Look! This one has a hole in it,” Ava said proudly, holding up a pink scallop shaped shell. “I’m going to make it into a necklace!”

“It’ll look pretty on you!” Peter said, ruffling her hair.

“What were you doing with Janet?” Sue asked, narrowing her eyes and setting down her pen.
“She gave me a ride home,” Peter said flatly, knowing an interrogation was unavoidable.

“I thought you two broke up.”

“We did.” Peter hadn’t told anyone besides Connor of the circumstances of the breakup.

“You shouldn’t gallivant around town with her then.”

Annoyed, Peter spun to face his mother. “I wasn’t gallivanting. She offered to drive me home. We can still be friends.”

“What will the neighbors think, you coming home with a girl at this hour?”

“This hour? The sun hasn’t fully set yet! And I didn’t come home with anyone.” Annoyed, he shook his head and walked up to his room.

*

At half past one, Peter clicked ‘print’. Rubbing his eyes, he grabbed his backpack and hastily shoved the completed essay inside and collapsed into bed. The mere four and half hours of sleep flew by. After hitting the snooze button on his alarm three times, Peter lazily threw back the covers.

“Don’t forget, your father has a meeting after work today. Please go directly to the elementary school to pick up the twins,” Sue reminded, giving Peter a stern look.

“I won’t forget.” Peter grabbed his lunch and headed out the door.

Monday came and went just like any other day. He ignored the smug smiles from Janet, awkwardly turned down an invite to see a movie with a freshman girl he didn’t even know, and used picking up his siblings as an excuse to get out of drinking with Connor after school. A storm was coming in; he wanted to go out on the waves tonight.

As soon as his mother came home from the hospital where she worked as a part time CNA, he was off, his black Mustang convertible speeding toward the water. Despite the threat of wind and rain, the beach was more crowded than Peter expected. As he walked nearer to The Ridge, the number of swimmers dwindled. True, the water was studded with sharp, jagged rocks, but The Ridge seemed to come alive in the darkness and nobody, not even Peter, liked to be near it.

The clouds thickened and the sun set. It was almost pitch black by the time Peter called it quits for the night. The beach was deserted now. Peter stopped, closing his eyes and enjoying the lonely calm. A high pitched chortle startled him. It seemed to come from the water. He spun around.

Nothing. He could see nothing other than the jumping shadows of boulders and trees. The waves suddenly seemed too loud, masking any and all noise. Peter felt vulnerable. He tucked the surfboard under his arm and hightailed it to the parking lot.

In the security of the artificial light, Peter felt silly and stupid for feeling the unexpected panic. He couldn’t get the laugh out of his head. It sounded feminine, and was oddly alluring for coming from the shadows.  Several cars were still in the lot. All he heard was someone enjoying the sand and the water, just like he had.

*

“You’re late,” Peter’s father greeted him.

“Uh, sorry.” Peter brushed sand off his legs in the foyer. He didn’t have a set curfew, though randomly his parents decided to instill one.

“What were you doing?”

“Surfing.”

“And what about homework?”

“I’ll do it now.” Peter tried to walk past his father and failed.

“Peter, I know you’re getting close to graduating, so don’t blow it.”

“I—”

“Don’t even bother coming up with an excuse. I know you got a seventy-seven on your chemistry test last week.”

Peter shrugged. For not even cracking open his book, he thought a high C was pretty good.

“That’s a C. That’s average. My son is not average. You have to do better than that.”

“Ok,” he said shortly.

“Don’t ‘ok’ me. You will do better, or I’ll take the car away.”

“What?! You can’t! It’s mine; the title is in MY name!” Peter yelled, recalling long, hot days working the last two summers on a landscaping crew to save up for his car (luckily his grandparents paid the rest as an early graduation present).

“I pay the insurance on it,” his father said arrogantly.

“Dad, you can’t!” Peter repeated.

“I only will if you make me. Now go upstairs and study.”

“Fine,” Peter spat and stomped up the stairs. His stomach grumbled, but Peter decided to ignore it for now and wait until his parents were in bed to eat.

*

“My dad’s been on my ass all week,” Peter complained to Connor as he downed a beer Friday night.

“He’s a douche,” Connor agreed. He set an empty beer can down and squished it with his foot. “Think we got enough booze?” he asked, skeptically eyeing the bottles that littered the kitchen counter.

“Justin’s bringing a case,” Peter said casually, striding to the front door to peer outside. Connor’s parents went on weekend getaways almost every weekend, so, naturally, the boys threw parties at least twice a month. Peter looked away as soon as he saw Janet walking arm and arm with the guy she cheated on him with, Troy. “Bitch,” he swore.

“Let me guess, Janet.” Connor grinned, running a hand over his short, black hair.

“Did you even invite her?”

“Do I ever invite anyone? No need. Everyone wants to come!” Connor only half joked.

Within an hour, the house was packed. Music blasted, alcohol flowed, people danced. Peter was on the back porch deck with Amanda, a petite, brown haired cheerleader. They were standing close, with his hand on her waist and her hands on his abs when Justin Hoppner burst through the door.

“Skinny dipping in the ocean!” he screamed. Amanda was instantly up for it. Peter, Amanda, Connor and seven others stumbled their way to the shore. And after one chaotically drunken plan merged into another, the ten passed out on blankets, luckily laid tucked behind a jagged boulder.

Somewhere in the purple twilight of early morning, Peter woke. He was sprawled in between Amanda and her best friend, Courtney, both wearing nothing but their bras and underwear. He felt heavy and sick and desperately thirsty. Realizing no one had brought any water, he collapsed back down, clunking his head on an empty bottle of Bacardi. That’s when he heard it. The beautiful, bewitching voice that floated over the sand and water. Pushing Amanda’s arm from around him, he dizzily stood, stepping over Courtney but tripping over Connor.

Weak light twinkled over the relatively still ocean. He squinted his eyes and inspected the coast, gasping when he thought he saw a figure rise from an uneven rock and dive into the water. He waited for the person to resurface. Heart pounding, he held his breath. There is no way someone could be under water that long and still be alive. His first instinct was to save them. He rushed forward, only to trip over his own feet. Laughing as he rubbed sand from his eyes, he shook his head. I’m still drunk, he thought and lazily meandered back to his friends. There was no voice; it was a dream. There wasn’t a person on the rock; it was a bird or a seal or even a fish.

Even as the drunken hazy sleep crept back over him, Peter couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched.

*

The two had become inseparable in the months since Melia revealed who she was. It took Jamie a while to get used to the fact her new best friend was a supernatural creature. She took on the task of teaching Melia everything she needed to know about being a teenage girl. Texting, Facebook, and dating were all new to Melia. Jamie laughed as Melia learned, finding her awkwardness cute.

Melia seemed to fail miserably the first time she tried anything. The second time, however, she mastered it.

“We’re good at imitating,” she explained. “Once I see something, I know it.”

Jamie was happier than she’d ever been. For the first time in her life, she didn’t mind the whispers and the stares. They were jealous, she told herself. Jealous that I’m friends with the beautiful new girl. The popular crowd found it offensive that Melia rejected them. Jamie happily remembered the day Melia (loudly) turned down Janet’s request to sit by her at lunch. And, as much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself, Jamie felt better than everyone. For she knew a secret that few others knew.

Melia became a part of the Forester family. She joined Tae Bo with Jamie and her mother (and was freakishly good at it after three classes), frequently ate dinner at their house and spent at least one weekend night over with Jamie. Melia loved movies. Anything electronic captivated her. She didn’t understand the wirings or the concept of electricity. No matter how many times Jamie explained it, Melia stated, “I just don’t get it.”

Jamie felt welcome in the VanBurren home. Edward was much nicer than she expected a New York businessman to be. Maybe it was because his wife was a mermaid, Jamie suspected. She loved spending time in the huge house, having a personal chef to cook whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She liked sitting by the pool, sipping virgin daiquiris while watching the tanned, toned gardeners shovel, rake, and hoe. And she especially loved the theater room; the girls had movie night almost every Saturday. They would wake up Sunday mornings and play around on exercise equipment (in the exercise room Jamie also loved) before heading to the beach where Jamie, under Melia’s encouragement, read through spell books while Melia swam about in the ocean.

“Aren’t you afraid of sharks?” Jamie asked one Sunday afternoon.

Melia laughed. “Not at all. Sharks love merpeople. You would be surprised if you knew how many shark attacks were caused by sharks protecting us. They don’t like it when humans get too close.”

“But what about your dolphins?”

“Don’t humans have cats and dogs?” She laughed and threw a clump of seaweed at Jamie.

They spent New Year’s Eve on Time’s Square. They saw Wicked in Chicago, went shopping on Rodeo Drive, went to Disneyland and even the Painted Hills. But no matter what they did or what great adventure they conquered, Jamie could feel the empty hole in Melia’s heart.

She didn’t belong here. She missed home. Jamie was the best friend she’d ever had, and if she could swim all day and see Jamie at night, Melia would be a happy mergirl. But that wasn’t the case. She was forced to be around humans, forced to feel like an outsider, forced to be reminded of how much she didn’t know, of how much she didn’t fit in. She loved her mother, Jamie, Edward, and even Wolfy. Still, this world wasn’t hers, and it wasn’t enough.

*

“It is important. I don’t really know why, though.”

“And you get all fancy?”

“Yea, I think it would be fun. I wouldn’t know, I’ve never gone,” Jamie admitted.

“Why is it called ‘prom’?” Melia asked, examining a green ball gown on her computer screen.

“I have no idea. But I’m sure you’re gonna get asked.”

“Asked?”

“To prom.”

“And that’s good?” Melia looked worried.

Jamie laughed. “Yes. It means guys like you and think you’re hot.”

“But I’m weird. Janet called me Fish Girl before.”

She laughed again. “Yes. But I still think every male in our school would like to take you. Mostly because of the after party…”

“What happens after prom?”

“Sex, usually.”

“Oh. I hear that’s nice.”

Jamie burst into laughter again. “That’s another thing I wouldn’t know.”

“We should go dress shopping!” Melia exclaimed.

“We have three months; I think it’s too early.”

“Oh. Who will ask you?”

“Probably no one,” Jamie sighed.

“But you’re hot, too.”

“Thanks,” Jamie replied, giving Melia a ‘yeah, right’ stare.

Wolfy jumped off the bed and paced by the door, signaling he needed out.

“Well, it’s late. I should go.” Jamie stood and stretched. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She handed Melia the shell necklace. “See ya tomorrow.”

“Yay, school.” Melia smiled and walked Jamie to the door. She was alone yet again. Edward spent most of his time in New York, living in his penthouse in the city. Her mother was with him, as she always was. Melia was lonely here.

Wolfy bounded ahead through the sand. Melia stripped off her clothes and ran into the water. Merrows could see in the dark. And even though she was yards away from the shore, she could see an outline of a boy walking along the public beach. She plunged underwater and swam for a better look. It was Peter Anderson, the boy from her chemistry class. She moved closer and closer. He looked sad. She wanted to talk to him.

Just as she was about to transform back into human shape she remembered she had no clothes. Lana would have marched up to him naked, Melia thought, laughing at the thought. Peter snapped his attention south, looking for the source of the laughter. Melia dove back under the water and swam home.

*

Melia woke, drenched in a cold sweat at sunrise. Her dreams had put pictures to Jamie’s words. She felt bad for making Jamie try again and again, but she needed to know what happened to her sister.

Teeth…claws…she’s on sand not in the water…and something about an egg. I know it doesn’t make sense.

It was the part about the egg. It was familiar for some insanely odd reason. Melia just couldn’t place it. She turned over, kicking off the blankets, and hugged Wolfy. What could an egg have to do with Lana’s death? Melia smiled, remembering the times she and her sister collected gulls’ eggs to throw at Edward’s yacht. Was that it? Did something happen to her while she was scaling a cliff in search of gulls’ eggs? Did she discover someone—or something—hidden beneath the rocky surface?

“Not here,” Melia whispered to Wolfy. “I’ve known these waters my whole life. Actassi rules this area. He keeps the darklings in check.”

Wolfy grunted in agreement, lifting his giant head to roll and eye back to look at his owner. Melia kissed him and hugged him tighter.

*

“So,” Melia began, hanging her bag in her locker. “Would you hate me if I went swimming after school? I want to take pictures.”

“Not at all,” Jamie said honestly, knowing that ‘swimming’ meant Melia shifting into her true form and exploring the ocean. She wished desperately that she too could transform. “Mom wants to have a ‘family dinner’ tonight anyway, since Jasmine is coming home.”

“Have fun,” Melia said sarcastically. She was very proud to have mastered sarcasm.

“Oh, I’m sure I will. All it will be is Jill bitching about how she’s late for a party and Jasmine bragging about her high grades or hot boyfriend.” She frowned. “I wish I could brag about our adventures.” A smile slowly returned to her face as she recalled the time they went several hours northeast to visit a forest Melia knew to be riddled with pixies. The pixies, jealous of Melia’s ability to breathe underwater, stole her car keys and the girls spent the next two hours searching and pleading. Finally, with the promise of a treasure from the sea, the pixies returned the keys and happily took the shell bracelet Melia was wearing.

Melia opened her mouth to speak but was cut off when the first bell rang. They hurried off to chemistry. Melia couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under Peter’s eyes. He caught her looking and smiled, flashing brilliant white teeth. A weird feeling fluttered in her stomach. Unnerved, she quickly looked away.

At the end of the day, Melia kicked off her shoes before exiting the school and stuffed them into her bag. Barefoot, she walked next to Jamie into the parking lot.

“I’m gonna look for jellyfish,” Melia casually said to Jamie.

“Oh, you’ll get some awesome pics then!”

“I’ve been craving bull kelp, so I might go up north. Don’t worry if you don’t hear from me tomorrow.”

Janet, who was a few steps behind Melia, laughed loudly and turned to Amanda. “Isn’t kelp seaweed? Of course the Fish Girl would eat seaweed!”

Melia kept walking as if she hadn’t heard a thing. “Try to have some fun tonight.”

“I’ll try,” Jamie said, unconvincingly.

Melia drove straight home, played with Wolfy, and talked to Charles for an hour while he cooked dinner. Her mother and Edward were home but were leaving first thing in the morning for New York.

“Want me to bring you some bull kelp?” she asked her mother over dinner.

Nyneve smiled. “Sure. I haven’t had that in a while. I haven’t been able to find a store around here that sells it.”

“Exactly.” Melia sliced through her mound of mashed potatoes, creating a passageway for the pool of gravy to escape. “I’m gonna swim up north and get some. It’s so much better fresh.”

“Up north? By yourself?” Nyneve looked at Edward for parental support. He shrugged, knowing he couldn’t control the free-spirited Melia.

“Well, Mom, you could come with. That is, if you still remember how to swim.” She smiled deviously.

“I may not get in the water as much as I used to, but I’m sure I can still swim faster than you,” she said with a wink. “When I get back, we will race.”

“Promise?”

“Of course!”

Edward clapped his hands. “I know what we need! A cruise! You like the corals by Australia, don’t you Melia?”

“I do!” she answered excitedly, even though she knew all this talk would never be put into action. As soon as dinner was over, Melia rushed to the water. She knew her mother wouldn’t be happy about her trying to dig up clues as to what happened to Lana. She had a hard enough time talking about it and finally was able to accept the fact that her eldest daughter was dead, gone, never coming home again. Melia didn’t want to purposely avoid her mother in the rare times she was home, but she felt guilty harboring knowledge, no matter how insignificant that knowledge was.

She dove in the water. Mind racing faster than she could swim, Melia drove forward, not paying attention to where she was going. Finally, after what had probably been hours, she stopped. She twisted so that she was floating. The stars twinkled above her. Everything was quiet and peaceful. Unblinking, she stared up into the night sky until her vision blurred. Staying at the surface of the water to avoid running into any other merrows, Melia slowly headed home.

She heard them before she saw them. People from her school…what were they doing? Screaming and causing a fuss, jumping in and out of the waves. Stupid humans…they need to be more respectful of the ocean. They are lucky Actassi was so fond of humans. Others weren’t so lucky. Melia somersaulted underwater and started to swim home. I don’t want to go home, she thought and zipped out west again.

It had been months since Melia slept under the sea. She woke, feeling wonderfully refreshed. The sun was just starting to rise. Feeling content, she swam to the surface and gracefully jumped out of the water onto a large boulder that stuck out of the water. She closed her eyes, humming a song she and Lana learned while visiting the merrows of Hawaii.

Soon her humming turned into singing. She had forgotten what some of the Hawaiian words meant. Still singing, she sat and looked at the mounds of human shapes that littered a small spot on the shore. If Lana were here she would insist on throwing gulls’ eggs or rocks at them. One of the shapes moved. Curious, Melia sat up straighter. When it stood, she stopped singing. It was the figure of a man, a shirtless man. He stumbled to the water’s edge, scanning the horizon. Wanting a closer look, Melia dove into the ocean.

*

“This is OUR house and you do what WE say!” Peter’s father, Roger, yelled. Peter had done the unthinkable: he had skipped church. Peter sat at the base of the stairs, his head in his hands, waiting for the yelling match to be over. For the last hour and half, Peter had been arguing with his parents. Normally he’d negotiate more than argue, but he lost it when his mother called him ‘lazy’. Ava stood in the upstairs hall, crying. Adam shouted out a “Stop yelling at Peter!” every now and then, which only made their parents even angrier.

“I just can’t believe the disrespect you show your mother!” His father motioned wildly to Sue. “After everything we do for you!”

“Sorry I was born!” Peter yelled back, working hard to keep calm.

“Oh, good, you’re sorry!” Sue cried, close to hysteria. “‘Sorry’ won’t get you to heaven, Peter.”

“Seriously, Mom, like you’ve never missed church!”

“Only if I had a good reason!” She clutched her bible.

“Bullshit! You didn’t even start going until four years ago!”

“Peter Anthony Anderson!” his father bellowed. “Do not curse in my house!”

Sue wailed. “My son! My own son is so disrespectful. And his soul is dammed to Hell! You don’t love me!”

Peter rolled his eyes. He stopped falling for that guilt trip years ago. He slowly got up. His father stepped closer.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Bed. I’m tired.”

“Didn’t you sleep enough today?” He stuck his hand out, blocking Peter’s way.

“Let me through.”

“Apologize to your mother.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Peter protested. He caught a glimpse of Ava’s tear streaked face, and his heart softened. “Fine. Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t go to church. I’ll go in the morning if it will make you happy.”

“You don’t mean it!” Sue cried.

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re only saying that because your father told you to!”

“Ok, you’re right. I don’t mean it. And I will never go to church again because I think it’s a waste of time.” He smiled defiantly, ignoring the yelling that was now coming from both his parents.

“You ungrateful child!” Sue yelled. “I wish I didn’t keep you—”

That was all Peter needed to hear. He shoved past his father, grabbed the keys to the Mustang and slammed the back door. The last thing he heard was his mother shouting an apology.

It was windy tonight. The dark water melted into the black midnight sky. If it wasn’t for the distant glow of The Ridge, Peter could pretend he was the only soul left on the earth. He held his head high into the wind. The rock—the one from this morning—loomed out of the darkness as if it was teasing him. It was too steep, its sides too sharp for a person to climb. He kicked off his shoes and waded into the water. He didn’t think a person could scale up to the top, but there was only one way to find out. A wave crashed over him, salt water forcing itself up his nose, causing him to cough. Thunder rumbled in the distance. He dove forward, feeling the tug of the stormy undertow. Another wave, this one bigger than the last, tossed him back. He kept swimming. He had to get to the rock. He had to prove to himself that he could do it.

I wish I didn’t keep you!

He sliced his hands through the choppy water. He wished she hadn’t. He wished someone rich would have adopted him and he was living somewhere as magnificent and mysterious as The Ridge. His heart pounded with indignation. He slapped the water, causing a stinging salty spray to splash in his eyes.

Exhaustion gripped his body by the time he reached it. The sides were slimy with algae. He madly felt around for a crevice. There was nothing. Well, nothing on this side, he figured. Fighting the tide, he swam around. Lightning lit up the sky. Thunder boomed. Peter looked up at the boulder. It was much bigger up close. He reached, blindly feeling around in the darkness for a way to hoist himself up.

Waves pounded against him. He swam around to the other side, his back to the open ocean. A wave, bigger yet again, picked him up. Distracted by getting onto the damn thing, Peter didn’t realize he was being thrown into it until his head cracked against the cold stone.

-Chapter 3-

The sun was starting to set. The wind had picked up, blowing the wonderful salty smell of the ocean into her room. Melia settled into a lounge chair on the balcony. Wolfy sat at her side, enjoying the storm bearing breeze just as much as Melia. Just as she was starting to worry about her, Jamie sent Melia a text message.

My aunt went into labor 5 weeks early. Baby is fine. Ugh. Won’t be home until late tonight.

Melia smiled and typed: Good. Take a pic for me. Human babies are cute! She held the phone for ten minutes waiting to see if Jamie would respond.

Her stomach growled. “I haven’t eaten all day,” she told Wolfy, suddenly realizing that fact. “Want to watch me attempt to cook?”

She burned the first two grilled cheese sandwiches. Wolfy gladly ate them. “‘Third time’s a charm’ is what humans say, and I guess it’s true.” She proudly showed Wolfy her crisp, golden sandwich. “I think Charles would be proud!”

She ate in silence, finished her homework, and went down to the shore for one last swim. The waves crashed with fury. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Good thing I left Wolfy inside, she thought as lightning flashed across the sky. She grabbed the hem of her dress, ready to pull it over her head when a dark figure caught her attention. He was too far away to identify, but Melia knew it was a human.

“What are you doing?” she asked aloud. Was he really going into the water? The current was strong. She shook her head. “What an idiot.”

She ran into the water, transforming as soon as it was deep enough. She swam north, close to the large bolder she rested upon this morning. Popping her head out of the water, she looked for the human. Lightening strobed the sky. There was no sign of him.

Feeling a bit of panic, she dove under the water to look up. There, she saw legs kicking feverishly in the rough water. The human was moving, ungracefully swimming around the rock. Distracted by what it was doing, Melia was too late from stopping it from being thrown into the rock. Her muscles tensed. The human sank under the water, momentarily stunned. Melia recognized that face: Peter Anderson. What was he doing out here on a night like tonight?

He opened his eyes. If he could see in the dark, he would have seen Melia, purple tail and all. Knowing she couldn’t fight the current with human legs, she stayed in her true form and swam to him. Already bobbing along the surface, gasping for air, Peter’s rescue would be easy. But she didn’t want to be seen…

It was a bad idea. It was her only idea. Melia grabbed Peter’s legs, yanked him under and swam to the shore. She let go as soon as his feet could touch the ocean floor. He had thrashed wildly, kicking her and hitting her in the head more than once. It was all worth it though, for now he was coughing and scrambling to safety.

Shifting into human shape, Melia fled from the water.

“Are you alright?” she asked, causing Peter to jump.

He coughed up more water. “I’m—” More coughing. “Fine, I’m fine.” He shot Melia a startled glance. After another cough he asked, “What are you doing out here?”

“I should ask you the same,” she said defiantly. “You almost drowned!”

A lightning bolt shot up from the ocean. Melia got a millisecond glance into Peter’s eyes. She saw confusion, sadness, pain, and fear. Smiling, she put her hand on his arm. “Let’s get closer to the rocks.” She stood, helping him up. On shaky legs, Peter took her hand and followed Melia under an overhang of rock. “What were you doing?”

Peter shook his head. What had happened? He couldn’t see anything. It was too dark. He knew something had pulled him to shore. It felt like hands had grasped his ankles, and he knew long hair had slipped between his fingers. A too quick flash of lightning revealed the angelic face of Melia. He knew her voice too; alluring and calming. How quickly his emotions had changed, from anger to fear to the deepest fear he’d ever felt, to thinking some horrible creature was dragging him underwater. Then relief and finally confusion. Where had Melia come from?

Melia watched Peter’s eyes dart all around. What was he looking for? He was breathing heavily; too fast to be normal. Was he alright? Blood dripped down his right shoulder. When she gently touched it, he jumped. Oh, right. Humans couldn’t see in the dark.

“You’re bleeding,” she told him.

“Oh.” He put his hand where hers had been, pressing on the wound.

“What were you doing?” she asked again.

Peter shifted his weight nervously. “I wanted up on the rock.”

“During a storm?” she asked incredulously.

He shrugged. “I was angry. Coming here makes me feel better.”

“It does.” She took Peter’s hand. “Let’s sit.”

“Ok,” he agreed and allowed her to pull him down. They were close. His hand brushed her thigh, her wet hair whipped in the wind, tickling his face.

“Is your head ok? It looked like you hit it.”

“Yea, it’s fine. I think my shoulder got the worst of it.”

“Good. Why were you angry?”

Thunder boomed. Lightning struck again. The storm was getting closer. Peter’s sight became accustomed to the dark. He looked at Melia. “My parent’s really pissed me off.”

“What happened?”

He shook his head, sighed, and let go of his bleeding shoulder. After wiping his hand clean on his wet shirt he said, “It’s a long story. Basically, they hate me.”

“How could anyone hate you?” she asked, sounding genuinely oblivious.

He laughed. “Do you really want to know?” Through the dark, he saw her nod. “Ok, then. But I warned you, it’s a long story.” He smiled. “My mom had me when she was seventeen. Obviously, I wasn’t planned. She barely made it through high school and wasn’t able to go to college. She blames me for it. She and my dad got married right after graduation. She always complains about how she never got a real wedding…and sometimes I wonder if they ever would have gotten married if it wasn’t for me. But they did and I guess it was really hard. My mom stayed home with me while my dad went to college. But things got better and we were ok.

“When I was eight, Adam and Ava were born. I was excited to have siblings. Even then, though I was young, I knew something was different. It was the way my parents talked about it, about how exciting it was to have a baby they tried for. I remember my grandma saying she could actually be happy this time my mom was pregnant. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was sitting at their baby shower, and it hit me then that my parents resented me.

“And it only got worse. My dad was finishing grad school and wasn’t home much. My mom was busy with the twins and left me to do all the chores. She’d told me before she wished they’d given me up for adoption.” He shrugged, avoiding Melia’s pitying looks.

“Anyway, my mom is going through some bull shit religious awakening, and every time she looks at me she is reminded of her ‘premarital sex’ and ‘unchristian choices’. I guess I’m unholy for being born out of wedlock. She’s always telling me I’m gonna go to hell. I used to feel guilty about it, like I really was some huge burden. But it’s not like I asked to be born. And today- today I didn’t go to church because I was hung over. She said she wished she didn’t keep me. I got pissed, and came here.”

His words hung in the storm-thick air. Why did he just spill his guts to Melia? Even Connor, who had been his friend since the fifth grade, didn’t know he felt that way. What was it about her that made him feel like he could trust her with something so personal? It must be the weird way you get from a near death experience.

“Peter,” she said softly. “I’m really sorry. I can’t imagine hearing something so awful from my own mother. The worst she said to us was that she would sell us to the seal women if we didn’t behave. Of course, she was joking.” She smiled. “You know you shouldn’t blame yourself, right?”

Thunder crackled above them. “I know now.” He half smiled. “What’s a seal woman?”

“Just something she made up, I’m sure,” Melia said quickly.

A gentle rain began to fall, the soothing sounds of its drops lost in the crash of the waves. The wind blew, covering both with a cool mist. Peter shivered.

“Do you want to come over?” Melia asked, somewhat nervous he would say no.

“Sure,” Peter said, hoping he didn’t sound too eager. Melia exited the overhang and gazed at The Ridge.

“It’s kind of a far walk,” she spoke aloud, realizing for the first time how long it would take to walk there. She always swam.

“My car’s up there.” Peter pointed to the parking lot. “And I didn’t lose my keys.” He smiled as he fished them from his pocket. Silently, they walked up the path.

“Do you care if I get your seat wet?” Melia asked before she got in the Mustang.

He did care, but he wasn’t about to say so. And, after all, he was just as soaked. The engine revved to life. Peter turned down the radio (which had been left blaring) so he could speak.

“You know, it’s probably not safe for a girl as pretty as you to be out alone at night.”

“Nothing in the ocean will hurt me,” she replied casually.

“I’m not talking about what’s in the ocean,” he told her, working to keep his eyes focused on the road. Her white sundress became almost see through when wet, and she wasn’t wearing a bra. It took everything for Peter to keep his eyes off her chest.

Melia didn’t understand at first until she remembered a time Edward had given her the same warning. In the water she was safe since she was faster and stronger than any human. But on land, she was at a disadvantage.

“Usually I bring my dog with me. That way I’m safe.” She smiled, feeling that was a satisfactory response. Wolfy started barking as soon as Peter got out of the car. Luckily he remembered that his gym bag was in the back seat. The clothes in there were less than clean, but they were at least dry. As Melia led the way around the back of the house, he noticed she was barefoot. She opened the door and the most gigantic dog he’d ever seen wildly greeted his owner. As soon as the wiry coated dog caught sight of Peter, it lumbered over and jumped, putting his paws on Peter’s shoulders while licking his startled face.

“Wolfy, down!” Melia instructed, but the huge dog didn’t listen. Peter dropped his bag and put both hands on Wolfy’s head, petting him and laughing.

“I think you were right about being safe; no one in their right mind would cross this dog.”

“Yea,” she agreed. “But he’s definitely no guard dog.”

Peter looked around the house. From the pool area, they entered the house through a fancy covered veranda into an equally fancy, huge living room. Though it was dark, Peter knew the entire house was overly ostentatious.

Melia felt that strange flutter when their eyes met. Peter was a curious thing, and she wanted to know more about him. Aware that they were wet and sandy and standing on her mother’s favorite Persian rug, she waved Peter to follow her upstairs. She grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom to change, leaving Peter to look around her room in awe.

It was girly, with the white trim and flower patterns on the wooden furniture. He could tell it had been professionally decorated, and Melia added her own random style into the mix. A large photo collage hung on the wall near the bathroom door, filled with pictures of Melia and some dark haired girl that looked familiar. Peter leaned closer and was shocked when he realized the black haired girl was Jamie Forester. She was prettier in the pictures than Peter remembered her to be in real life. In one photo she was smiling, with one arm around Melia, standing in front of Cinderella’s Castle. In another, both girls were making goofy faces wearing ridiculous New Year’s Eve party hats on Time’s Square. Peter couldn’t help but chuckle at the overly dramatic pose of the girls at the Harry Potter theme park, both wearing robes, holding wands as if dueling.

He knew Melia and Jamie were friends, but he never knew they were that good of friends. He turned to look out the west windows. He loved the view. Carefully setting his bag down on the shiny hardwood floor, he moved to look out the window. The storm had intensified and so had the size of the waves. What had he been thinking, going out on a night like tonight? The question of what had Melia been doing out on a night like tonight bothered him more. She had been barefoot, quite a ways down the shore from her house, alone and completely drenched. Where had she come from? Was it really possible she could have pulled him from the water?

The bathroom door opened and Melia emerged, wearing short, black athletic shorts and a black tank top, and was towel drying her hair.

“Do you have dry clothes?” she asked.

“Uh, yea.” Peter held up the gym bag. He felt nervous. Swallowing hard, he walked past her into the bathroom.

Melia sat on the bed, waiting for Peter. She had never paid much attention to human boys before (especially teenage human boys), but when Peter came out of the bathroom wearing jeans and a light blue tee shirt, she couldn’t help but find him attractive. She sprang up when she saw the wound on his arm, feeling guilty for not addressing it earlier. She closed her hands around his bicep, noticing for the first time that he was quite muscular.

“You can’t have bruised already,” she said, frowning at the large purple mark.

“No, that’s from yesterday.” He looked at his arm. “It’s not bad. Not even deep.”

“No, you’re just all scraped up.” She let go and turned her head up, only inches away from Peter. “Your eyes are pretty.”

He blinked. “Thanks. Yours are too.” And they were. At first one would think her eyes were a pleasing shade of green, but upon closer inspection, Peter was able to see almost every color imaginable. Reminding him of turquoise sequins, Peter admired their beauty for a while longer before looking away.

Melia sat on the bed. “So why do you go to the ocean when you’re upset?”

“I don’t really know.” He sat next to her. “I’ve been going there ever since I could walk. It’s familiar, it’s fun…it’s the only place I can go and feel free. It’s so big and limitless—” he cut off. Since when was he so poetic and lame?

Awe burned in Melia’s gorgeous eyes. “I know. When I’m in the ocean I feel like nothing can touch me. I’m safe from everything, and everything makes sense. It’s where I’m supposed to be.”

Not taking her as literally as she was being, Peter agreed. “Yea. It’s peaceful. Especially at night, ‘cuz there’s no one there.”

“And especially during storms.” She smiled deviously.

“Well, not normally. Normally I have more sense. But…”

“But you had a reason tonight.”

“I guess.” He leaned back on the pillows. Butterflies flapped in his stomach. He hadn’t felt that way in a while. Not even with Janet. And at the same time, Melia was oddly comforting. He had a strong urge to wrap his arms around her and just hold her, which was unnerving because Peter was definitely not the cuddling type. “So, what’s your story, Melia VanBurren?”

She had rehearsed it many times. “We used to live in San Francisco. Then we moved to New York and then here.”

“That’s it?”

“Yea.”

Peter raised his eye brows. “What’s it like being Edward VanBurren’s daughter?”

“Oh, it’s nice. He’s not home very much though. My mother either. She likes to go to New York with him. She’s a city girl.”

“And you’re not?”

“No, I missed the ocean when I was in New York.”

“Isn’t New York City surrounded by an ocean?”

“Yea, but it wasn’t the same. I missed this ocean.” She waved her hand at her windows. People usually didn’t question her. She smiled nervously.

“I’d miss it too.” Peter smiled back. “So why did you move back? I mean, if your dad goes to the city all the time it doesn’t make much sense.”

Her hand subconsciously flew to Lana’s shell necklace that was around her neck. “My sister…she—she died and we…”

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks,” she said quietly and felt bad for lying. True, Lana’s mangled body wasn’t found in San Morado, but a lie was a lie. “It was really hard on my mom, especially with the case being unsolved.”

“Unsolved? Like a murder?!”

Melia nodded. Peter put his hand on hers.

“So,” he began, eager to change the subject. “What do you like to do for fun?”

“Swim, of course. Uh, I take underwater pictures.”

“Underwater pictures? That’s interesting.”

“I took some recently, want to see them?”

“Yea.”

Melia brought her laptop over onto the bed. She sat close to Peter so they both could easily see. Peter was impressed. The pictures were high quality and looked professional.

“Weren’t you scared when you took this?” he asked, pointing at a shark.

“Nope.”

“Were you in one of those cages?”

“No.” She quickly tried to think of a lie that would sound believable. “If the sharks come to you it’s ok.”

“It is?”

“Uh, it was with this one.” She quickly clicked on the next photo. For the next hour, they looked through all of Melia’s photographs. She had quite the collection; most were from the Pacific Ocean off of California, but she had others too, from all over the world. There were pictures of jelly fish, squid, sea turtles, all kinds of fish, many Peter had never seen or heard of, whales, sharks, dolphins, eels, corals and urchins and even some of a shipwreck.

“I’ve only been scuba diving twice,” Peter stated. “Maybe we can go sometime.”

“Uh, yea.” The idea of strapping into gear and pretending to need it to breathe underwater sickened Melia. After fascinating Peter with pictures of weedy sea dragons, Melia closed the computer and set it on the nightstand. She twisted to face Peter and leaned back, sinking into the plush pillows.

“What about you?”

“What about me?” he asked, smiling sleepily at her.

“What do you like to do?”

“Surf, play football, video games, hang with friends. Normal stuff I guess.”

“I’ve seen you surfing.”

“I’m not that good.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Why do you want to be on the water? Why not be in it?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ve never really thought about it that way. It’s fun though. Have you ever surfed?”

Melia shook her head.

“So,” he said, shifting so he too was facing in and at Melia. “When you’re not taking pictures of the ocean, what do you like to do?”

“I like to be outside. Nature is fascinating. There’s so much magic in nature. I never realized that before…” Her gaze turned glossy. She shook herself back to reality. “I take Tae Bo lessons with Jamie.”

“Please don’t kick my ass!” Peter joked.

Melia didn’t always catch sarcasm. “Why would I kick your ass?” she asked, offended. Peter’s face went blank and it dawned on her. “Oh, you’re kidding!”

*

At nine fifty-five in the morning, Peter woke. Wolfy had joined them around dawn, forcing Melia closer to Peter. Not wanting to cross any boundaries, he had stayed uncovered. But he was cold, so he carefully stuck his legs under the comforter. The last time he looked at a clock it was after seven. They had stayed up late talking, mostly about completely random subjects.

Melia woke up just after Peter had fallen back asleep. She had never intended on sleeping in the same bed with Peter the first time he ever came over. Staying up all night talking was something that only happened in romantic movies. Melia never thought she could be entertained by words for so long, but she was.

There was more to Peter than he let on. He was deep, poetic at times, and worked hard to cover it up. Melia didn’t understand that. Why hide your personality? It was bad enough she had to hide who she really was. In the water or on land, she acted the same. Seeing that it was now after ten thirty, she quietly got out of bed, Wolfy jumping off the bed behind her, and went into the kitchen.

“Finally,” Charles sighed, overly dramatic. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d skip breakfast and go straight to lunch.”

“Sorry,” she laughed. “We were up late.”

“Up to no good I’m sure.” He winked.

“I was swimming.” She sat at the island counter.

“Even in the—never mind. I guess storms don’t bother you when you’re deep underwater. When did Jamie get a new car? It’s kind of sporty for her, don’t you think?”

“It’s not hers.” For some reason, Melia felt blood rush to her cheeks.

“Ohh, she stole her mom’s car?”

“Uh, no.” She bit her lip. “Jamie’s not here.”

“You made a new friend?” Charles asked, not meaning to sound so shocked.

“Yea.”

“That’s good. What will she want for breakfast?”

“Uh, I’m not sure what he will want.”

Charles froze. “You were up all night with a boy?”

“What does it matter?” Melia pouted.

“It’s just, it’s—.” He shook his head. “Melia, did he take advantage of you?”

“Not at all. I had to save him.”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”

“Like I said, last night, I was swimming. The storm had just started, and I saw this shape moving toward the water. I knew it was a human, so I went to investigate. He went into the water, which is really dumb for someone who can’t breathe in it to do with the strong tide. Anyway, the waves hit him against a rock. I pulled him to safety,” she said proudly. “Though, I think he would have been ok even if I wasn’t there. He didn’t get knocked out when he hit the rock. That’s what would have happened in a movie, I’m sure of it.”

“So you brought him home?”
“Yea, he seemed sad.”

“Boys are not puppies. You don’t take them home just because they seem sad.” He sat next to Melia. “Does he know?”

She shook her head. “I think he’s very confused about the whole thing. Being a human, you know how it goes; the more you don’t know the less you remember.”

“True.” He drummed his fingers on the counter. “Still, Melia, it doesn’t look good to bring a boy home with you and let him stay the night without actually dating him. It gives the impression that you’re easy.”

“As opposed to being hard?” she asked, not understanding the saying.

“I’m gonna let Jamie explain that one to you.” He stood up. “Now, how does Belgian waffles sound?”

Melia stayed in the kitchen with Charles, helping him cook and talking. Charles had been the cook on the yacht at the time Edward fell over. He knew from the start Melia and her mother’s true nature and just accepted them as equals. He told them about the stories his grandmother used to tell him (fairy tales, she called them) and how he always knew, deep down, that they were real.

Melia carefully carried a very full tray. She set it on the table on the balcony, thinking about what Charles had said. ‘Being easy’ didn’t sound like a good thing.

“Are you hungry?” she asked after Peter once he woke up.

“Starving.”

The storm had come and gone, leaving the morning with a freshness to it. The sun was bright already. They sat on the balcony, eating in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence, though.

“Did you finish your chem homework?” Peter asked, looking at the plants and flowers that lined the balcony. He put a large forkful of waffle into his mouth; he couldn’t remember the last time he had had such a good breakfast.

“Yes. Did you?”

“No. I put it off.”

“Jamie’s a good lab partner. She’s very smart, even if she doesn’t think so.”

“Lucky. My partner sucks.”

Melia finished her orange juice. “Jamie said Janet is a ‘stupid whore’.”

Peter laughed. “She is.”

“Do you think I’m easy?” Melia asked casually.

Assuming Melia was implying that because he dated Janet he had a type, and that type was girls who gave it up quickly, he said, “No! Not at all, nor I was expecting anything last night. I’m not really like that, I-I don’t know what I was thinking, going out with someone like Janet.” Why did he feel the need to explain the truth to Melia? It had to be her eyes. Peter couldn’t look away.

“Ok good, because I don’t think I’m easy either.” She smiled. “Want to take Wolfy down to the shore with me?”

“Sure.”

Wolfy raced ahead of them as soon as he heard the word ‘beach’. Melia and Peter walked slowly behind, both enjoying the other’s company. Melia threw a tennis ball and Wolf took off, leaping through the water.

“Today is wonderful!” she said, closing her eyes and lifting her face to the sun. “Not like the tenebrous night!”

“Uh, yea,” Peter agreed, not fully knowing what she meant. Before they set out, Melia had changed into a light purple dress. It was short, ending mid thigh, and low cut. Her wavy brown hair blew in the ocean breeze. Peter’s breath caught in his chest. She practically floated into the ocean, the hem of her dress soaking up water. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was gorgeous.

*

“Where the hell were you?” Connor asked Monday morning.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Peter responded, barely able to keep the smile off his face.

“Your mom called.”

Peter shoved his bag in his locker. “Why?”

“Why else? For some of my sweet lovin’.”

“Funny. Really, why?”

“Trying to find you. I said you were over ‘cuz I knew you needed cover. Now you owe me. Where were you? Banging some hot chick, I hope.”

Down the hall, Jamie spoke in whispers to Melia.

“I still can’t believe you asked him if he thought you were easy!” she laughed. “All I can hope is he took it as you telling him you’re not.” The look on Melia’s face when she had explained what ‘easy’ meant was priceless. Jamie had spent most of Sunday evening teasing her about it. “Oh, there he is! You should go talk to him!”

“Charles thinks I should make him come to me. He said that I made the first move so Peter should make the second. But I don’t get what we are moving.”

“It’s dating lingo. I guess that makes—wait, do you want to date him?”

Melia shrugged. “I don’t really care. I mean, I enjoy his company, and I guess I can see why everyone thinks he’s so good looking.”

“Oh my gosh, just admit it! And I can totally tell you’re trying not to smile!”

“Ok, fine. I like being with him.” She smiled. “There’s one thing I don’t get. When I’m around him I have this weird feeling right here.” She put her hands over her stomach.

“’Butterflies in the stomach’ is what we call it. You feel it when you’re nervous, but in a good way. It means you like him.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I don’t not like him, but…he’s a human.”

“So am I.” Jamie grabbed her books and closed her locker.

“You’re more than that. You can see into the Otherworld. You’re better than human.”

“Well, thanks, but it’s not like I can breathe underwater or have pet sharks or anything.” She looked at Melia. “You look too hot today. It makes me sick.”

Melia stuck out her tongue. The first time Jamie dropped that line she apologized, thinking she really had made her friend ill. Jamie laughed so hard before explaining it. “It’s just a normal dress!” Melia protested.

“Well, then it’s your super mermaid powers again!”

The dress was simple. It was white, with an empire waist and a scoop neckline. Jamie was sure Melia would get scolded by a teacher for showing so much cleavage today. If she leaned over, Jamie was sure, something might pop out. Lana’s necklace was the only piece of jewelry Melia wore today. Maybe it was the way her hair looked, like she had just stepped off the beach, or the way her makeup brought out her already captivating eyes that made Melia look like she belonged on the set of a Victoria’s Secret photo shoot.

Peter turned, caught Melia’s eye and smiled. “I have his clothes,” Melia told Jamie and pulled a neatly folded stack of laundry from inside her designer bag. “I’m gonna give them to him.”

Connor nudged Peter’s elbow. “Hottie alert. Check out her tits in that dress!”

Anger boiled through Peter’s veins. He had the urge to punch Connor in the stomach. He didn’t want anyone talking about Melia like she was a piece of meat. All that melted away when he locked eyes with her. Janet, who was standing near Peter talking to Kaitlin, shut up immediately when she saw Melia next to Peter.

“Melia, hey.”

“Hi Peter.”

It caught Peter off guard to feel so happy just to speak to her. And Connor was right; Melia filled out her dress perfectly. “You look pretty today.”

“Thanks.” She held up the clothes. “You left these.”

“Oh.” Peter took them from her. His boxers were front and center. “Thanks.”

“Are you gonna be at the beach tonight?” she asked, her voice more alluring than ever.

“Yes.” Peter didn’t care if he was grounded. He’d snuck out before. The first bell rang.

“Maybe I’ll see you then.” Looking into Peter’s eyes was more pleasing than Melia thought it could ever be. The color reminded her of a clear sky. There was so much hidden behind them. She smiled once more before turning to rejoin Jamie.

Connor punched Peter’s arm. “No way.”

Peter nodded.

“Seriously?” He looked down at Peter’s clothes and narrowed his eyes. “I can’t believe it! Who would have thought that you’d—”

“Shut up!”

Connor lowered his voice. “So tell me this at least, why’d you take off your clothes at her house?”

“Long story.” He grabbed his books.

“That has a happy ending!” Connor teased.

“Don’t even think about saying anything! I’ll tell you later.”

“If you don’t, I’ll beat it out of you!” He picked his books off the ground and went in the opposite direction. Peter jogged to catch up with Melia and Jamie.

“Hey Jamie,” he said.

“Hi,” she said shyly. She didn’t know Peter even knew her name. He’s probably trying to suck up to Melia, she thought and suddenly felt a little braver. If Peter expected to spend any more time with her best friend, well, he’d have to pass her inspection first.

“How was your weekend?”

“Uh, ok,” Jamie answered.

Melia said, “She saw a baby being born!”

Peter’s face went white. Jamie internally sighed. She was gonna have to have a talk with Melia about the male species’ thoughts on birth.

“Yea, my aunt had a baby.”

“That’s, uh, good. I was forced to watch my brother and sister being born. I think I’m still scarred from it.”

“Wouldn’t your mother be the one that got scarred?” Melia asked.

Jamie elbowed her. “Oh, Melia, you comedian.”

As they crossed the courtyard, Peter said, “Melia, I was, uh, thinking. Do you, uh, want to go out tonight? Maybe get some ice cream or something?”

“Jamie and I have plans to watch a movie about ants gathering food for other bugs.” She didn’t notice the horror on Peter’s face, but Jamie did, knowing full well that sounded like a piss poor excuse. It was clear that Peter thought Melia was blowing him off.

“Melia, I know I made you promise to watch it with me, but you don’t have to.” She prayed Melia would understand her. And after a curious stare, Melia nodded.

“Tomorrow then, we will watch it.” She quickly whirled around to face Peter. “I’d love to go out with you tonight. And I love ice cream.”

“Great!” He let out a huge sigh of relief. “Want me to pick you up after school?”

“I rode with Jamie this morning, so you can take me.”

“Ok,” he said enthusiastically, already trying to come up with a convincing lie to tell his parents. They took their seats in chemistry.

“He was so cute and nervous around you!” Jamie whispered.

“How can you tell?” Melia whispered back.

“The way he fidgeted when he talked to you. And when you said that you already had plans, his face was so sad!” She giggled. “He likes you.”

“How can he? We haven’t known each other that long.”

“Yea, but you did talk for six hours straight, did you not?”

“Yea.”

“So it’s like you took a weekend’s worth of dates and crammed them into one night. And then you hung out again the next day. So, technically, you’ve had three dates worth of time with him.”

“Oh. I guess it makes sense.” Melia opened her chemistry book. “Is he going to expect me to be easy?”

Jamie laughed. “No, I don’t think so.”

“At least not on the first date. When should I be easy? The movies say at least three dates.”

“You mean, when should you have sex?”

“Yea, that.”

Jamie smothered another laugh. “You can just say that, then. ‘Being easy’ is different than having sex. And I don’t think you need to worry about it yet.”

“Right. Because I want to be in love first.”

“I am not letting you watch anymore chick-flicks.”

*

“Brandon told me that Nick told him that Nathan overheard Melia talking about swimming down to the bottom of the ocean to take pictures of some shipwreck,” Janet said with a flip of her short, dark hair.

“So?” Peter asked with his mouth full. Janet had spent the first half of lunch ‘randomly’ remembering odd facts about Melia.

“So?! It’s weird! No one can swim that far! Everyone knows she thinks she’s a mermaid!”

“Janet, that’s bullshit. Melia does not think she’s a mermaid.” Peter finished chewing his sandwich. “And she did take pictures of a shipwreck. I saw them.”

Janet gasped. “How?”

“How did I see them or how did she take them? I saw them with my eyes. And in case you haven’t heard of it, there’s this crazy new invention called a camera. Some even work under water.”

“You don’t have to be such a jerk.”

“I’m not,” he said defiantly.

“Well, that’s not even the best part. Nathan heard her say that she used to play inside the boat when she was a little girl.”

Kaitlin looked up. “The girl’s a freak. I so don’t see why everyone thinks she’s pretty. I mean, she hardly wears makeup, and what’s with the stupid little braids she puts in her hair?”

Janet agreed. “And the ugly shells she’s always wearing. Hello, she totally wants to be Ariel.”

“You guys are so jealous,” Connor said, grinning.

“Please,” Kaitlin snarled. “I don’t even care about her.”

“Then why are you talking about her?” Connor laughed.

“Because someone needs to point out her weirdness!”

Peter rolled his eyes. Ok, so Melia was a little strange. He was sure growing up in a super rich family with parents that were rarely around would make anyone seem a little strange. And he liked it. He liked not knowing what to expect from her, he liked how different she was from anyone he’d ever met.

“Well, Pete,” Connor began, in a mocking tone. “I expect a full report of her weirdness then. And stay away from bodies of water tonight. She might drown you and eat you.” He and Peter laughed.

“Wait!” Janet cried. “You’re going out with her tonight?”

“What does it matter to you?” he asked, not even looking at Janet.

“Uh, why would you even waste your time with her?”

Connor said, “Maybe ‘cuz she’s super hot!”

Janet turned to Kaitlin. “I bet she’s a slut.”

Peter rolled his eye once more. He was so glad Melia wasn’t like them.

*

The rest of the day dragged on for Peter. He was slightly nervous; he didn’t want to say anything wrong. He met Melia at her locker at the end of the day.

“I have to pick up my brother and sister and take them to soccer practice,” he said apologetically, opening the passenger door for Melia. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” She smiled. Peter’s heart skipped a beat.

“Good.” It would work out perfect, that is if his siblings would keep their mouths shut. He set his and Melia’s bags in the back and put the top down on his Mustang.

“Janet doesn’t have the power of the evil eye, does she?” Melia asked, spying Janet’s icy gaze from a few cars over.

“Uh, not that I know of.”

“Good, because she looks like she wants to curse me.”

Peter laughed.

Adam and Ava stared admirably at Melia after Peter introduced her.

“You’re really pretty,” Ava told her. “I like your hair.”

“Thanks. You’re pretty too. And so is your hair. I like blonde.” Melia smiled.

Ava beamed. “You do?”

“Yes. It’s like shimmery gold.”

Peter smiled. Janet loathed his siblings. Yes, they were only eight and somewhat bratty (it was his parents’ fault for giving them whatever they wanted), but they were his little brother and sister, and Peter was very protective of them.

“How did you do that?” Ava asked, pointing to an intricate braid in Melia’s hair.

“This?” she asked, separating it from the loose waves. “It’s called a fish tail braid.”

“I like it!”

“I can do your hair like this.”

“Really?! Can she Peter? Can she?!”

Peter turned to look at his sister. “Only if she wants to.”

“It’d be fun!” Melia told her. Since she’d been on land, her interactions had been with adults or people her own age. She missed talking to the young merrows. Braiding was the only thing merrows did to their hair, since styles were very limited, being underwater. Melia knew how to do a large variety of complicated and interesting braids.

After Peter parked, he and Adam got out, carrying Ava’s bag.

“See you inside!” Adam called to his twin. He looked up at Peter. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“No. Well, not yet. Hopefully,” he answered. “Listen, you can’t tell Mom or Dad, ok? You know they’re already mad at me.”

“I won’t.” He smiled. “She’s smokin’!”

Peter couldn’t help but laugh. “You shouldn’t say that. She’s ten years older than you. But she is, isn’t she?”

Melia gently raked her fingers through Ava’s messy, long hair. She divided it into two sections and started braiding.

“Do you like my brother?” Ava asked.

“Yes,” Melia said honestly. Ava tried to turn around. “You have to keep your head still, sweetie.”

“Ok, sorry. Peter’s a good brother. Sometimes he plays Barbie’s with me.”

“That’s really cute and nice of him.” She knew Barbies were some sort of dolls. Having a big merfamily used to be a dream of hers… “What about Adam, is he a good brother too?”

“Sometimes. He picks on me, but he doesn’t let anyone else.”

“So he’s the only one who gets to pick on you.”

“Right!” She involuntarily moved her head. “Oops!”

“It’s ok, just pick something straight ahead and look at it.” It worked; Ava stayed completely still the rest of the time Melia braided her hair. She walked Ava inside.

“Have fun!” Peter told the twins. “Thanks for doing that,” he said to Melia, wondering if he should hold her hand while they walked back to the car.

“You’re welcome. I used to do…all the little girls’ hair at the, uh, school I used to volunteer at.”

“You do volunteer work?”

“Yea, with Jamie. There’s a lot of sadness in this world.” That was the hardest part of living on land. Under the sea, no one was homeless, no one did drugs and no one went hungry. Land dwellers were selfish, not wanting to share with anyone, only out for themselves. Melia shook her head. “I enjoy helping others, but helping out at the animal shelter is my favorite.”

He opened the door for her again. Once the car hit the road, Melia flipped through radio stations. She settled on a local hip-hop channel.

“Really? Everything else about you is perfect, and you listen to this awful music?” Peter joked.

Melia didn’t get the joke at first until she saw his smile. She laughed. “Guilty. Why, what do you like?”

“This,” he responded, pressing a button and turning up the volume. “Alternative or rock, mostly.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard this.”

“You’ve never heard Awolnation?”

“Who?”

Peter laughed. “This is a good song, just listen. I think you’ll like it.”

Melia nodded and looked at Peter. She liked the way the wind moved his hair, the way he tapped the steering wheel in tempo with the music, the way his eyes danced when he looked at her. As if he could read her mind, he glanced over and smiled, causing the butterflies to become active again. Feels more like tiny fish, Melia thought. She wondered what his skin felt like, if it was hot like Jamie’s.

“Are your parents home yet?” Peter asked, and then realized it sounded like he was trying to get Melia alone.

“No,” she sighed. “My mom called and said they won’t be back until Thursday now.”

“You sound disappointed. I would be happy if my parents went away.”

“I get lonely in that big house. Charles is there, but only until after dinner.”

“Who’s Charles?”  Wait, was that a spark of jealousy Peter had felt? He knew Melia had no surviving siblings , so who was this Charles? Yes, he had to admit, it was jealousy.

“He’s our cook. But he’s more like my friend.”

“Sweet. Is that who made us breakfast yesterday?”

“Yea. Isn’t he good?”

Peter nodded, wishing he had a personal chef. He stole another glance at Melia. She had her head tilted back, enjoying the wind in her hair. Janet always complained about her hair getting messed up when the top was down. The smile returned to his face, staying there the rest of the night.

*

“Who did your hair, Ava, it’s pretty,” Sue asked during a late dinner.

Peter’s hand froze, his fork hovering over his plate, the precariously balanced heap of rice threatening to tumble off. He had a similar talk with Ava as he did Adam.

“Melia,” she said, grinning at what she thought was her wit.

“Who’s Melia?”

“A really pretty girl I met after school.” She looked right at Peter as she spoke, proud of her non-lying lie.

“Oh. And Peter, why were you letting your sister talk to strangers?”

“She’s not a stranger, Mom. She goes to my school. It’s Edward VanBurren’s daughter. I have a few classes with her.”

“Hm.” Sue looked at Peter’s father, wanting him to take over the questioning.

“And why was she hanging around a gymnasium filled with children?” he asked.

“She takes Tae Bo lessons there.” Peter shoved food in his mouth. Peter wasn’t a good liar either. “With Jamie Forester.”

“Nikki Forester’s girl? Oh, she’s a nice girl. A bit odd, though she doesn’t do anything stupid like party,” Sue stated and picked up her glass of wine. And that was all that was said about Melia.

*

Peter could hardly concentrate on his homework. He couldn’t get Melia out of his mind. The way her dress hung on her body, the way her sequin eyes sparkled, the way she smelled…Peter was intoxicated. He liked how she ordered an extra scoop of ice cream and ate it all. She was different than the stuck up girls he usually associated with. She seemed compassionate and caring, not selfish or materialistic in any way. That surprised him the most, a girl with a millionaire father, not preoccupied with the finer things in life.

He couldn’t tell if she had fun. She eagerly talked to him, always paying attention and laughing when he tried to joke. She reminded him of a kitten, easily distracted by anything around her. She was curious about everything, and simple things seemed to entertain her. He went over their conversation in his head, dissecting every part to decipher what she could have meant.

After wasting half an hour, Peter stopped himself.

“Get a grip,” he said aloud, shaking his head. Peter didn’t like that a girl he’d hung out with twice had this effect on him. It has to be because she is the hottest girl I’ve ever met, he thought. And she was. Peter pleasantly remembered Melia in her wet dress Saturday night. The soaked, thin material clung to her breasts, transparent enough to make him happy.

-Chapter 4-

“Do you feel like we’re being watched?” Melia peered out at the ocean.

Jamie followed her gaze. “For the second time, no.”

“Ok, I guess it’s nothing then.” She frowned but turned back to Jamie.

“So, tell me everything!”

“We picked up his little brother and sister. They are really cute! You know I love kids and can’t wait to have my own!”

“You didn’t tell him that, did you?”

“No, I paid attention during your ‘human boys’ feelings on children’ talk.”

“Good. Continue.”

“Well, after he saw them inside, we got back in the car. He opened the door for me!”

“Awwhhh,” Jamie swooned.

“He had me listen to the music he likes, alternative I think he called it. It wasn’t very pretty but the words were ok.”

“Lyrics,” Jamie corrected.

“Thanks. We went to that ice cream place that has the pink and yellow umbrellas. We got the ice cream, and yes—he paid!”

“See, I told you it would be a date!”

“We sat outside and talked about people at school and the storm. And he asked me if I had plans this weekend.”

“I hope you said you didn’t.”

“No,” Melia said, completely serious. “I told him we were going faery hunting in the woods.”

“What?!”

“I’m joking!” she laughed.

Jamie swatted her arm. “I believed you! So, did he kiss you?”

Melia shook her head. “I think he wanted to. I had the fish in my stomach when he walked me to the door.”

“He walked you to the door? That’s so—wait, fish?”

“You called them butterflies, but I think they feel like fish.” She walked over to Wolfy, who was sleeping on his dog bed on the balcony. “This doggie here was barking, so I couldn’t really hear what Peter was saying. I remember telling him that I’d see him at school.”

Jamie squeaked. “I think he really likes you!”

“I hope so, because I—I think I like him.”

After Jamie left for the night, Melia took Wolfy down to the shore. The feeling of eyes on her was stronger and Peter’s words, “it’s probably not safe for a girl as pretty as you to be out alone at night” echoed in her mind. Where was this feeling coming from? Behind her? She whirled around. She didn’t see anything.

“What about you, boy? Can you sense anything?” Wolfy was too preoccupied with a sandy tennis ball to pay attention. Melia threw it once for him before running into the ocean.

The water felt cold tonight. The foreboding feeling grew stronger the deeper she got. Something wasn’t right. Immediately she feared the darklings. Had Lana felt this? What had she stumbled upon? She was out all alone, just like I am… Not wanting to be obvious, Melia had to use great control to swim slowly to shore. Guilt for doubting Actassi dripped from her like the salty ocean water. He was a good King. He wouldn’t let the darklings run rampant. Unless he didn’t know.

Melia hated the fear she felt. She hated the creeped out feelings, the way she felt vulnerable to be alone. She wanted to call Jamie and make up a reason to spend the night at her house. Melia didn’t want to tell her she was scared. And admitting she was scared of the water felt oddly insulting. She wished her mother was home, though she dared not utter a word about the darklings.

Soon, and while the sun was still bright, she’d swim out to talk to Actassi. Just to say hi. Because she missed him. That’s all. Though her plan was calming, Melia lay restless in her bed. When she finally did fall asleep, her dreams dragged her down into a deep, dark, watery abyss.

*

“Did you pork her?” Connor asked Peter, not minding to be quiet.

“Don’t talk about her like that. And no.”

“Tell me you at least kissed her?”

“No.”

“What the hell is wrong with you man?”

Janet laughed. “Didn’t I tell you Peter’s a prude?”

Connor looked at Peter and shook his head. “No, I think this means you like her.”

Peter opened his locker. “Well, yea.”

“No, I mean really like her,” Connor tried to tease.

“Wait,” Kaitlin said, looking up from her homework she was feverishly trying to finish. “If he really likes her then why didn’t he kiss her?”

“Because,” Connor explained. “If a guy really likes a girl, he respects her. And if he respects her, he takes it slow.”

Janet ran her hands over her body seductively. “But he didn’t take it slow with me.”

Peter grinned. “Exactly.” Even Kaitlin laughed.

Janet kicked her. “Well have fun with Fishy over there. Tell me this: does she sleep on a water bed?”

“No. But her bed is really comfortable.” He shut his locker and walked across the hall to say good morning to Melia, leaving Janet with her mouth gaping.

Melia was tired. She’d tossed and turned all night. Images of darklings flashed through her mind like a horror show. Jamie knew right away something was wrong with Melia.

“You ok?”

“Yea.” Melia sat on the ground. She was wearing a short denim skirt, wedge sandals and an off the shoulder black top, complete with a strand of pearls and matching earrings.  She looked casually chic, as always. “Tired, I guess.”

“Up late thinking about him?” she whispered as Peter drew near.

“Yes,” Melia said, not feeling like it was a complete lie. Peter had crossed her mind once or twice…or three or four times.

“Hey Melia,” Peter said, trying not to appear googley-eyed.

“Hi Peter.” The fish lashed their tails in her stomach. She was aware of Janet and Kaitlin staring daggers at her. “How are you?”

“Better, now.” His smile was too big, he knew it.

“You were bad before?” she asked, tipping her head.

“No, it’s just that now, you know, never mind.”

Jamie picked up her books. “I promised Jeff I’d look over his math homework. See ya later,” she said to Melia.

“So,” Peter began nervously. “Want to meet my friends?”

“Sure.” She smiled sweetly, not meaning for Peter to interpret it as seductively as he did. He carried Melia’s books as they crossed the hall.

“Hey guys, I think you all know Melia,” he mumbled, knowing fully that everyone in the whole high school knew who Melia was. Suddenly his little group of friends grew in number. “This is Connor, Nate, Matthew, Brian, Kaitlin, Amanda, John, and Janet.”

“Hi,” Melia said nervously. She didn’t know what to do with her hands. She wished she had her books to hold.

“I love your top. Where’d you get it?” Amanda asked.

“I’m not really sure, actually.  My mom got it for me,” Melia answered.

“And your hair,” Kaitlin cooed. “It’s so shiny! I love that little braid thing too.”

“Thanks.” Melia stepped closer to Peter. She felt a like a gazelle surrounded by hungry lions. What did the popular girls want from her?

“So,” Connor said, his voice boisterous, “You treating my boy good?”

“Uh, yea.”

Peter shook his head at Connor. For some reason he felt Melia’s discomfort. Connor nodded, acknowledging Peter’s silent request. “You coming to the beach tonight?” Connor asked.

Melia didn’t understand why he spoke with such bad grammar. “No, I have Tae Bo tonight.”

Connor said, “Oh, you do? Do you think you could kick my ass?”

“Yes,” Melia said confidently. Peter laughed.

“Bring it,” Connor joked.

“Jamie said it’s not polite to do that in a skirt.”

“‘Jamie said’?” Janet huffed. “What is she, your puppet master?”

“Of course not,” Melia retorted. She knew what that phrase meant. “I’m not a puppet.”

Peter took a step forward, hoping Melia would follow. “We’re gonna go to class.” Despite a belittling look from Janet, he walked away from his friends.

*

She was all he could think about. Even his sleeping thoughts were wrapped around Melia. Her voice, her lips, her hair, were all so beautiful. He dreamed of them on the beach. She was wearing a white dress. After a kiss, he slid a thin strap over her shoulder, the silky fabric moving effortlessly down her smooth skin.  The blaring beep of his alarm was most unwelcoming. Stiffly sitting up, Peter kept the image from his dream on his mind as he got into the shower.

He arrived at school before Melia. He wasn’t sure what he should say to her, so he went over different options in his head. He knew Melia and Jamie got to school early. Impatiently, he checked the time on his phone. His heart sped up when he remembered their conversation last night. He had called her just to say ‘hi’ of course. They ended up talking for two hours.

Peter hated talking on the phone. It was boring and awkward. But it was different with Melia. If neither spoke for a while, it was ok. It was nice having her on the line.

He looked down the hall; she wasn’t there. Wanting to do something to make the time go by faster, Peter went to the bathroom. When he returned, Jamie was putting her books away.

“Hey Jamie,” he said, not wanting to seem rude by asking what he wanted to.

“Hi Peter. Melia forgot something in the car. She’ll be right in.” Jamie smiled. She could sense Peter’s anticipation. She focused on him, looking with her second sight, trying to figure him out.

“Am I that obvious?” he asked, embarrassed.

“No.” Without Melia by her side, Jamie felt like the vulnerable outcast she had once been. She was a dark cloud compared to Peter’s popular star. The contrast cut in her like a knife.

“Good,” Peter sighed. Jamie looked different today. Her hair was wavy, and she wasn’t wearing black. “Pink looks good on you,” he blurted, feeling like she needed to hear it.

“Thanks,” Jamie said quietly. “Melia made me wear it.” She looked down at the form fitting shirt. “It’s hers.”

Peter nodded, not sure of what to say next. Should he ask Jamie about Melia, to see if there was anything she thought he should know? No, it was too soon. Or was it? Wasn’t now the perfect time to find out the secret things Melia liked? Before he could muster up a worthwhile question, Janet and Kaitlin walked passed.

“Boo!” Janet jeered. Jamie’s eyes flew to the ground. What good does seeing spirits do if she can’t command them? She’d love to send a poltergeist after that bitch.

“Ignore her, she has some serious issues,” he spat, causing Jamie to smile ever so slightly.

“Hey guys.” Melia’s honey smooth voice came from behind them. Peter whirled around, an image of her from his dream flashing through his mind. He felt the blood rush to his cheeks. He needed a distraction before it rushed somewhere else.

“Melia,” he breathed. “Hi.” Lana’s pink shell necklace got caught on the large ring she was wearing and tore from her neck as she lifted the strap to her messenger bag over her head.  It landed on Jamie’s feet. Jamie bent down quickly to pick it up, fearing the shell had cracked. She flipped it over; it was intact. As she stretched her arm out to give the shell back to Melia, darkness swallowed her.

Wind. Sand. Rocks. The moon dodging clouds. Sharp debris under soft feet.

Jamie gasped. Melia put an arm around her and lowered her to the ground.

“Are you ok?” she whispered, taking the shell from her hand. She knew what happened, she knew the emotional and physical toll it took on her friend, and she wanted to know what she saw. After a weak nod from Jamie, Melia thrust her hand into her purse and held her wallet out to Peter. “Can you get something from the vending machine?”

“Uh, sure,” Peter answered. He was confused on what had just happened. “Are you alright, Jamie?”

“I’m fine.”

Peter didn’t think she looked fine. Her hands shook and her face was pale. Her eyes were wide and she looked scared. “What do you want?”

“Sprite,” Melia answered for Jamie. “Thanks, Peter.”

“Good thinking,” Jamie said to Melia as soon as Peter was out of earshot. “Sorry to make him think you’re friends with a freak.”

“If he thinks you’re a freak for being a medium, then I’m in trouble,” she said with a grin. She patted Jamie’s hand.

“She was walking.”

“What?”

“Lana. She was walking on the shore. I know because there were little sharp things in the sand. Like little pieces of wood and rocks.”

Melia nodded. What was Lana doing in human form? “This opens up the killer to—to anyone.”

“Oh, Melia, I’m so sorry!” Jamie hugged her.

“I thought we were getting closer to solving this.” She rested her head on Jamie’s shoulder, fighting back emotion. After a minute, she straightened up, composed herself and said, “At least I don’t have to worry about the darklings.”

Before Jamie could ask what darklings were, Peter returned. Now Melia looked distraught. He wanted to hug her but decided to just sit on the floor next to her instead. He handed Jamie the Sprite and gave Melia her wallet back. Her fingers brushed his; she looked at him, into his eyes. The sadness melted from her heart.

“Thanks, Peter,” she said sincerely.

He liked hearing her say his name. “You’re welcome. Are you feeling better, Jamie?”

“Yea, I had a cramp. From working out. In my leg.” Jamie laughed nervously.

“Oh, ouch.” He looked at Melia again. “Ava keeps bugging me to ask you to do her hair again.”

She smiled. “Really? I’d love to.”

“I’ll let her know.”

Melia shifted her weight, letting go of Jamie’s hand and turning more toward Peter. She wore another dress today, this one was a deep purple. Her hair was pulled to the side in a fishtail braid, with a purple ribbon tied at the end. To Peter’s delight, Jeff, a shy boy he had never spoken to, came over to talk to Jamie, distracting her and leaving Peter more or less alone with Melia.

“Want to sit in the courtyard?” he asked. Melia nodded, and he extended a hand to help her up. Her skin was so smooth, he didn’t want to let go. Melia quickly put her books away, taking only what she needed for class.

“It’s your fault I’m tired,” she said coyly. They sat on a bench in the morning sun.

“It is? Why is that?” Peter smiled, leaning close.

“I dreamed about you.”

And I dreamed about you, he wanted to say, but didn’t. “Well, if you dreamed then you slept, so I’m not sure how it’s my fault you’re tired.”

Melia smiled back. She liked being this close to Peter. Her leg touched his; his skin was warm. He smelled good. “Well, before I dreamed about you, I was thinking about you.”

“Really? And what were you thinking?”

“Oh, I can’t tell you,” she quietly said, not even realizing she was flirting. She had been up half the night wondering about him. What he feels like, his skin, his hair, his lips. She wanted him to hold her, hug her and kiss her. He moved closer. The fish wriggled around in her belly.

“Will you meet me on the beach tonight?” he asked, his voice wistful.

“Of course.”

“At nine.” He smiled again, though this time something mischievous glinted in his sky blue eyes. “Unless you can’t stand for me to keep you up all night.”

“I would like that,” she said without realizing the dirty implications.

“Would you?” He moved closer, tipping his head a bit.

He’s going to kiss me! Melia thought. She didn’t want her first kiss to happen at school. That was not romantic. “Janet is staring at me.”

Peter pulled away. He had forgotten that people were around them. For a too brief moment, only Melia existed. “She’s jealous,” he explained. The first bell rang. Peter carried Melia’s books to class. Janet rolled her eyes and pretended to gag when Peter sat down next to her. He didn’t care. Nothing could shake the excitement he felt for tonight.

*

The clock struck eight. Peter counted each chime from the grandfather clock. He tapped his pencil impatiently on his notebook. He had been sitting at the kitchen table for twenty minutes in an attempt to finish his English assignment. No surprise, his mind drifted to Melia. Restless, he got up to get something to eat. After finishing the plate of chocolate chip cookies his mother had made just that morning, he sat down and forced himself to finish his homework.

“I’m going to bed,” he loudly announced at eight forty five.

“Alright, goodnight,” his mother called, not looking away from the TV. Mocha was snuggled on her lap. Peter knew that it was that little dog that could give him away. Though he was in no way, shape or form a guard dog, Mocha barked at the quietest noise.

“Night, Ava,” Peter told his little sister, stepping into her room to make sure her blinds were closed.

“Good night,” she mumbled sleepily.

Peter changed his clothes; it was stupid but he didn’t want to wear the same thing Melia had seen him wearing at school. He’d done this many times and never got caught, and all conditions were favorable tonight: his mother was glued to the TV, his father was in the basement doing the same and both his siblings were in bed. He closed his door, stuffed a pillow under his blankets, opened his window and popped the screen out. He carefully hid it in the closet. Next, he silently stepped through the window onto the roof. The night air was refreshing. Crouching, he walked past Ava’s room to the side of the house where he was able to grab hold of a tree branch, swing into the tree and climb down. That was easy. Getting back up was a different story.

He couldn’t take his car. The engine was too loud, and it would be too obvious if his parents looked outside and didn’t see it parked in the driveway. He had gotten his bike out of the shed and stashed it behind the house. Dreading every step past the living room window, Peter held his breath until he was safely away from the house.

Melia sat on the shore. The wind blew her hair. It was after nine. Where was Peter? She stood, tempted to jump in the water. For some reason she turned. Her heart swelled when she saw him. He waved to her and jogged over.

“Peter,” she whispered. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

“Sorry.” He stepped close. “It took longer than I thought to ride over here.”

“Ride?” she asked, thinking of horses.

“A bike. My parents don’t know I’m here. I kinda had to sneak out.”

“Oh.” She smiled. It was like in a movie. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.”

“Want to go closer to my house? There are people here.”

“Yea,” Peter agreed, though he knew the very small crowd would soon be gone. The beach rarely had people on it past ten on a school night. “So,” he began after they settled on the sandy ground underneath The Ridge. “Are your parents glad to be home?”

“They’re not home yet.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s ok, Edward is presenting something, so he can’t leave yet.”

“You call your dad Edward?” Peter asked, shocked.

“He’s not my real father,” she explained, looking out at the ocean. “My real father died when I was three.”

“Oh, sorry,” Peter said again, feeling horrible.

“Thanks. It’s ok, too. I don’t remember him. He wasn’t around much when he was alive.” She shrugged it off and changed the topic. “Do you like birds?”

“Birds? Uh, I guess.”

“I do. I envy their ability to fly.”

It was a strange statement but Peter agreed. “I’ve been sky diving. That’s the closest we can get to unassisted flying, I think.”

She leaned closer to him. Her hair blew across his face. “What kind of bird would you be?”

“An eagle,” he answered without having to think about it. “What about you?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes I think I’d be a parrot and live somewhere warm, sitting in my tree eating fruit and nuts all day. But I’d also like to be a hawk.”

“So what kind of land animal would you be?” he asked, a small smile forming on his lips.

“A horse,” she said after a minute. The wind blew her hair across her face again. Peter reached out and gently moved it out of her eyes. Slowly, he ran his hand through it. He tipped his face down at hers. Melia opened her mouth to explain why she chose a horse but stopped. Peter tucked a renegade strand behind her ear. He slowly brushed his fingers down her cheek and across her collar bone. He let his hand fall into her lap, where her hands were, and intertwined their fingers. He wrapped his other arm around her.

Melia felt a rush of warmth, both inside and out, with Peter’s embrace. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his firm chest. She could hear his heartbeat. It was slower than hers, and she pressed her ear against him to listen.  But having that much of her body against Peter’s brought on a new sensation. Instead of flipping their tails, the fish did somersaults. A jolt ran through her body that reminded her of the time she got a static shock. Every part of her seemed awake and the closer she got to Peter the better it felt.

He knew his heart was racing and he hoped she didn’t notice. Having his arms around her felt so right. The starry night sky, the calm ocean, the warm breeze…it was all perfect. Slowly, he pulled his hand out of hers and ran it through her hair again. Gingerly, he lifted Melia’s chin. He gazed into her beautiful eyes, and though it was too dark to see their magnificent color, he was captivated. She put her hand on his side. He moved his hand from under her chin to her slender waist and kissed her.

Fireworks. Melia saw fireworks. They exploded inside her shut eyelids; their fiery hot debris landing on her skin and causing her to shiver. In a fury, her arms went around Peter, enjoying the warmth of his skin. Feeling the same desperate longing, Peter pressed his mouth to hers, hugged her tight, pulling her closer. When the kiss finally ended, both were breathless.

Holding onto each other, Peter leaned back, bringing Melia with him until they were laying in the sand.

“I’d be a lion,” he whispered. “If I could be any animal. That’s what I would choose.”

Melia wriggled closer. “Really?”

“Yea.” Peter tightened his arms around her.

“You’d eat me.”

“No, I’d let you live. We’d be the first lion-horse friends.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.” He propped himself up on his elbow and kissed her again. Peter knew he was insanely attracted to Melia. He knew there was something mysterious about her. And he knew that coming from a rich and powerful family made her oddly untouchable. Add all those together and she was even more desirable. He had expected to have feelings for her. He just never expected them to be this strong.

Melia ran her hands over Peter’s back. She hooked her fingers in his belt loops and pulled him on top of her. She had never felt anything like this. She thought she knew what to expect, after all the romantic movies she’d watched and all the love stories she’d read. But nothing had prepared her for how intense her feelings would suddenly get. She wanted to be closer to Peter. And she wanted it now. She grabbed the hem of his shirt, prepared to pull it over his head when a car alarm went off, causing them both to startle.

“I forgot we weren’t alone,” Peter said quietly, begrudgingly moving off of Melia. He stood and extended a hand to Melia. “Shall we?”

“Where are we going?” she asked as he pulled her up. She clasped her hands around his shoulders and pressed her hips to his.

“I-I don’t know,” he answered, working hard to resist the urge to throw her down and have his way with her.

“Do you like kissing me?”

“Yes. Very much.”

“Good.” She stood on her toes and kissed him again. A loud plunk caused them to pull apart. Peter stared at the seemingly dark ocean, not able to see anything. Melia, being able to see more than humans, scanned the water. Whatever had made the noise was underwater again. It very well could have been just a fish, Melia told herself. Peter took her hand and walked down the beach.

“And what if you could live in the ocean,” she began. “What would you be then?”

“Hmm,” he thought, letting go of her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist. “One of those colorful sea horse things.”

“Weedy sea dragon,” she informed him. “The males carry the babies, you know.”

“Oh, well never mind then. I’d be a shark.”

“An eagle, a lion and a shark. All fierce animals. According to those shows with the doctors, that says something about you.”

He laughed. “Well, what would you be?”

“I’d be a shark too,” she lied.

“You, a shark? You’re too sweet to be a vicious killer.”

Melia stopped dead in her tracks.  “People kill millions of sharks a year for their fins. They grab the shark, take a knife—which isn’t always sharp—and slice through the sharks’ thick skin, cutting their fins off. Then the poor, injured shark is tossed back into the ocean like garbage, where it can take hours and sometimes days for them to bleed to death. If they’re lucky, something else will eat them and end their suffering. Sharks aren’t killers. People are.”

“S-sorry!” Peter said quickly, surprised with the venom in Melia’s voice. “I didn’t know that. That’s horrible”

“Yes. Horrible.”

“Adam likes sharks. He’s always talking about them. I bet he’d love it if you showed him some of your shark pictures.”

She smiled. “I’ll have to do that then. You love him, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he said with certainty. “I guess I’m the typical, overprotective older brother,” he added with a slight laugh.

Peter hugged her tighter. In comfortable silence, they walked up and down the shore. They sat on the stone steps leading to the parking lot. Melia looked up at the sky.

“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered, not really talking to Peter in particular.

“It is,” he agreed, tilting his head to the stars as well. “Makes you feel small, doesn’t it?”

She shook her head. “No. It reminds me that we are all connected.”

“How does it do that?”

“No matter who we are, no matter what we are doing, what we look like, we all look up at the same sky. No matter how different we are, the sun warms us just the same. The stars sparkle for every eye that gazes upon them.”

Impressed by the depth of her statement, Peter didn’t say anything. Instead he slid his fingers through hers and drew her near.

“Melia,” he spoke softly, his voice barely louder than the crashes of sleepy waves. His lips were close to her ear, his breath warm on her skin. She turned, so close their noses touched. “I really like you,” he admitted, though he was sure it was more than obvious.

“I like you too, Peter,” she whispered back.

He smiled nervously. “Do you want to go out with me?”

She was about to ask ‘where are we going?’ when she remembered that ‘going out’ was code for dating. “Yes, I would love to.”

Peter involuntarily squeezed her; he could not believe someone as hot, smart, interesting, pretty, nice, and well, just amazing would want to be with mundane him. But it’s true, he thought and kissed her again.

*

“You’re glowing,” Jamie squealed.

Alarmed, Melia looked at her arms.

“No, not literally glowing. It means you look really, really happy.”

“Oh,” Melia laughed. “I am!”

“And you should be, since Peter Anderson is now your boyfriend!” Jamie giggled. She shut her locker and leaned against it. “I’m so jealous of your date or whatever you call last night.” She hugged her books. “That is all so romantic!”

“It was!” Melia agreed, looking down the hall for Peter. “Are you sure you don’t care if I hang out with him tonight?”

“Of course not.”

“I don’t want to be one of those girls we hate.”

“Well, you’re not one of those girls who ditches her friends as soon as she gets a boyfriend,” she told Melia honestly. “You’re excited right now so it’s ok to hang out with him 24/7 for a while. Just don’t overdo the PDA thing, ok?”

“What’s PDA?” Melia asked, but before Jamie had a chance to explain, Peter walked up behind her and demonstrated.

He wanted to kiss her again. Though he and Melia had stayed up until after midnight talking and making out (well, more of the latter) he wasn’t tired. He had sprung out of bed, eager and excited to get to school to see his girlfriend. He snaked an arm around her, pulled her in and gave her a deep, passionate kiss. Her arms flew around him, enjoying the kiss as much as Peter but was more aware of her fellow students watching.

After reluctantly breaking apart, Peter said, “Hey Jamie. How are you?”

“Ok,” she said quietly. Peter quickly dropped off his books in his locker. The three of them walked to the courtyard. They sat at a table near the large fountain in the middle. Melia slid close to Peter and looped her arm though his.

“Why do magnets only stick to certain things?” she asked him.

He raised an eyebrow but answered her question. “It has to do with the poles and creating a magnetic field.”

“Then why don’t they stick to walls?”

“Walls aren’t ferrous.”

“Oh,” Melia said, nodding as if she understood.  Jamie stifled a giggle. She looked across the yard and met eyes with Jeff. He smiled and waved, beckoning her over.

“I’ll see you guys in class,” she told Melia and Peter and walked over to Jeff.

“Hey Jamie,” Jeff said brightly. He was sitting at a table with his friends CJ, Zack, and Giselle. Jamie smiled nervously, quietly said hello to everyone and sat next to Jeff. Giselle—or Elle, as she preferred—scoffed at Melia.

“Figures, a girl like her would get a guy like that.” She looked immediately at Jamie after saying that. Jamie had always been a little leery of Elle; not that Elle ever actually did anything to make Jamie not like her, but the energy she gave off was just…bad. Jamie could feel the grudge Elle held against her, she just had no idea what in the world it could be.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jamie snapped, too defensive to feel shy.

“Like you don’t know. Guys like Peter have a type, and they never stray from that type. It doesn’t matter how shallow or narrow minded she is, she just needs to look good on his arm to uphold his social status,” she said quickly.

“Melia’s not shallow or narrow minded. She’s nothing like the ‘type’ you’re thinking of. And actually, you are the narrow minded one for assuming that. Trust me; you have no idea who Melia is,” Jamie spat, surprising herself with her bluntness.

Looking enviously at Peter, Zack sighed. “What I wouldn’t give for a girl like that.”

“Dude, I know,” CJ agreed, looking up from a Psychology Today magazine.

Jamie knew Melia was a hard ten. She knew Melia could easily be a swimsuit model and win every beauty contest she entered. But she couldn’t help but wonder what the male population would think about her if they knew the truth. They would have to see it to believe it, of course. Would that make her a freak? Or, perhaps, even more enticing?

“Hey guys!” a cute, petite blonde called, striding up to their table. “Oh, Jamie, hi!”

“Hey Rosemary,” Jamie said back, happy for a distraction from conversation with Elle. Rosemary stood just over five feet. She wore pink dresses and braids and just looked like the sweetest girl in the world. And she was captain of the debate team. She never backed down from an argument and could talk her way into or out of almost anything. For the next few minutes Jamie felt very out of place. Jeff and his group of friends spoke of things she knew nothing about, reminiscing over the fun last weekend, planning for the upcoming one. She wanted to go back and sit with Melia. She turned to see if she and Peter were still by the fountain. Rosemary followed her gaze.

“Oh. My. God. They are so freaking cute!” she squealed, scrunching up her face. And they were. Peter and Melia sat angled toward each other. Peter held both of her hands and looked longingly into her eyes as he spoke. He must have said something funny, for Melia laughed, leaning toward him as she did so. Then he put a hand on her cheek, gently pulled her face forward and kissed her. “Well, there goes our chances for ‘cutest couple’,” she pouted. CJ shrugged.

Cutest couple? Jamie wondered. CJ was tall, chubby and had ear length curly black hair. He and Rosemary made a very odd couple. She smiled at the thought.

“Yea, but they’re not a couple,” Elle pointed out.

“Yes they are,” Rosemary stated, looking right at Jamie. “Aren’t they?”

“Uh,” Jamie started, aware that everyone in the little group was staring at her. She didn’t want to go blabbing Melia’s business, but there really wasn’t a point in keeping it a secret. “Yes.”

“Told you,” Rosemary said. “I saw it on Facebook last night.”

Jamie felt a wave of proudness for Melia doing something so normal like that.

“Janet’s gonna be so pissed,” Rosemary continued.

“Why?” Jamie asked.

Rosemary looked at Jamie as if she asked is the sky blue. “He’s her ex.”

“Yea, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Jeff interjected.

“I’m, uh, gonna get my books,” Jamie mumbled, aware of the armload or textbooks in front of her. Ungracefully, she gathered them up and hurried to the covered hall that led to class. She hadn’t realized Jeff had followed until he said,

“Sorry if they upset you by talking about Melia like that. I know she’s your friend.”

“It’s ok,” she said quietly.

“Listen, give me a chance to redeem them, ok?” He slowed. So did Jamie. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

She almost replied with ‘hanging out with Melia’ before remembering Melia would be with Peter. “Uh, nothing.”

“Well, if you’re interested you should come over. We watch old horror movies every other Friday. Lame I know, but we’re broke and bored and the tradition was born.” He smiled. “It’s my turn to host.”

Jamie looked at Melia; she would tell her to go. “Sure, sounds fun.”

-Chapter 5-

Peter took Melia’s hands in his. The Friday morning sun sparkled in her eyes. She looked fantastic again today in another short dress. If she didn’t look so good in dresses (and if they weren’t as short as they were) Peter would think it odd that she always wore them. He liked that she rarely wore make up and her hair was almost always down.

“Where do you want to go to dinner tonight?” he asked, unable to look away from her hypnotizing gaze.

“I don’t know. You should pick.”

“What kind of food do you like?”

“I like cheese,” she told him, smiling slightly.

He chuckled. “Ok. Hmm, where could we go for cheese?”

“Oh! I like Italian food,” she told him.

“Me too. And I know a place.” He beamed and squeezed her hands. “So, the movie, what do you want to see?”

“I like love stories,” she admitted. Jamie had warned her most guys hate romantic movies. But Peter didn’t miss a beat.

“Ok. Is there a particular one you want to see?”

“Yes. I can’t remember the name but it takes place in the old fashioned days.”

Peter nodded. “I’ve seen the previews.”

“Then can we go to the ocean?”

“Sure,” he eagerly agreed, recalling how enjoyable their trip to the beach was last night. He kissed her again. Her lips were soft. He knew it was stupid but he felt like something passed through them with every kiss. Like a spark or electricity or something. He let go of her hand and put his on her waist. Melia made the move this time. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him passionately.

She liked the way his body felt against hers. She liked how warm he was. She liked how safe she felt around him, how she didn’t feel like a fish out of water. And there was something about him that made him almost vulnerable. Melia couldn’t figure out what it was. When she slowly let go, she saw Connor gaping at them.

“Your friends are staring,” she whispered.

Peter turned and waved. “Oh, uh, yea.” He held her hand again, removing it from around his shoulders with a resentful sigh. He led her over to his friends. Melia smiled politely as Connor, Nate and Brian made their rounds of ‘good mornings’.

“I’m gonna go find Jamie,” she told Peter. “I’ll see you in class.”

“Ok.” Peter nodded, not wanting her to leave or to face the heckling he was sure to get from his friends.

Jamie had just walked into the building. “Jamie!” Melia called. Jamie stopped and turned.

“Where’s Peter?” Jamie asked, a little shocked to see Melia alone.

“With his friends.” She hooked her arm through Jamie’s. “I think I need help!”

“With what?”

“I can’t stop thinking about Peter! All I want to do is kiss him!”

Jamie laughed. “It’s ok. Just talk to me about it and you’ll feel better.”

“When I kiss him I feel warm and tingly.”

“Now that I can’t help you with,” she laughed again.

They crossed the hall and entered the chemistry lab. Melia let go of Jamie and set her books down. “What were you and Jeff talking about yesterday?”

Jamie couldn’t help but smile. “Nothing really. He invited me over for a movie night or something.”

Melia excitedly gasped. “You have a date!”

“No, it’s not a date.”

“But you’re going to the movies! Oh! Maybe we can double date!”

“Shh! No, I’m just going to his house to watch a movie. His friends will be there. It’s not a date at all. And,” she lowered her voice, “I don’t really want to go. I don’t know his friends very well.”

“Well, this is a perfect chance to get to know them.”

“I knew you’d say that.”

“He is totally gonna fall in love with you.”

“No he’s not.”

“I think so.” Melia flipped through her notes. “You two will sit by each other during the movie. Oh, hopefully it’s scary so you can hold his hand! And then when he walks you to your car, you’ll look up and see a shooting star. Then he will kiss you!”

“Real life isn’t like that. Seriously, I’m banning the chick-flicks.” She smiled and shook her head. “But we are watching a horror movie.”

“See!” Melia grabbed her hand. “I told you!”

“Yea, but it’s too bad scary movies never scare me, ya know. Since I grew up seeing ghosts, the fake ones just don’t cut it.”

*

“You look amazing,” Peter couldn’t help but gush when Melia opened the front door. She teetered on her platforms trying to hold Wolfy back. “It’s ok. He’ll settle down if I say hi to him.” Peter braced himself as the nearly two hundred pound dog put his paws on his shoulders. He tilted his head back to avoid being slobbered.

Someone whistled from inside the house. Wolfy bounded away, knowing that the whistle was often accompanied by a treat. Peter paused inside the foyer, quickly debating if he should take his shoes off. Melia had hers on, but they were fancy and probably clean. He’d rather take them off. Peter took Melia’s hand. Nerves and excitement bubbled in his stomach as he stepped closer to kiss her. Even in heels, Peter was a few inches taller than Melia.

“You smell good,” she told him, breathing in his cologne.

“Thanks.”

“Come in, I want you to meet my family.”

The excitement melted and the nerves doubled. Family? Shit. Why didn’t I think of that? “Ok.” Peter hoped Melia stayed with him. He would get lost in this house.

“Good evening,” Charles said to them as they passed through the kitchen. He set a bowl down for Wolfy to devour.

“Hi Charles.” Melia smiled. “This is Peter.”

“Peter, nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Peter said, feeling even more nervous as Charles’ judgmental eyes beat into him.

“What are you two doing tonight?” he asked, turning to the counter and slowly sliding a large butcher knife from the knife block. He turned it, the shiny metal catching the bright kitchen lights.

Peter swallowed. “Dinner and a movie.”

“Hm. Typical.” He ran his finger over the knife.

Melia practically jumped with excitement. “I know!”

“Your mother is out on the veranda.” Charles set the knife down. “Have fun. Treat her well and don’t keep her out too late.”

“Ok and I won’t.” Peter stumbled after Melia. Are all personal chefs that protective? He pondered that until Melia opened the glass doors and stepped outside.

“Mom, Edward, this is Peter.” She held his hand tightly. Edward and Nyneve were sitting on a rocking bench, both with a drink in hand. Edward had his arm casually draped around Nyneve. He stood and extended his hand. Peter had to pull his out of Melia’s grip to shake Edward’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Peter said, hoping he didn’t sound as nervous as he felt.

“Please, call me Ed.” He smiled, his expression warmer than Peter expected. Edward VanBurren was a well known business man. Professionally, he was ruthless and cutthroat. Peter imagined him only wearing suits and ties. But here he was, holding a Corona, wearing khaki shorts and a Yankees tee shirt. “Melia’s told us all about you. Please, sit.”

Melia sat on a chaise lounge, and patted the cushion next to her. Peter took a seat at her side. She put her arm around his and held his hand.

“Hello Peter,” Melia’s mother spoke. She had a slight accent. Peter couldn’t place it. “I’m Nyneve, but everyone calls me Eve.” Peter nodded. His parents made his friends call them ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ Nyneve was gorgeous; Peter could see where Melia got her good looks. “How are you doing tonight, Peter?”

“Uh, good. Excited.” He laughed nervously.

“The first date is the best,” Edward said, sipping his beer and looking into Nyneve’s eyes. “Do you remember our first date?”

“Of course.” She put her head on his shoulder. “You flew me on your private jet to New York for dinner.”

Peter turned to Melia. “I hope you don’t expect anything that extravagant.”

She shook her head. “I don’t like being that high in something metal. It’s unnatural.”

Peter laughed. “I guess so.”

“Well,” Edward started, “You kids have fun. Treat our Melia well.”

“I will,” Peter said as seriously as he could.

Melia hugged her parents goodbye. Her mother whispered something to her in another language. Peter pretended not to hear. He followed Melia into the garage where she held up a set of keys. “Do you want to drive it? I’m not good with the shifty thing,” she said.

“Which one?” Peter asked, his heart starting to race.

She pointed to a red 1969 Chevelle.

“Yes!” Peter blurted before it dawned on him how nerve-racking it would be. He looked admiringly around the garage.

“There’s more in New York,” Melia told him, watching Peter practically salivate over the cars. Boys like cars, Jamie had told her. “He likes to keep the classics here because the weather is nicer.” She was proud of her proper usage of ‘classics’. Jamie would be happy.

Speechless, Peter just nodded. He opened the passenger door for Melia before he got in. The engine roared to life. Peter slowly accelerated, navigating the winding driveway with more caution than necessary.

They spoke about family. Melia was curious to learn the traditions Peter’s parents instilled upon him. She didn’t seem to quite understand the point of Christmas, which seemed very odd to Peter.

Melia ate every last bit of her cheese ravioli. She and Peter shared a slice of tiramisu. They walked hand in hand back to the car. To Peter’s liking, they arrived early to the movie and were able to get seats right in the middle of the back row.  He asked Melia if she wanted popcorn and was a little surprised when she said yes. After that very filling dinner, Peter didn’t have any room left for popcorn. Melia curiously watched a group of six girls a few rows ahead. One stood up, saying she needed to pee and asked for someone to come with.

“Whatcha looking at?” Peter asked, seeing her thoughtful expression.

“Those people,” she said, pointing. “I’ve noticed it before. Human girls never seem to go to the bathroom alone.”

Peter laughed and agreed, and wondered why Melia said human girls. “Yep. Please tell me why you do that.”

Melia realized her slip up and blushed. “It’s a girl thing,” she said with a smile. She dug her hand into the popcorn and shoved a handful in her mouth, praying Peter didn’t think she was weird.

*

Jamie put her Jeep in park. She flipped on the dome light and checked, for the third time, the address written in Jeff’s messy handwriting. She looked at the mailbox; it was the right house. There were no other cars parked outside. Her heart skipped a beat. Maybe Melia was right. Then she looked at the clock and saw she was a few minutes early. She considered staying in the car a while longer but got out when she realized that it would look creepy to just be sitting there, doing nothing. She ran her hands over her hair. She had attempted to straighten it but she knew little pieces frizzed around her part. With a deep breath, she unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door and got out.

Jeff’s mom opened the door. She was talking on her cell phone and seemed impatient to be dealing with Jamie. Something hit Jamie as soon as she stepped into the quaint ranch. It was suffocating, infuriating, terrifying, and familiar. She closed her eyes and swore in her head. Jeff’s house was haunted. A tortoiseshell cat rounded the corner, meowing. It rubbed on Jamie’s legs.

“Hey kitty,” she said quietly. She scooped him up, happy to have a distraction. Jeff rounded the corner with impressive speed.

“Hey, Jamie!” he said, enthusiastically.

“Hi,” she shyly replied, petting the cat, who started purring.

Jeff looked perplexed. “That cat hates life. I’ve don’t think I’ve heard her purr once in the two years we’ve had her.”

“Really?”

“Yea. Her name’s Gretchen. She showed up on our porch two winters ago. She was just skin and bones; we all felt bad for her even though she’s nasty.”

“She’s not nasty!” Jamie laughed, following Jeff into the kitchen. She was finally beginning to feel comfortable around him when CJ and Rosemary let themselves in. Rosemary was carrying a plate of cookies.

“Hey Jamie!” she beamed. “I’m glad you decided to join us, though, I must warn you, the movies always suck.”

“And sometimes they’re not in English,” CJ added.

“Sounds interesting,” Jamie said, struggling to find her voice.

“That’s the point,” Rosemary explained. “We have a prize for whoever can find the worst movie. I’m in the lead as of last time. Have you ever seen The Howlers?” Jamie shook her head. “Trust me,” Rosemary went on. “You don’t wanna.”

Jamie offered to help Jeff make popcorn, eager to do something other than sit awkwardly. The pizza was sliced, popcorn dished out and drinks were filled by the time Elle and Zack arrived. Everyone grabbed a plate and a beverage and went down into the basement.

It was an unfinished basement. It looked creepy enough sans ghost. Jamie mentally swore, desperately wanting to call Melia and vent and ask for advice. The spirit was residual and would most likely leave her alone. Still, its heavy presence lingered in the air. There was no way she would be anything but on edge tonight.

Half the basement was just typical storage and the other half was set up like a living room, except none of the furniture matched. Jamie didn’t know where to sit. To her relief, Jeff waved her over and patted the spot next to him on the old, plaid couch. She sat down, careful not to spill her drink.

“I think I got you beat,” Jeff said as he stood to put in the movie. “Slugs, 1988. The trailer was so horrible I thought it was a joke.”

And he was right. Everyone laughed throughout the movie. Jamie had fun, despite the ghost. Gretchen silently padded down the stairs just as the movie started and sat on Jamie’s lap the entire time. She helped clean up when the movie ended.

“Thanks for inviting me,” she said to Jeff as she fished her keys from her purse. “I had a nice time.”

“Glad you did.” He smiled. “Maybe you can host Horrible Horror Movie night sometime.”

“Maybe.” She smiled back. “Well, I’ll, uh, see ya at school Monday.”

He walked her to the front door. “See ya!”

Not the romantic goodbye she had secretly hoped for. She left Jeff’s house feeling elated nonetheless.

*

“Want to come in?” Melia asked.

“Yea,” Peter said enthusiastically. He slowly parked the expensive, fully restored car and got out, intending to open Melia’s door for her but she beat him to it. As soon as they were inside, Melia kicked off her heels, sighing with relief, and took off her jewelry. She accidentally dropped an earring and leaned over to pick it up. Peter admired her nice rear end, wondering what kind of underwear she had on, and almost didn’t realize she was talking. “Huh?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t care. Whatever you want to.”

“Ok.” She smiled. “Want to walk along the shore with me?”

Of course Peter agreed. Hand in hand, they slowly strolled the shore. The stars twinkled overhead; the waves sleepily lurched forward and then retreated on the sand.

“What was it like when you went skydiving?” Melia asked, letting go of Peter’s hand so she could leap into the water.

“Amazing.” He closed his eyes, recalling the rapid fall, the adrenaline rush, the fear, the excitement. “As soon as I looked down, everything inside me told me not to jump. Well, everything except this small little part that said ‘yes, do it’.” He looked at Melia. She watched him, transfixed. “It feels like you’re falling forever until you pull your parachute. Then it’s over. You feel weightless as you’re gliding back to Earth.  And the noise—the rush of air is so loud but at the same time you don’t hear anything. It’s crazy too, ‘cuz your brain’s telling you how dangerous and unnatural it is to be plummeting down that fast. But it’s fun and exciting and you feel so- so alive. Like I said, amazing.”

The passion in his voice, the way his speech got faster and faster as he spoke made Melia smile. His eyes wide, he looked up at the sky as if imagining sky diving all over again. Melia stepped out of the water and wrapped her arms around Peter.

Peter couldn’t help it; his heart still sped up, his stomach still flip flopped nervously at her touch. He couldn’t get over her beauty or kindness; the unique way she looked at the world or her never failing sense of optimism. He folded her in his arms and pressed his lips to hers.

*

“Melia, wake up!” Jamie said with a laugh as she threw a towel at her best friend.

Melia opened her eyes only to shut them quickly as the bright midday sun beat down on her. “I’m awake,” she replied groggily.

“You are now. I want to hear all the juicy details!”

Melia flipped over on her stomach and stretched. “Sorry, I’m tired.”

“Well, duh. You only got three hours of sleep. And, need I remind you, it was your idea to meet at the marina at eight-thirty. I would have been perfectly happy sleeping in. Now tell me details!”

“All the details?” she asked, raising her eye brows.

“Yes! Start from the beginning.”

Melia inhaled, enjoying the scent of the ocean. Though her body was tired, her mind raced, remembering her perfect date and feeling the energy of the sea that surrounded them. A smile broke out on her face as she began to recant last night.

It made Jamie happy to see Melia like this. Even though her best friend was always cheerful and never let anything get her down, Jamie could sense the sadness Melia carried with her. Literally a fish out of water, Jamie knew Melia didn’t belong in this world. Melia missed her sister and missed the ocean.  And even though Jamie spent many sleepless nights wishing she was as interesting and special as Melia, she felt sorry for her being forced to live in a world that wasn’t her own.

Charles’ voice came over the PA system. “Are we there yet?”

“No,” she sighed, looking at the passing waves.

“How can you tell?” Jamie asked, raising an eyebrow. “It all looks the same to me.”

“It would, to you.” Melia stood. “I’m a merrow; I see things you don’t. Plus, I can sense things under water. I can tell where we are exactly.”

“That still amazes me.” Jamie lazily rose as well and followed Melia into what Melia incorrectly called the ‘pilot’s room’. Jamie couldn’t help but smile when she saw Charles’ dark hair tucked under the silly captain’s hat. His dark eyes sparkled when he smiled at the girls. He sat casually in the captain’s chair, with one hand resting on the wheel.

“We’re getting close,” Melia informed Charles, sitting on the couch behind him. Jamie stood next to him, inspecting all the buttons and screens, impressed Charles had learned to drive the yacht on his own.

“How in the world can you tell?” he asked.

“I wondered the same thing,” Jamie admitted, shaking her head. Charles glanced at her and smiled.

“I don’t understand how you can’t tell where we are,” Melia said with a yawn. She stretched out on the couch.

“And why are you so tired, missy?” Charles asked, fatherly judgment heavy in his tone.

“I was up late with Peter,” she responded curtly.

“And what were you up late doing?” Charles turned to narrow his eyes at Melia.

“All sorts of naughty things,” she said deviously. Charles held her gaze until Melia burst into giggles. “Nothing! We talked and watched movies and cuddled.”

“Aww, how sweet!” Charles teased.

“It was!” Melia insisted and folded her arms over her head. “Keep going west for about fifteen more minutes. Wake me up in ten.”

Jamie turned to her best friend. “Maybe you shouldn’t go down that far if you’re this tired.”

“Yea,” Charles agreed. “It doesn’t seem safe.”

“What, are you afraid I might drown?” Melia asked, opening one eye.

“Yea—” Jamie and Charles said in unison before everyone laughed.

“I’ll be fine. I feel better being a merrow anyway. Staying human is tiring on its own.”

“You sure don’t act like it’s tiring,” Jamie commented. Melia never seemed to run out of energy. She sat on the couch next to Melia. “Hey, I just thought of something.” She turned to Melia. “You’re from the ocean. The ocean is salt water. How can you breathe in salt water and fresh water?”

Melia just shrugged. “I just do. Though, I like salt water more. It feels…better I guess. Probably because I’m used to it.”

“But how?” Jamie pressed on. “Fish that live in the ocean can’t breathe in a pond.”

“I never thought about it. That’s another thing I don’t get about you humans: You overanalyze everything. You always want answers and explanations. Just accept something and enjoy that it simply is.”

“Wise words, Miss Melia,” Charles said over his shoulder. “Though I have to agree with Jamie on this one; it boggles my mind as well.”

Melia suddenly sat up. “I’m hungry,” she said. And then she strode off to the gallery.

“Should I tell her to wait a full twenty minutes after eating to swim?” Jamie asked Charles, making him laugh.

“She’s something else, that’s for sure.”

“That’s an understatement.”

Charles let his hands fall from the wheel. He swiveled around to face Jamie. “Do you know this guy, Peter?”

“Sort of. I mean, I’ve known of him since grade school. But I’ve really never spoken to him before.”

“What’s he like?”

Jamie tried to detect jealousy but failed to. She had always wondered if Charles had a crush on Melia. I wouldn’t blame him, she thought. “He’s actually a lot nicer than I expected. He’s in with the ‘popular’ crowd, so I had always assumed him to be an arrogant asshole. But he’s nice and smart and a really good brother from what Melia says. He’s really sweet to her too, and I can tell he likes her. He’s respectful, not pushy, and a good tipper.”

“You speak very highly of someone you barely know.”

Jamie’s cheeks flushed. Crap; she did.

“If I didn’t know better,” Charles continued. “I’d think you like him.”

Jamie shook her head. “‘Used to’ is correct. And he’s the blonde haired, blue eyed quarterback. Trust me; every girl has had a crush on Peter at one point.”

“Does Melia know?”

“No, and she doesn’t need to. You know as well as I do that if she found out I ever had feelings for him she’d break up with him right away. Besides, I learned a long time ago that guys like him don’t date girls like me. I’ve been over him since the eighth grade.”

“Girls like you?”

“Yea. Shy, weird girls.”

“Weird? Says the girl whose best friend is a mermaid.”

Jamie blushed again. “You know what I mean.”

“You’re a good friend,” Charles said sincerely, his dark eyes locked into Jamie’s.

“Thanks,” Jamie said shyly. Charles turned back to the vast ocean, leaving Jamie standing and feeling awkward.

“So he’s a good guy then?”

“I’d say so. But I’m not one hundred percent sold yet.”

“Why not?”

“Peter is in that popular crowd. And we both know that Melia is beyond gorgeous…”

“Ah, gotcha. You don’t think Melia would know if she was being used?”

Jamie shook her head. “I’m not sure. Melia definitely wouldn’t let anyone use her, but she’s so trusting and gives everyone the benefit of the doubt. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

Charles nodded and looked straight ahead.

Jamie stood a minute, waiting to see if he would say anything else. When he didn’t she mumbled, “I’m, uh, I’m gonna go find Melia.” She passed a mirror on her way to the deck. She paused, shaking her head at her reflection. She was paler than she’d like; unlike her sisters she just didn’t seem to tan. Her long, dark hair was uncharacteristically pulled up and out of her face. She had a dark blue sundress over her black and yellow bikini. She pulled at the hems, unhappy with the way it hung on her body. She wished her hips were smaller and her breasts larger. Her stomach was flat, but so was her butt. With a sigh, Jamie continued forward in search of Melia.

Jamie gasped when she stepped onto the deck. Melia sat precariously on the railing, kicking her bare feet in the air, eyes closed, face turned up to the sun. Jamie was afraid of startling her and making her fall.

“Melia,” she said softly.

“Yea?” her best friend responded, not moving.

“It’s probably not safe to sit like that.”

“Probably not.” She leaned back and grinned. “Not for a human at least.”

“Ok, so you can’t drown, but what if you get sucked into the engine?”

“That won’t happen.”

“You sound so sure.”

“I’ve done this before, remember?” She grabbed the rail and flipped over backwards onto the deck. “We’re almost there.” She stood and pulled her dress over her head.

“How long do you think you’ll be down there?”

“I’ll try not to stay long. I just need to ask a few questions and say ‘hi’ to everyone.” Melia beamed. She was so excited to see her old friends; she hadn’t seen them since she moved to San Morado and pretended to be normal. She clasped her hands together.

“How will you find us?” Jamie settled on a lounge chair.

“Boats are easy to find.”

“They are?”

“Oh yea. When looking up, they block out the sun. It’s a big dark spot on the surface. Plus, I can sense your human auras.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“Why didn’t I know that before?”

Melia shrugged again. “You never asked.”

“You can tell Charles to slow down and turn soon. I’ll see you guys in a while.” She untied her bikini bottom, stepped out of it and swan dove off the yacht. Jamie rushed to the railing.  She peered over, seeing nothing but rushing water. A small lump involuntarily formed in her throat. Even though she knew Melia was a merrow, it was still weird seeing your half naked best friend leap merrily into the quickly passing sea.

She wasn’t sure if she saw it at first; the blur of purple and gold. Maybe it was a reflection of the sun off the boat? Or nothing at all. Suddenly, Melia jumped out of the water, much like a dolphin. She flicked her tail and smiled at Jamie. And then she was gone. Jamie stared out at the ocean for a while longer before heading back to the wheel house.

Melia hadn’t been out this deep in a long time. It was way overdue. She felt so comfortable, so happy, so free. She swam fast. She missed the feeling of being in something so grand. And she missed home. The colors, the tranquility, the simple way of a merrow’s life…they had become a distant memory. She twirled around, laughing, swimming deeper and deeper.

Something swam behind her. She stopped, somersaulted around and waited for the school of hammerhead sharks to draw near. One by one they approached her, bumping her with their noses. A young female roughly nudged her, enticing her to partake in a quick game of tag. With a smile Melia ducked behind her, starting the game. If only Jamie could see this! she thought, laughing. With a swish of her tail Melia was off again. She turned to wave goodbye to the sharks once more. She happily sighed, remembering how much she enjoyed playing tag with them.

Something was wrong. Melia could feel it. Faster she swam, eager to get to her old dwelling. The water was too quiet; the current too still. Yes, something was definitely wrong. Melia swallowed. Her blood felt cold as it coursed through her veins. She dove into a deep crevice. Heart pounding, she pushed opened the gate that lead to her underwater neighborhood.

Merrows lived in cave-like dwellings. The castle style living arrangement in The Little Mermaid made Melia laugh. What could be more obvious than the clinquant walls of a palace?  Caves were inconspicuous. No one assumed anyone lived in them. They blended into the natural surroundings. They were safe and sturdy.

And they had been home.

But now they sat empty. Melia pushed open the heavy door, entering her childhood home. She knew that it wasn’t ‘hers’ anymore by any means, and she knew another merrow family must have moved in soon after they had moved out. She swam to the back where her old room was. The bed had been overturned and the shelves had been cleared.

The rest of the caves held similar stories; everything was gone. It appeared to Melia that everything had been packed in haste; little trinkets had been left behind in more than one cave. Dishes, jewelry, smooth stones, precious shells…it was as if there was too little time to grab them.

Melia bit her lip. It was common for merrows to change dwelling places every seven years or so. It helped them stay hidden from humans and merrows simply liked new areas; it was exciting. And she had lived here since she was three and left when she was fifteen, making her village way past due for a scenery change. She swam through the dwelling once more. There were no signs of struggle or danger.

And as for leaving stuff behind…well, maybe a human had come too close. Maybe they had to leave quickly so they wouldn’t get discovered. Melia decided that was more than believable. She picked up a figurine of a horse and slowly ascended toward the surface.

Peter crossed her mind more than once during the swim back to the yacht. She wondered what he was doing, what he was wearing and if he had thought about her too. He had told her that he was hanging out with Connor today and that he would most likely end up staying the night there, too. It took her by surprise how much she missed him.

She longed to gaze into his beautiful eyes, to hear his voice, to press her lips to his and feel his strong arms wrapped around her. Melia closed her eyes, recalling their last kiss. It was after four in the morning. Melia had never felt as comfortable as she did snuggled in Peter’s embrace, buried under blankets in her bed. The TV had been left on but neither had been watching. Melia’s head rested on Peter’s chest. He ran his fingers up and down her arms. They both dozed on and off, neither wanting to move, until Peter begrudgingly forced himself to go home.

Water dripped from Melia’s hair in a steady stream. She stood on the yacht deck, unmoving, and looked for her bikini bottoms. She picked them up and put them on; the fabric was hot from being left in the sun. Not even thinking to dry off, she padded her way across the deck and into the wheel house.

“Somebody looks happy,” Charles commented when he saw the wet merrow.

“Yea.” Melia blushed. She handed the horse figurine to Jamie. “I thought you’d like this.”

Jamie examined the small figure. “This looks old, like artifact old.” She looked up at Melia excitedly. “Is-is this real gold?”

“Probably,” Melia answered. “Merrows do have a taste for precious metals.”

“Thanks!” Jamie beamed. “This is so cool!”

Melia joined her friend on the floor, sitting cross-legged.

“So,” Charles began. “What did you find out?”

“Nothing,” Melia told them, not sounding despondent at all. “There was no one there.”

That startled Jamie. A chill ran through her, though she couldn’t explain why. “Where did they go?”

Melia shrugged. “Merrows move a lot. And I’ve lived in that dwelling for a long time. I guess it was inevitable that everyone would move. I should have thought about it before.”

“Why do merrows move?”

“Mostly to stay away from humans.”

“Interesting,” Charles said, sounding disappointed.

*

Peter checked his phone for the fifth time. He wanted to call Melia. She and Jamie were volunteering at the animal shelter this morning, and she promised to call when they were done. Maybe it would be best to not talk to her for a while-for the rest of the day at least. He shouldn’t feel this strongly about her this soon. Connor gave him shit for checking his phone all yesterday. I think you’ll hear if she calls, he teased.

Peter closed his math book and sighed. This was the most he had accomplished this early on a Sunday in a long time. He half-assed his chores and finished his homework all before eleven o’clock. His parents had said they ‘didn’t mind’ if Peter slept in and didn’t go to church. As soon as church let out, Peter’s mother called to tell him that they were going to San Diego for lunch; they would be there all day shopping and sightseeing.

It wasn’t that Peter was dying to go to the city. It’s not like he hadn’t been there before. It was the fact that this had all seemed planned.

“Let Peter sleep in and we won’t have to deal with him,” he imagined his mother whispering to his father, laughing as Peter slept and they snuck out. He didn’t want to admit that it hurt a little that his family could so easily not include him. Refusing to think about it anymore, Peter stripped his bed and threw the sheets in the washer. He had just grabbed his surfboard when Melia called.

“Hello Peter,” she said, her voice smooth and alluring.

“Hey! How was the animal shelter?”

“Fun. We gave all the dogs baths. I’m all wet and smell like dog now.”

Peter laughed. “Do you want to come over?” he asked, feeling almost nervous.

“Yes. I’m going to go home and shower first. Where do you live?”

“Are you good with directions?”

“Not on land, but I have one of those talking things that tells me where to turn.”

“You mean a GPS?”

“Probably,” Melia said with a slight giggle.

“Ok, I’ll give you my address.”

After he hung up, Peter frantically straightened up his room. He grabbed clean sheets and actually made his bed for the first time in well over a year before jumping in the shower. He figured it would take Melia over an hour to get ready to come over. He was wrong and was surprised when the doorbell rang a mere forty minutes after telling her ‘goodbye’.

Peter’s house was in a nice neighborhood. The lawns were neat and tidy and everyone waved as Melia drove past. This is like something from TV, she thought. Peter’s house was a white colonial style house with a big front porch, tons of pink flowers and a white picket fence. Peter’s Mustang was parked in the driveway. A dog barked when Melia stepped onto the front porch.

She heard Peter race down the stairs before he tore open the door. A little brown dog jumped up by his feet, barking at Melia.

“Shut up, Mocha,” Peter said to the little dog, pushing him away with his foot. “Sorry, he’s annoying.”

“It’s ok,” Melia knelt down and extended her hand. Before Peter could warn her that Mocha bites strangers, the Cockapoo stopped barking and licked her hand.

Shaking the shock from his face, Peter invited Melia inside. “What do you want to do?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t care as long as I’m with you.” She smiled at Peter. His heart sped up. He smiled back, took her hand and kissed her.

“Are you hungry? We could get something to eat if you want,” he suggested.

“Sure.”

“Ok.” He patted his pocket. “My keys are upstairs.” He turned and jogged up the stairs. Melia looked around the house. To the right was a living room. The color scheme was neutral and the entire room was clean, as was the rest of the house. Too clean, Melia thought, for a house that had two children. Through the living room was a formal dining room that attached to a kitchen. To the left, French doors lead into a study. Pictures hung on the wall in the stairwell. Melia climbed the stairs slowly, looking at each frame. There were dozens of Adam and Ava; she only counted three of Peter.

Peter’s room was the first door on the left. She paused in the door frame, looking around. Two walls were painted navy blue and two were gray. A black and gray comforter was neatly spread out on his full sized bed. On the wall across from the bed sat a large TV, a Playstation and a messy stack of DVDs and games. A computer desk was pushed up against the wall that housed a large window. Immediately to Melia’s right was an attached bathroom.

Peter grabbed his keys off his nightstand and caught Melia staring.

“Can you play?” she asked as she strode over to the guitar.

“Yea, though I haven’t in a while.”

“Can you teach me?” Her eyes were wide with excitement.

“I can try.” Peter smiled at her and picked up the guitar. He handed it to her and sat on the bed to her left. “Here,” he began, carefully moving her fingers. “Put them here. Now strum.” Melia did what she was told. Peter moved her fingers again, asked Melia to strum again and then repeated it with a new chord.

“What are you making me play?”

“Try and figure it out,” he told her, moving closer.

“Ok.” Melia smiled, glancing up at Peter every now and then. She asked Peter to repeat the song to her, and, to Peter’s surprise, she remembered it. He hadn’t bothered to teach her the strumming pattern. “I don’t know what song it is.”

“Here,” Peter said and took the guitar from her. “I’m not singing though.” He felt a flutter of nerves as he struck the first chord. Melia’s eyes glazed over as she watched him play. She had no idea of what the song could be, but it had a nice beat. “Recognize it?” he asked when he was finished.

Melia shook her head, her brown hair falling into her face. Peter set the guitar on the bed. Gingerly, he tucked Melia’s hair behind her ear. She put her hand on his arm and leaned forward. Peter slid his hand down to her cheek, tipped her head up and kissed her.

“Breathless,” he whispered. “That’s what the song is called. It’s by Better than Ezra.”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

Peter wasn’t surprised. “The song’s a bit old I guess. Hang on,” he started, jumping up and opening his laptop. Quickly, he scrolled through his iTunes until he found the song. “This is it. It sounds a lot better than I can play it.”

He settled back down on his bed, wrapping an arm around Melia and laying her back into the pillows. Melia rested her head on Peter’s chest. He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. They stayed like that until the song ended.

“It’s a beautiful song,” Melia said quietly, looking up into Peter’s blue eyes. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Peter looked away. “Is this the same band?” Melia asked when Hollow started playing.

“Yea,” Peter said, stealing a glance at Melia’s beautiful face. Melia’s eyes danced and sparkled; he couldn’t look away. Then she kissed him. “Can you play more?”

“More songs? Yea. But I’m not very good.”

“I think you are. Can you play another?” She smiled coyly. “For me?”

Peter couldn’t resist her charm. “For you.” He sat up and grabbed the guitar. “More Better than Ezra?” Melia nodded. “Ok, this one is called Our Last Night. I’m still not singing,” he added defiantly. Melia smiled as Peter strummed the first note. She could tell he was getting slightly embarrassed the further he got into the song. When the song ended, Melia asked if he could teach her more. For the next hour, Peter gave Melia a very informal guitar lesson.

“Ok, now I am really hungry,” Peter said after he put the guitar back. He grabbed his keys and extended a hand to help Melia up. “Where do you want to go to eat?”

“I don’t care,” she said with a smile. “You can choose.”

Peter thought for a few seconds before he spoke. “There’s a new restaurant along the shore a few miles north. I’ve never been there, so I don’t know if it’s any good.”

Melia’s face lit up. “Oh! Let’s go there. It will be fun to have a new experience!”

Peter couldn’t help but smile. “It’s a bit of a drive, do you mind?”

“Of course not.”

*

“You’ve really never been to a zoo?” Peter asked, glancing at Melia as he sped along the highway.

She shook her head. “No. I would love to go, though. I really want to see lions!”

“You used to live in New York City but you never want to Central Park Zoo?”

“Nope,” Melia said. Though she was being honest, she felt like she was lying. She wanted to change the subject; she knew very little about the actual city of New York. She could tell you all about the water that surrounded it (it was dirty and she didn’t like it), but knew extremely little about the land.

“Why aren’t you in football anymore?” she asked suddenly.

“Uh, it’s over,” Peter responded, slightly confused by her question.

“So you don’t like it anymore?”

“No, I still do.”

“Then why is it over?”

“Well, the season’s over.”

“Why?”

Peter looked at Melia again. “Because you can’t, uh, play all year.”

“Why not? If you like it then I would think you’d play as much as you can.” Melia pushed her eyebrows together as she thought; it didn’t make sense. Why would you make ‘seasons’ for things you love?

“I still play, just for fun now.” Peter didn’t understand Melia sometimes. He knew she was far from stupid. She picked things up right away, always grasping the concept and understanding the first time something was shown or explained. But she asked odd questions, just like that one.

It just didn’t add up.

After eating a late lunch, Peter and Melia walked along the shore, hand in hand.

“I think it’s awful how they treat you,” Melia told Peter. “I mean, you are their son. They shouldn’t go on little family trips like that without even telling you.”

“It doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“That’s even worse!” Melia stopped walking. “You’re used to it.”

Peter shook his hand from hers and ran it through his hair. “You don’t need to feel bad for me; I don’t want that.” He picked up a rock and tossed it into the waves. “But whenever I have kids, I’m never treating them like that. I will be the exact opposite.”

Melia’s heart sped up. “You want to have kids?”

“Someday.”

“And you think about it?”

“Sometimes,” he said, turning so she wouldn’t see him blushing. He never admitted that to anyone.

“Me too,” she said quietly. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, smiling and looking up into the sun. “It feels wonderful, doesn’t it?”

“Uh, yea,” Peter told her, not knowing exactly what she was talking about at first. He looked up at the sun, squinting. “It’s hot.”

“Then we should go into the water!” she exclaimed. She eagerly dropped her sandals she had been holding and stepped into the refreshing ocean. The tide came in and soaked the hem of her pale yellow dress.

It still shocked Peter that he was lucky enough to be the boyfriend of someone as beautiful as Melia.  He was, in fact, so enthralled with watching her that he didn’t notice the group of young men also watching Melia. Begrudgingly, she left the water, slowly dragging her toes in the sand. There was something runic about the way she looked in the water. Seeing Melia in the water reminded Peter of something ancient and regal. Of course, that made no sense.

“Do you want ice cream?” Peter asked, feeling the sweltering sun even more.

“Of course!” Melia replied.

“I’ll go get it; you can stay by the water.”

She kissed him. “Thanks!”

Melia watched Peter walk toward the small refreshment stand. She walked back into the water, her skin itching from resisting the urge to transform. “Tonight,” she whispered, already anticipating the change.

“Beautiful day today, isn’t it?” a voice said from behind Melia.

She half turned, not thinking the question was directed at her. A twenty something man inched closer, flashing white teeth as he smiled a pretentious smile.

“I can tell you want to go in,” he said, looking at the ocean. “I can’t stay out myself.”

“Um, yea,” Melia mumbled, not liking the energy this guy gave off. He was shirtless and tan and his gray and black swim trunks were perfectly dry. This guy had not been in the water.

“You should jump in,” he said with a chuckle.

Involuntarily, Melia imagined herself doing just that. She could dive in and swim away, leaving this guy scratching his head, wondering where she had gone-and if she had really been there. She smiled, remembering the few times Lana pulled that trick. But the smile was misinterpreted, and the man moved even closer.

“I’m Paul,” he said, extending his hand. Not wanting to be rude, Melia shook it. “You here by yourself?”

“No,” Melia replied, her eyes flicking to where Peter stood. “My boyfriend is over there.”

“Sure, that’s what they all say,” he tried to joke. “What’s your name?”

“Melia,” she said without thinking and internally winced.

“Well, Melia, it is certainly nice to meet you.” He cleared his throat. “My buddies and I are having a little get together tonight a little further down along the shore. You should come.”

“Sorry, I have plans with my boyfriend.” She pointed to Peter, who had his back turned.

“Oh, I knew it. You’re far too pretty to be single.”

Melia took a step into deeper water. “Uh, thanks.”

“Melia, that’s not the real reason I came over to talk to you. Wanna know the real reason?”

Not at all, she thought. Diving underwater seemed like a very good idea right about now.

“I’m a photographer. I’m always on the lookout for models and you caught my eye. How ‘bout you give me your number and I call you so we can set up a photo shoot?” It really wasn’t a question. Paul fully expected Melia to hand him over a number.

Melia smiled coyly. “Of course,” she said, remember earlier this year when Jill had gotten into some trouble by giving her number to a ‘photographer’ she met at the mall. The guy turned out to be forty year old creep that had been arrested for dealing—twice. He obsessively called Jill until Mrs. Forester found out and got a restraining order put on the creep. Melia ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve always wanted to be a model.”

“You would be a great one!” Paul already had his phone in hand, eagerly punching in the number Melia gave him. He looked over Melia’s shoulder. Something flashed across his face—fear maybe? “I’ll call you!” he said before taking off.

“Who was that?” Peter asked, taken aback from what he had just seen. Melia laughed.

“A photographer. He asked for my number so I can model for him.”

“Melia, you do know he’s not a real photographer. He’s just some ass—”

Melia put her hand on Peter’s arm. “I didn’t give him my number.” She gently took the chocolate ice cream cone out of Peter’s hand.

“But I-I saw you,” he quietly admitted, feeling almost hurt.

“Peter, I gave him the number to the San Morado police department.”

“Really? Nice.” Peter put his arm around Melia, impressed with her quick thinking.

“Did that make you jealous?”

“Maybe,” Peter said, not able to keep the smile off his face.

“No one’s ever been jealous of me before!”

“Now that I don’t believe!” Peter joked. He took her hand and led her to a large rock where they sat.

“You know the only bad thing about ice cream?” Melia spoke after she finished hers. “You can’t eat it underwater.”

Peter laughed. “I never thought about it before. I guess you’re right.”

-Chapter 6-

“What about this one?” Melia held up a pale blue dress with pink flowers embroidered along the hem.

“Do you want to look like Alice in Wonderland?” Jill scoffed, poking her head out of Melia’s walk in closet.

“I like it,” Melia said quietly, holding the dress up to herself and looking in the mirror. “I think it’s pretty.”

“Oh it is,” Jill agreed, mesmerized by Melia’s shoe collection. “But you don’t want to look ‘pretty’ when you go to parties. You need to look hot, and, for you, that isn’t hard.”

Jamie rolled her eyes and carefully flipped the brittle and yellowed page in a tattered old book. It had belonged to a naiad, Melia had told her, who was her friend and had given her the book since she knew of Melia’s fascination with things that fly, though this book was not about birds, but about griffins, dragons and harpies. Not that Jamie was easily shocked by learning of the existence of magical creatures, since, after all, her best friend was a merrow, but it amazed her that there was so much she didn’t know about. She shuddered at a picture of a ferocious looking creature, called a Raiju, and closed the book.

“Jamie,” Jill called, in a tone that signaled it wasn’t the first time she had said her sister’s name. Jamie snapped out of her reverie.

“Yea?”

“You don’t have to take me home.  I think I should go to the party with Melia.”

“Um, not a chance in hell,” Jamie said and jumped off the bed.

“And why not?” Jill said, one hand on her hip, the other clutching a pair of jeweled, black satin Manolos.

“Because, you’re just not. First of all, you weren’t invited, and second, I’ll tell mom.”

“You are so lame!”

“No, I just know the real reason you want to go!”

“Yea, I like parties.”

Jamie shook her head and waved her hand at the closed bathroom door. “You are trying to mooch off of her.”

“No I’m not!”

While Jamie and Jill argued, Melia pulled her clothes off. She slowly put on the matching black lace bra and thong Jill insisted she wear under the dress, for Peter’s benefit, of course. She carefully unrolled the curlers from her hair and inspected the makeup Jill had done for her. It was more than Melia was used to wearing, but she liked the overall look of her smoky eyes.

Moving painstakingly slow so she wouldn’t mess up her hair, Melia pulled her selected dress over her head. It was midnight blue and skin tight. The neckline was a very low ‘V’, and Melia was pretty sure most people would wear something under it.

Modesty was nothing to merrows, and Melia smiled at her reflection, happy with the way her figure filled out the dress. She had wanted to wear her shell necklace, but Jill said it didn’t match. Instead she put on a strand of black pearls with matching earrings. She flipped her head upside down and shook out the curls, before spraying them with hair spray. When she emerged from the bathroom, Jill gasped.

“You look amazing!” she held her hand to her heart as if one of the Seven Wonders had sprung to life and walked out of Melia’s huge bathroom.

“Thanks,” Melia said, unable to help the smile. She hoped Peter would find her looking amazing too.

“You do look good, as always,” Jamie stated, sighing as she eyed the mess Jill had carelessly made in Melia’s closet. Before she could yell at Jill to clean it up, the doorbell rang.

“Wow,” Peter said when he took in the sight of Melia.

“Hi Peter,” Melia said excitedly, automatically opening her arms for a hug. “I’m almost ready. I just have to let Wolfy in.”

“Alright,” he replied and watched her quickly walk away.

Jamie and Jill picked their way downstairs, bickering.

“Hello, Peter,” Jill said coyly and Jamie elbowed her in the ribs.

“Uh, hi, uh Jamie and Jamie’s friend.”

Jamie stifled a laugh. “Hey Peter. This is my sister, Jill.”

“Oh, right. Hi.”
“Don’t worry, we were just leaving,” Jamie said, considering the puzzled look on Peter’s face. He was so easy to read.

“Ok, see ya later,” he said with a slight wave.

They walked past him out the front door. The house was silent. There was a light on upstairs, and the porch lights spilled in through the large windows on the doors, illuminating the foyer. But that was it. Peter looked through the hall for signs of Melia and saw none.

He didn’t know where the light switches were and didn’t want to bump into anything. Using his cell phone as a light, he walked to the back of the house. It was dark out by now. How could Melia see?

Before the oddity of his thought could register, Melia opened the door and Wolfy raced inside, his paws scraping the hardwood floor in his manic attempt to greet Peter.

“Sorry!” she yelled from the back veranda. “His paws are all sandy. Someone decided to have a run along the shore.”

“Can’t say I blame him,” Peter panted, the weight of Wolfy on his chest overbearing. “It’s nice tonight.”

Melia crossed the hall and opened a bag of dog treats. Wolfy leapt off of Peter and sat in front of his owner, eagerly waiting for a strip of dried chicken.

Peter opened the door for Melia as she got in the car and as she got out. Connor’s was already full when they arrived, an hour and a half fashionably late. Melia held Peter’s hand tightly, both excited and nervous for tonight.

She followed him with a smile as he made his social rounds, introducing her to his friends from other schools. Everyone was incredibly interested in Melia. If her on-display chest didn’t draw them in, her exotic aura did the trick. Melia found comfort in the fact that Connor lived near the ocean. She could hear the waves crashing on the shore, though she doubted any humans could from this distance.

Connor, who was on his fourth beer, handed Melia a red plastic cup. “It’s my specialty,” he told her, winking at Peter.

Melia took a sip and made a face. Peter laughed. “It tastes funny,” she said.

“That’s because there is a shit ton of alcohol in it.”

“Oh.”

“You’ve never drank before?”

Melia shook her head. “Not anything like this.”

Peter put his arm around her. “Just drink it slowly then.”

They continued moving around the house, talking to people. Melia sipped her drink. It started to taste better. In the course of an hour her cup was empty, and when Peter left her on the back porch to get her a refill, Amanda the cheerleader found her way to Melia’s side.

“I just love that dress,” she said, though her voice lacked enthusiasm. “I don’t have the boobs to fill it out though.” She stared obviously at Melia’s chest. “What cup size are you?”

“Uh,” Melia began. Even she knew that was an odd—if not rude—question to ask. Luckily Amanda sat down next to her. Well, plopped down was more like it. Melia had seen enough TV to know this girl was drunk.

“You know, some people think you got a boob job. I mean, no one as skinny as you can have boobs that big.”

“Oh.” Melia wanted to text Jamie. She didn’t know what to make of Amanda’s comments. But she had left her purse in Peter’s car.

“I bet Peter likes them,” she went on. “We almost hooked up once, me and Peter. He’s hot. You’re lucky. You’re hot too.” She leaned closer to Melia. “But we didn’t. He’s not like that, ya know. I heard a lot from Janet about him. He was too good for her but don’t tell her I said that. Peter’s a good guy.”

“He is,” Melia said honestly. “I like him a lot.”

“Aww! You do? That is so, so sweet. I mean, so sweet!” She laughed. “You two look good together. You are the cutest couple ever. Ever!”

“Thanks.”

“Are you sure—?” Amanda stopped abruptly and put her hand over her mouth. Melia thought she might puke. After she recovered Amanda continued. “You can trust me, ok?”

“Of course,” Melia said with a practiced smile. Humans, she mentally scoffed.

“Just tell me one thing.” She moved closer, her blood shot eyes staring into Melia’s. “Your boobs. Are they real?”

“Yes,” Melia told her. “Want to feel?” When she first learned about plastic surgery, Melia was horrified. Why would any human put themselves through that—just for looks!? And, from what she heard, implants didn’t feel real, which was something human men liked.

“Ok,” Amanda said quickly and reached out, cupping a hand around Melia’s breasts. She moved her hands up and down, watching intently. “Yea, I think you’re right. These are real.” As she gave them a final squeeze of approval, Peter and Connor stepped onto the back porch.

“Whoa,” Peter said.

“Ladies, don’t stop what you are doing,” Connor urged.

“I was making sure,” Amanda slurred her words. “Everyone said but they were wrong.” Her hands were still full of Melia’s chest. Melia smiled at Peter, leaning awkwardly away from Amanda.

“What were you making sure of?” Connor asked, a wicked smiled on his face.

“That her boobs were real.”

Peter sat next to Melia. “You could have asked me,” he joked.

“I think I should be the judge of that,” Connor said seriously and extended a hand. He dropped it and laughed.

“Why would anyone want to have fake ones?” Melia asked, thankful that Amanda had finally let go. She had gripped hard. “I just don’t get it.” She continued to sip her drink as Peter and Connor argued the pros and cons of breast augmentation. Melia imagined Jamie sighing and saying “ugh, men!” which made her laugh. When she stood up to follow Amanda inside to dance, she was surprised at how dizzy she felt. Another hour and another drink later Melia was having fun. And she was drunk.

Peter was sitting on the back porch with his guy friends, who were smoking. Melia was glad Peter wasn’t. That was another thing she didn’t understand. Plus, it smelled bad. She stumbled her way across the deck, her heels catching in the wooden planks. She sank into his lap, taking comfort in his arms wrapped around her. The boys were talking about surfing.

“Yea, but I’m afraid of sharks after what happened to Cal Johnson,” a scrawny redhead said, who Melia recognized as Matthew Jones.
“Oh, come on,” Connor countered. “How many shark attacks do you really hear about?”

“It’s not likely to happen,” Peter agreed.

“But it can,” Matthew insisted.

“Well, it does only because humans think they can go everywhere. As if land isn’t enough for them. Nooo! They have to take over the sea and sky too. Like they own the damn world!” Melia swung her arms as they spoke.

Everyone looked at her. For a few seconds, an awkward silence fell over the group.

“You know, humans are land animals,” Keller Martin agreed. “Why do humans want to go in the ocean?”

Melia squirmed in Peter’s lap. “Because it’s wonderful and big and adventurous and beautiful and home and full of magical and amazing things!”

“Like flesh eating sharks,” Matthew joked and everyone laughed.

“I want to go in the ocean,” Melia sighed, resting her head on Peter’s shoulder. She wriggled around some more, until she was comfortable, not knowing just how uncomfortable she was making Peter.

“I think you need to take your girl to the ocean,” Connor loudly whispered.

Peter ran his hand up Melia’s leg, enjoying the smoothness. “You want to go?”

“Yes,” she said, nuzzling Peter’s neck. His fingers inched under the hem of her skirt. He would do anything to make her happy. “I’ll even check for sharks and tell them to go home.”

“Well, I think that settles it,” Connor said, standing up. “Let’s go!” He grabbed another beer from the cooler before heading inside. The guys followed suit, leaving Peter and Melia alone on the deck.

“Your heart is beating really fast,” Peter said, pressing his ear to Melia’ chest. Was he concerned? Had Melia had too much to drink? Wait, that would slow it down, right?

“Yea, it always does.”

“Is that, uh, ok?”

“Yea, it runs in my family. It works in my favor. I get more oxygen than you do.” She looked into Peter’s eyes and kissed him. He pulled her close, breathing her in. His hands worked themselves all over her body. In a precise movement, he gripped her waist and leaned back, pulling her down and onto him as he lay backward on the bench. She ran her fingers through his hair, feeling a new sort of desperation with each kiss. She had the urge to unbuckle his pants.

Right as she began fumbling with the button, a female voice called, “Melia, I can see your ass!”

Peter broke away to see Amanda, with a half vacant, half interested look on her face.

“And I thought you were going to the beach. Marnie is driving us.”

Melia shot up. “Yes! The ocean!” She remembered to smooth out her dress. Peter held her close as she attempted to walk in a straight line. In a way, he felt bad she had gotten so drunk. He should have cut her off. She didn’t know her limit. He hoped she wouldn’t get sick, because then he would feel bad. He never wanted Melia to experience anything that wasn’t pleasant.

Since Peter hadn’t been drinking, he drove himself and Melia while Marnie, a freshman at the University of San Diego, drove an SUV full of drunken kids down to the public beach. The beach had closed hours ago and was deserted.

Leaving her heels in the car, Melia tried to run to the water. She tripped and fell, luckily landing in sand. Laughing, she rolled over on her back, admiring the stars. Peter helped her up, and, with a strong arm around her waist, led her to the water. Melia, Amanda and two other girls splashed around in the waves. The night air was cool, and the ocean breeze made tonight chilly. After a short time, everyone but Melia was too cold to be in the water.

Sitting along the rocks with a beer in hand, Connor questioned Peter about Melia.

“No,” Peter explained, “her family’s really nice. And laid back. Not what I thought they’d be like.”

“I’d be scared shitless to meet Edward VanBurren, and I’m not dating his daughter,” Matthew said.

Peter nodded. “I was, uh, beyond nervous to meet him the first time. And I have to say, the guy is intimidating.”

“What about her mom?” Connor asked. “I hear she’s a total babe.”

Peter nodded, feeling guilty for admitting it. “I’ll just say I can see where Melia gets her looks.”

“She’s not from around here,” Matthew chimed in. “My aunt said she saw her at the grocery store before. Said Mrs. VanBurren has an accent.”

“Yea, I think she’s Greek,” Peter speculated. Nyneve had worn a necklace with Greek symbols. Plus she looked like Aphrodite.

“You don’t know?” Matthew seemed shocked.

“Melia doesn’t talk about her family much,” Peter kicked at the sand.

“Speaking of,” Marnie interrupted, looking around and counting heads. “Where is she?”

Everyone grew silent. Peter looked around. Connor and Matthew were to his right. Marnie and the other girls were to his left. Where was Melia?

Oh, God, how could he have been so stupid? He let his drunk girlfriend go into the ocean all by herself. His heart raced. He felt like he might puke. Idiot! he cursed and raced to the shore. Marnie, the only other non drunk, did the same. It took the others a minute to catch on.

“Melia!” Peter cried, his eyes unable to focus on anything over the dark water. The waves were suddenly too loud. He couldn’t hear anything. “Melia!” he called again. Marnie ran down farther and did the same. The rock that Peter had been tossed into loomed ahead like it was mocking him, big, dark and steady. Then he thought he heard humming.

He dove into the water. She had to be here. He had to find her. Images of a waterlogged and dead Melia flashed into his mind. Fully panicked, he swam out. “Melia!” he called once more, just as a wave dunked him under. He popped out of the water coughing.

“Peter.”

He knew he heard it. A voice. A female voice. Her voice.

“Melia?”

“Hi Peter!”

It was Melia’s voice. And she was calm. Then she began singing, and it wasn’t in English. A note of familiarity struck in Peter’s mind, but he was too scared to think about it. “Where are you?”

“I’m up here, silly!”

He looked around, finally focusing on the large rock. She waved her foot at him.

Struggling to stay in one place amongst the waves, Peter asked, “How the hell did you get up there?”

Melia stood. “There are things about me you don’t know, Peter Anderson.” Then she swan dove into the water. She emerged next to Peter. He kicked his legs feverishly to tread the water. Melia wasn’t moving. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a very passionate kiss. They sunk under water and Melia kept kissing Peter. Choking, Peter broke their embrace and shot back up for air. He coughed.

“Sorry! I forgot!” Melia said with a laugh. Peter took her hand and led her back to land.

“I got her!” Peter called to Marnie as he sank down on the shore. His lungs burned from inhaling water. Melia put her arms out and spun in circles. She started for the water again. Peter sprung up and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up and twirling her around. And then they were kissing again. Peter staggered backward, bringing them back to land. Melia’s drunken mind wasn’t focused, and she tangled her feet with Peter’s and they fell.

“Are you ok?” she asked Peter. She had landed on top of him.

“Yea,” Peter said with a laugh, the fear finally leaving him. “I’m glad you are.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Melia rolled off of Peter and unsteadily rose.

Peter jumped up. “You could have drowned.”

Melia doubled over in laughter. Amanda and Connor made their way over, relieved to see Melia alive and breathing. Amanda cocked her head at Melia’s sudden fit of laughter and Connor gave Peter a look. Peter shook his head.

Melia took a deep breath and regained as much control as she could. “I can’t drown,” she giggled.

“Uh, pretty sure you can,” Connor said, laughing.

“Nope. I promise.” Melia straightened and looked at the ocean. “Want me to prove it? I’ll stay underwater for twenty minutes!”

“That’s ok, I believe you,” Peter said to humor her, taking her hand.

“No one can stay under water for that long,” Amanda said, staggering forward.

“I can!” Melia exclaimed and dashed for the water. Peter rushed forward and picked her up. He spun her around, and, still carrying her, led her back to shore. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

“I’m gonna take this little fish home,” he informed his friends.

“Have fun,” Connor said with a wink, trying to surreptitiously eye Melia’s wet body. He was too drunk to not be obvious. Peter hugged her tighter, unhappy with how instantly angry he felt toward his best friend. Yes, Melia was beautiful and her dress left little to the imagination. But she wasn’t a piece of meat.  There was more to Melia than her looks; she was smart, compassionate, funny…just to name a few. She was a woman, and she deserved to be respected and – wait, what? Peter shook his head. Calm down, he told himself.

“Do you want me to take you home?” Peter asked when they got back into the Mustang.

“Where else would I go?” Melia reclined her seat to look at the stars.

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted to go to Jamie’s.”

“She’s probably asleep by now.” She glanced at the clock. “Or pretending to be. Jamie hates being awake at three AM.”

“Ok,” Peter chuckled. “Home then?”

“I don’t want to go home.”

“You can come over to my house,” Peter said shyly. “If you want to, of course,” he added quickly.

“Ok.” Melia smiled. “Your parents won’t care?”

“They’re not home; they are at a church retreat and won’t be back until Sunday. You still want to come over?”

She agreed and rambled about constellations and the ocean the whole way to Peter’s. Peter held her hand and listened, impressed with her knowledge of the stars. The cool air in her face seemed to sober her up, and by the time Peter parked in the driveway, Melia said, “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”

“What? You didn’t embarrass me at all.”

“But you said I’m drunk.”

He laughed. “You are, but you’re not embarrassing.”

“Ok, good. Because I wouldn’t want to do that.”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t. Come on, let’s get inside. I’m freezing.”

Melia touched his arm; his skin was cold. “Me too,” she lied.

Peter held her hand, fumbling with his keys as he tried to open the front door. Before he pushed the door open, Melia grabbed him and kissed him. Pleased with her passion, Peter dropped the keys and picked her up. Melia’s legs found their way around Peter’s waist. After a breathtaking minute, Melia reached behind her and pushed the door open. Taking her cue, Peter released his grip so they could go inside.

“I had fun tonight,” Melia told Peter as they walked up the stairs into Peter’s room.

“Me too,” he agreed, opening his bedroom door. He was wet and sandy and he hadn’t taken his shoes off. Oh well, he’d clean it up later. He took his soaking wet shirt off and threw it in the wicker laundry basket.

Emotions mixing with alcohol, Melia felt a red hot flash of desire when she saw Peter shirtless. She unzipped her dress.

And then they were kissing again. Peter slid a skinny strap over Melia’s shoulder. She smiled and effortlessly pulled the dress off. Her desire intensified when she saw the predilection in Peter’s eyes of seeing her undressed.

“You are beautiful,” he breathed. She advanced and grabbed him by the waist. Their bodies tangled. Melia unbuttoned Peter’s pants. She pulled them down and he stepped out of them. They made their way to the bed, Melia falling on top of Peter.

“Peter,” she moaned when he kissed her neck. He sat up, wrapped his arms around her and flipped her over. She fastened her legs around his waist, running her fingernails over his back. He kissed her all over. When it seemed she couldn’t take anymore, Melia tugged on Peter’s boxers.

He hesitated.

Melia froze.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered.

“I-I don’t—” he couldn’t finish his own sentence.

“You don’t want me?” Melia sounded hurt, confused, crushed all at once.

“I do,” Peter said, weakening and kissing her again.

“I can tell,” she told him, placing her hand between his legs. He melted into her touch.

“No, Melia, this is wrong. You-you’re drunk.”

“So?”

“I don’t want our first—I don’t want you to regret this tomorrow.”

“I won’t, Peter, I promise. I just…need you.”

How could he resist that? No. He cared too much to let Melia do this.

“This isn’t right,” he said, mostly to himself. With one final look at Melia’s breasts, barely covered in black lace, he pushed himself up and off her. “Why don’t you take a shower?” he suggested, because a cold shower was what he needed.

“Ok,” she agreed after a minute.

Regretfully, Peter put his feet on the floor. “There are towels under the sink,” he said quickly and hurried into the bathroom down the hall. Decorated in Disney characters to suit Ava and Adam’s liking, this bathroom was spotless since his mother cleaned it. Maybe he should have let Melia shower in here instead of his own and rarely cleaned shower. He thought about what had just happened as he yanked open the Toy Story shower curtain.

Melia picked up her dress and hung it on the towel rack in the bathroom. She grabbed a clean towel and set it on the sink. She turned the water on and, while it was warming up, she looked at herself in the mirror.

Her curls were a matted mess; her makeup had washed off, some of it settling heavily under her eyes. The black pearls matched her black lingerie and, despite the overall drowned rat look, Melia wasn’t displeased at her reflection. How had Peter been able to resist her? She had—as Jamie liked to call it—super mermaid powers of seduction. As she further undressed, she smiled. She was glad Peter stopped. She wasn’t ready and it would have been too soon to have sex with him.

The warm water was sobering. There was a time when Melia hated hot showers. Water wasn’t supposed to be warm. It was cool and refreshing. It took a year to get used to. She washed her hair thinking about how much she’d changed. It was unsettling, but necessary. She firmly believed that her personality was the same.

She winced when she recalled jumping into the ocean. Had anyone noticed she had been under the water for far too long? It was stupid. It was reckless. She couldn’t make that mistake again. She would be lucky, at best, if no one questioned her the next day. What would she say? It was too dark? How dark is too dark for humans? She’d have to ask Jamie.

And of course she thought about Peter. The way he looked at her, the way he listened, the way he kissed her. He really was something special, she thought. She knew beyond a doubt that he was attracted to her. Jamie had told her that looks can draw a man in but don’t keep him for long. Would he get over her? Did she want him to? Did she care?

”Yes,” she answered her last question aloud.

What would Peter think if say, six months down the road she revealed her true nature? Would he get mad? Should she tell him sooner? No, she should wait. Would he feel betrayed? Would he never speak to her again?

She sat down, absorbing the energy of the water. Who could she ask for advice? Edward was a human. And he loved her mother. But he had known from the start. If Nyneve wasn’t an Oceanid, he would be dead. Oh! Maybe she could set up a situation where she had to save Peter!

No.

She couldn’t intentionally hurt him. And she’d had the chance that night during the storm, but she hadn’t revealed herself. Why?

Because she didn’t think he would like her, she admitted to herself. And that thought terrified her.

Peter dried off and immediately realized he hadn’t brought any clothes to change into. Relieved to hear the water still running when he went back into his room, Peter quickly grabbed a pair of boxers and a white tee shirt. He was hungry, and figured Melia must be too, especially after how much she drank, so he went down to the kitchen to find something to eat.

The more he thought about it the better he felt. He had done the right thing, and, though he was embarrassed to admit it, he was proud of himself and his self control. Of course he wanted—so badly— to sleep with Melia; it’s not like he hadn’t thought about it. But there was something just too…too respectable about her.

But she was drunk, he reminded himself. As lame as it sounded, Peter wanted her more aware the first time they made love. And he would never tell a single living soul that he wanted such a thing. He grabbed a plateful of chocolate chip cookies, cups and two cans of Sprite, dumped the popcorn in a bowl, and loaded up a tray. Seeing the keys on the floor by the stairs reminded Peter he had left the top down on his car. He made a mad dash outside to take care of everything, and even grabbed Melia’s purse for her.

Melia was wrapped in a towel. Peter swallowed, trying not to ogle (or he was going to need another cold shower).

“I don’t have any clothes,” she said.

“Oh, of course.” He dropped the purse on the floor and set the tray down on the bed but had to move it to the dresser since Mocha loved popcorn and followed him upstairs. “What do you want to wear?” He opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of pajama pants.

“I don’t like being that covered up,” she admitted. Peter held up a pair of athletic shorts. She shook her head. “Too long.”

After Melia was dressed in blue boxers (which she shortened by rolling the waistband) and a Chargers tee, she and Peter tucked themselves under the covers, happily eating, talking about evolution. When they were done, Peter set the tray on the dresser.

“Do you want me to close the window?” he asked when a chilling breeze blew in.

“No, it feels wonderful!” Melia pulled the blankets around her shoulders. “I’ll keep you warm.”

“Well, in that case…” he said and raised his eyebrows, causing Melia to giggle. He turned off the light and joined her under the blankets. It was after four thirty and they were both exhausted. Melia rested her head on Peter’s firm chest.

“Goodnight, Peter,” she said, her voice heavy with sleep.

“Goodnight,” he whispered back and kissed her.

*

Peter hoped he could sneak out of bed without Melia noticing. Slowly, he exchanged a pillow for his body and slid out from underneath her. She exhaled heavily in her sleep and didn’t wake. Mocha had curled up at the foot of the bed. Taking advantage of the spot next to Melia, he lazily got up and cuddled next to her. Weird, Peter thought, that dog hates everyone. He tiptoed out of the room and into the kitchen.

Melia woke up to the clanging of pots and pans. It was only nine o’clock and she wasn’t used to that little amount of sleep. She wanted to roll over and go back to bed but her desire to find Peter was greater. She ran her fingers through her knotted hair before she saw her purse. Happy Peter was thoughtful enough to bring it inside. She smiled as she got out her brush.

“Morning,” she said to Peter.

He strode to her and gave her a hug. “Good morning. I hope you’re in the mood for pancakes.” He motioned to the mess on the kitchen counter. “I’m in the process of making them. Of course, it won’t be as good as the food you’re used to being served,” he joked.

“Oh, I love pancakes!” She put her hands on Peter’s shoulders. “Can you show me how to make them? I’ve never made pancakes before.”

Taken aback, Peter agreed. But who doesn’t know how to make pancakes?!

She couldn’t get it to flip right. Peter could tell she was a little frustrated. “Here,” he said with a chuckle. He stood behind her and put his hand around hers.

“It worked!” she cried, excited.

“Ok, now this one.” Peter guided her hand and successfully flipped another pancake. Melia was so engrossed in learning something new that her better-than-human ears didn’t pick up on the garage door opening. Peter was too preoccupied with Melia to react to the all too familiar sound.

“…just go straight up to bed, honey,” Peter’s mother’s voice floated through the hall. Peter jumped away from Melia. Melia froze, unsure of what to do. Her brain raced for an excuse to get Peter out of the trouble she knew he’d be in. She considered hiding, but it was too late.

Mrs. Anderson had already seen her.

She shrieked. Literally. Peter’s father rushed in, scooping Ava up, thinking something terrible had happened.

Without giving Peter a chance to even get one word in, she stomped into the kitchen. “Peter Anthony! What the hell do you think you’re doing? Now look: you’ve made me swear in front of the twins! Who is this-this person in my house?”

“Mom, calm down,” Peter said slowly, putting his hands up.

“I will not calm down! How dare you have sex in MY HOUSE!”

Mr. Anderson ushered the twins upstairs. Ava called ,“Hi Melia!” which made Sue even angrier.

“You think, just because we are out of town that you can bring girls over! Well, you are WRONG. I am more than disappointed in you! You are a disgrace! You are unholy! Sinner! How DARE you commit such sins under MY ROOF!”

Melia’s eyes were wide. By some miracle she remembered to turn off the burner. Peter had told her about the way his parents yelled at him, but witnessing it actually happen made her mad.

“Peter,” his father boomed, standing at his mother’s side.

“We are gone for twelve hours and we come home to this-this copulation! You are the most disrespectful person I’ve ever met. And you!” she pointed at Melia. “Should be ashamed of yourself! What would your mother and father say?”

Melia set the spatula down. “I’m sure my parents—Mr. and Mrs. VanBurren—would be pleased and thankful for someone as wonderful as Peter.” Though she felt like she was playing dirty, Melia emphasized her last name. She had learned that many people in this town revered her parents with a mixture of awe, fear and respect. She stepped forward. “First of all, it’s presumptuous to assume that I had sex with your son. You don’t know me, and you obviously don’t know Peter. Second, you should be proud of him for helping me get through such a horrible night.”

Sue balked. No one talked back to her, especially a snotty little rich girl who gave it up easily. “You’re in his clothes,” she said with a smile, as if she had presented the jury with an incriminating piece of evidence.

“Yes. And if you would have asked Peter why, instead of yelling at him before you even said ‘hello’, then he would have been able to tell you that he saved me from practically drowning last night. He was kind enough to give me fresh, dry clothes to put on.”

Sue opened her mouth to talk but Melia held up her hand.

“And he cares about me enough that he brought me back here, seeing I was in no condition to be alone when I was that distraught.”

Peter nodded. The tale seemed too chivalric to be true.

“And,” Melia continued. “I am not easy.” She was proud of her correct usage of the word. “My mother raised me better than that.”

Sue opened and closed her mouth, several times, reminding Melia of a fish out of water, at a loss for words. Finally, Peter’s dad spoke.

“Where are your parents? Why didn’t you take her home, Peter?”

“They are out of town on business,” Peter answered without missing a beat. No one could argue that.

Peter’s parents exchanged looks. The story had changed, but Sue was still dead set on being angry at Peter. “Who are you?” she asked Melia shortly.

Melia put on her charming smile. “Melia.”

“And how do you know Peter?”

“Uh,” Peter spoke. “She’s my girlfriend.” He took Melia’s hand. “Has been for a few weeks.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” his father asked.

“Because I didn’t want you involved,” he confessed. Might as well put everything on the table, right?

“Are you embarrassed of us?” his mother demanded.

“Uh, yea,” Peter said with the tone of ‘duh’ apparent in his voice.

“I should go,” Melia said. “I’ll call Jamie to come get me.”

“No, I’ll take you home,” Peter said definitely. Still holding her hand, he led her past his parents.

“It was nice meeting you,” she said with a sweet smile. “Though I’d hoped for a better first impression of you.”

Peter stomped up the stairs. Ava was peering out of her room and ran inside when she saw Peter. Melia retrieved her purse and Peter’s keys while Peter went to talk to his little sister.

“Sorry you had to hear mom yell like that,” he said to his little sister. She shrugged, tugging on her hair. It wasn’t the first time she had to hide upstairs while her parents ripped Peter a new one. “Why are you home early?”

“Adam’s sick,” she said quietly, pointing to his closed door. “He barfed the whole way home.”

“Oh.” Peter nodded. He smiled weakly and turned to go.

“Are you not allowed to see Melia again?” she asked before her big brother could make his exit.

“I can still see her,” Peter assured her.

“Good. I like Melia.”

“Me too,” Peter said, unable to keep the stupid smile off his face.

“Do you love her?” Ava’s blue eyes widened with hope.

“It’s…it’s too soon to know.”

“Do you think you will?”

“Maybe.”

*

“Peter,” a voice called from behind him. Peter turned to see Jamie a few paces behind. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you yesterday,” she said, tugging the straps of her backpack up around her shoulders. “Melia told me about Friday night. And I have to say that if I had any doubt in the way you felt about Melia, it’s gone. It-it means a lot to me to know you really do care about her.”

Peter’s heart skipped a beat when he remembered that night. And then he felt embarrassed that Jamie Forester knew something so personal. What else had Melia told her?

As if she could read his mind, Jamie asked, “Oh, gosh! I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t be mad at Melia for telling me! And trust me; I made her spare the details. She-it…-she was happy you took her feelings into consideration.” Her cheeks turned red. Jamie cast her eyes to the ground.

She sounded so horrified and looked so pathetic, Peter put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m not mad. Girls talk, I know.” He was glad to see Jamie smile at that. “And I’m glad you approve,” he added with a toothy grin. “It’s always nice to have your girlfriend’s best friend like you.”

“I’m sure,” she said, rolling a piece of gravel back and forth under her black Converse shoe. Peter’s eyes flicked to the keys in Jamie’s hand. He recognized the Lion King key chain right away as Melia’s. “Don’t worry, she’s here.” Jamie waved to the back parking lot. “She, uh, left something in the car and had to go back.” In truth, Melia saw ‘a sparkle’ and wanted to see if a faery was lurking nearby.

The school parking lot was starting to get full. Peter looked away when Janet’s Beetle pulled into a spot a few yards back. “So, are you ready for the chem test today?” he asked, wanting to make small talk while he waited for Melia.

“I think so. Melia and I studied for two hours on Sunday. She has interesting ways of remembering stuff, but I think it’ll help. I keep forgetting the formulas.”

“Me too. I wish we could use a cheat sheet on this test.”

“I agree. Then I wouldn’t be worried at all.”

Janet and Kaitlin strutted near. Kaitlin pointed to Jamie, turned to Janet and moved her finger in little circles next to her temple. Though her back was to her, Jamie winced as if she could see the gesture. Peter clenched his teeth. Why pick on Jamie? She was so helpless and never did anything to anyone.

“Oh no, Peter,” Janet sneered as she walked by. “Better not let Fish Girl know you are cheating on her with the witch.” She and Kaitlin burst into laughter. Janet flipped her short hair and glared at Jamie.

“I’m not a witch,” Jamie blurted, though the insult was almost a compliment. What she wouldn’t give to be an actual witch with powers…

Peter laughed. “I never thought you were. Please, don’t judge me for dating her. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Jamie shrugged. “We all make mistakes,” she offered. The rest of Monday passed without much excitement. Melia and Jamie had plans to hang out, which enabled Peter to spend some time with his own friends, who he’d been neglecting since he’d rather spend time with Melia.

Jamie was glad to have a normal Monday night with Melia. She didn’t mind Melia spending so much time with Peter.  In all actuality, it was a relief to not be asked or reminded about Lana. Lately, the visions had been getting stronger. Jamie even had nightmares about Lana’s murder. Everything was ambiguous and nothing made sense. There were definite things she could piece together: darkness, sand, sneaking along a rocky surface. Then a flash of a light and a glimpse of an egg would often appear. It just didn’t make sense. Each time she had the dream, the feelings got stronger. She woke up shaking and scared. She felt like she was being watched. After last night’s rerun, she was tempted to ask Jill if she could camp out on her floor.

-Chapter 7-

“Can you believe our first two months together have already passed?” Melia asked Peter as they walked up and down the rocky shore.

“It has gone fast,” Peter agreed with a smile and threw the tennis ball for Wolfy again.

The breeze was stronger tonight. The air had a chill and…something else in it. Melia couldn’t place it, but the energy it carried was unnerving. She shivered and stepped closer to Peter.

“Cold?” he asked.

“Just a little,” she said to cover up her anxiety. He put his arms around her and Melia instantly relaxed a bit. Wolfy splashed in the water, running up and down the beach. “He’ll sleep well tonight.” Melia sensed it first.

Eyes on her. Probably a hundred feet out in the ocean. She whirled around, breaking free of Peter’s embrace. A dark shadow plunged under the water. If Peter hadn’t been there, she would have marched into water, transformed into her true self and found whatever it was. Right? Wolfy barked and she jumped. Everything felt so negative. It just wasn’t right.

“Wolfy!” she called, feeling almost frantic that her dog was in the water. It had been a while since she had felt the eyes on her, and even longer since she’d thought about darklings. No, it’s just not possible, she told herself. The huge dog bounded over, shaking water and sand all over her and Peter. Melia grabbed hold of his collar. “Let’s go inside, big boy. I’m cold.”

The feeling came back. Wolfy lunged forward, pulling Melia over. Peter reached out to help and ended up leading Wolfy back to the yard. Melia shut and locked the gate. “Wolfy can stay outside this way,” she told Peter, though she didn’t know if she was just letting him know or trying to rationalize why she shut the gate that led the way down to the ocean.

The house seemed too quiet. Melia didn’t want to be alone tonight. “Do you want to stay over?” she asked Peter.

“Yea,” Peter answered. “I’ll have to think of something to tell my parents.”

“Ok,” she said with a smile.

He took her hands in his. “I’m gonna go home and pretend to go to Connor’s. I’ll be back in an hour.”

“I’ll be here.” She smiled and squeezed his hands. Peter let her hands go and walked toward the door. He opened it and froze.

“You don’t have plans tomorrow, right?”

“For the third time, no,” Melia said with a laugh.

“Ok, good.” He kissed Melia. “I’ll be back soon.” Before he closed the door he called. “Lock the doors, Melia. I don’t like the way Wolfy was barking. It was like he could see something we couldn’t.”

The door shut. “That’s because he could see something. And I did too,” she spoke to the darkness. She wanted to call Jamie. She wanted to tell her about the feelings and about the darkling. No, she didn’t need to. Because it was nothing.

She called Wolfy in, quickly wiped the sand from his fur and jogged upstairs to take a shower. She showered quickly, feeling oddly vulnerable. After dressing in shorts and a tank top and braiding her hair, Melia attempted to use the popcorn machine. Oil splashed out and burned her skin, but the popcorn at least turned out all right. She filled two bowls and retreated back to her room.

Peter texted her to say he was on his way. Melia didn’t like how relieved she felt. She didn’t want to rely on a boy to make her feel safe.

“And if I saw what I think I saw,” she told no one, “a human can’t protect me.” She shook her head. “It’s just being alone. I don’t like it.”

She turned the TV on, flipping to a documentary about lions she had saved on the DVR.

“You really need to lock the doors,” Peter said, appearing in her doorway. Melia jumped.

“Peter! You scared me!”

“Exactly.” He smiled and joined her in bed. “Anyone could have walked in.”

“You worry too much.”

“I worry about you,” he confessed. “You’re alone and your house is secluded.”

“I have Wolfy.”

“Oh, and we both know how horribly vicious he is,” Peter joked.

“What if I got a German Shepherd? A really big one?”

“Maybe.” Peter kissed her. “Just lock the doors, ok?”

“Fine.” She smiled and pulled the blanket over them. Peter put his arms around her and leaned back on the pillows.

“What are we watching?”

“A show about lions. You can change it if you want.”

“No, it’s ok.”

“Really?” Melia looked up at him.

“Yea. I don’t mind.” He kissed her again and rested his head on her chest. Melia ran her fingers through his hair.

“Mmmm,” Peter sighed. “That feels good. But it’s gonna put me to sleep.”

“Want me to stop?” she asked.

“No,” he said with a smile. He wrapped his arms around Melia and closed his eyes.

*

Jamie finally crawled into bed at twelve thirty. Everything felt so right in her world: she went to two more horrible horror movie nights since the last one, her best friend seemed the happiest she’s ever been, her mom finally agreed to let her take a cat home from the animal shelter, and her father was home, though not for long. She should have known it wouldn’t last.

“Goodnight, Athena,” she whispered to her black and white kitten. Athena, who was sleeping curled up in a tight ball, didn’t flinch, let alone move, when Jamie stuck her feet under the covers past her. Happy thoughts entertained her sleepy mind and she quickly drifted into a blissful sleep.

But that didn’t last either.

She was walking along the beach. She was looking for something. Nothing was clear, not her vision, not her hearing, not her thinking. She was in pain. If she could find it—the egg—then she could prove what she knew was right. Then she could put a stop to all this madness, hopefully before anyone got hurt.

The dream twisted out of Lana’s perspective. Jamie was alone along the shore, the distant lights of The Ridge barely visible through the fog. Someone screamed. Panicked, Jamie looked around to find the source. Then she realized she was the one screaming. She closed her mouth and shivered as a large wave crashed, spraying her with cold water.

She had to warn Melia. She began running, but her legs could barely move in the suddenly thick sand. She fell to her knees and crawled, screaming for her best friend. A large shadow lumbered ahead. Jamie froze. It moved closer.

“Wolfy!” she cried and grabbed a hold of his collar. With his help, she made it to the house. She pushed the front door open. Everything was quiet.

“Melia!” she yelled. Nothing. “Melia, where are you? They’re coming, we have to go, now!”

She raced through the house, madly running up the stairs. When she opened Melia’s bedroom door, she was suddenly standing on a rocky cliff overlooking the sea. The sun was shining a golden red glow over the water. A bird with a long beak and mottled brown feathers meandered past. A blonde young man, his back to Jamie, was throwing stones into the ocean.

“Peter,” she said. The man didn’t turn around. She took a step forward when he didn’t answer.  “Peter!” she repeated. “Melia’s in trouble. We have to save her!”

The man laughed. Jamie put her hand on his shoulder and screamed when he turned around. Instead of Peter’s attractive face, the man had the face of a fish. Jamie stumbled back, tripping and falling off the cliff.

She woke with a start. A feeling of foreboding hung heavy in the air. Her hands shook. Though the dream made little sense, the fear had felt so real. She sat up. Athena had gone and she felt unnaturally alone. A car drove past, casting eerie shadows on her wall.

Had she left the curtains open? Surely she had closed them…

She grabbed her phone and called Melia without looking at the clock.

“Hello,” Melia mumbled.

“Thank God you’re ok,” Jamie breathed, relieved.

“I am, are you?” Melia sounded more alert.

“Yea, in theory. I had a freaky dream that something happened to you, and I-I just wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“What was the dream about? Oh, wait, let me move so I don’t wake him up.”

Jamie hugged her knees. “Wake who up?”

“Peter,” Melia said quietly.

Jamie looked at the clock; it was in the wee hours of the morning-five minutes past four. “Peter’s at your house—in your bed—next to you?”

“Yea.”

Jamie heard a door click. She knew Melia had moved to the balcony. The wind blew harshly over the phone. “OMG! Did you, you know, have sex?”

“No, but he did use his—”

“I don’t need to know!” Jamie interrupted.

“Right, back to the dream.”

Jamie quickly explained. When Melia didn’t respond, she grew nervous. “Melia?”

“I’m still here. Jamie…Jamie, throwing stones into the ocean is showing disrespect to the water. It symbolizes something bad is coming. And I think the bird is a curlew. That’s an old sea omen. A bad, old sea omen.”

“What?”

“Bad things.” Melia’s voice shook. “I thought I saw something today… in the water.”

“Something like a merrow?”

“Something else.”

“Oh. And it wasn’t a something else that was good?”

“No, there are other things in the ocean besides merpeople.”

“Oh, crap.”

“Yea—wait.”

Jamie waited, her breath coming out rattled. She heard the door open.

“Wolfy almost gave me away,” Melia explained. “He saw it too.”

“He did?”

“Animals are good at sensing things that aren’t natural to them.”

“They are,” Jamie agreed. “Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to Peter. Be careful Melia. Maybe you should stay out of the water.”

“I can’t do that,” Melia said, and Jamie knew she was smiling. “But, thanks for checking on me.”

“No problem. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Jamie hung up feeling better now that she knew Melia was ok. But she couldn’t shake the feeling like she had been given a warning she was eagerly disregarding. And she couldn’t get the word ‘darkling’ out of her head.

*

“I have one more surprise for you,” Peter told Melia. Melia was beyond excited when they pulled into the parking lot of the San Diego Zoo. They had already toured most of the zoo, gone on the Flightline Safari, which was a zipline tour over the animal exhibits, watched the Elephant Encounter, fed the giraffes, ate lunch, and visited the gift shops, where Peter bought Melia a stuffed zebra.

“What is it?” Melia asked, one hand in Peter’s, the other holding her bag.

“I can’t tell you.” He gently pulled his hand toward him, pulling Melia closer. He shyly kissed her. “But I think it will be the best part of today. Well, one of the best parts.” He took his phone from his pocket and checked the time. “We’re early. Let’s walk slowly.”

Melia was over the moon with excitement. She was at the zoo. She was seeing animals she never thought she’d ever see in real life: elephants, bears, eagles, and even some she had never heard of, like the honey badger. She enjoyed every minute she spent with Peter, amazed at the effort he put in on this perfectly planned day. She loved learning about the strange, land dwelling animals. They lazily strolled past Panda Canyon, Melia too busy admiring the animals to realize the direction they were headed in.

It was the one exhibit Peter hadn’t taken Melia to. He hoped he hadn’t been obvious in his avoidance. He had hoped to keep her distracted until they were near the exhibit. He asked her questions about her childhood. As always, Melia gave very vague answers.

“…collect shells. Lana was always on the lookout for anything pink. That’s why she—” Melia cut off, realizing where they were. She clapped her hands together. “Lions!”

“That’s not all,” Peter said, feeling somewhat shy as he retrieved a piece of paper from his back pocket. He carefully unfolded it and handed it to Melia. She took it, read it and stared wide-eyed at Peter.

“Really?!”

“Yup.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I don’t know what to say!”

“You don’t have to say anything.” Peter caught Melia’s contagious smile. “But you know it’s not real,” he added feeling the need to explain. He held up the papers again. “I mean, by ‘adopting an animal’ you really just gave a donation—a big donation—to get a fancy paper with your name on it.”

“Yes, I know,” she laughed. Melia didn’t want to admit that the first time she logged onto the zoo’s website and saw the ‘adopt an animal’ link she thought that you really got to take home an animal. Good thing Jamie was there to explain. But this was sweet—the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her. She couldn’t wait to call Jamie and tell her that Peter ‘adopted’ a lion and put her name on the papers. “Why didn’t you take me here first?” she asked, finally getting the tone of fake anger just right.

“Because we have an appointment.”

“Appointment? With a lion?”

“Close enough.” He smiled mischievously and led her forward. “Part of the adoption thing includes getting to go behind the scenes and talking to the lions’ main zoo keeper. Though I don’t think we will actually get to go in where the lions are. I thought you’d like it, though.”

“I do! Oh Peter! I don’t know how I can thank you!”
“You already have.”

*

The sun had set by the time Melia and Peter returned to San Morado. It was a calm, clear night; billions of stars sparkled above them. Melia let Wolfy out and gazed up at the sky. Peter, who blindly walked through the pitch black house, joined her outside.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Melia asked quietly.

“It is.” Peter gently kissed her. “Like you.”

Melia snaked her arms around Peter’s waist, pulling him close. He wrapped his around her and just held her. After a minute, he asked,

“Do you want to go down by the water?”

Melia nodded. “Can we take blankets so we can lay down and watch the stars?”

“Yea.” Peter’s heart skipped a beat. He knew what he felt and wanted to say it. He kissed her once more before helping her grab the blankets. They found a spot with the least amount of rocks and the most amount of sand and spread the blanket out. They lay down, Melia resting her head on Peter’s chest.

“Are you cold?” Peter asked as he pulled the second blanket over them. The breeze had a slight chill to it.

“I’m perfect,” Melia answered, feeling nothing but good emotions.

“Yes, you are.”

Melia giggled. “I’m far from it. Oh!” She pointed to the sky. “Did you see that? I think it was a shooting star!”

“Did you make a wish?”

“Yes, but I can’t tell you what it is or else it won’t come true.”

Peter slowly sat up. He took Melia’s hand. “Melia,” he started, then gave up and pulled her back down. He had a speech written in his head. It sounded good at the time, but now it was too wordy and lame. She snuggled against him. “I love you,” he whispered.

A jolt ran through Melia. “You do?”

Peter laughed. “You sound surprised.”

“I am, but I’m not. I-I-I love you too.” Melia didn’t know what to feel. In her heart, she knew she loved Peter. But should she? Was it fair to let him love her when there was so much about her that he didn’t know? It took only a millisecond to rationalize: Peter was a big boy. He could make his own decisions. If the time came and he really loved her, he would accept her—fish tail and all. “Peter, I really do. I love you.”

-Chapter 8-

“You had sex with Peter—twice!” Jamie loudly whispered back to Melia Monday morning at school. Melia had just told her an all too detailed description of Saturday night. Jamie hadn’t spoken to Melia since Friday night, or, technically, early Saturday morning. Melia had texted her late Saturday to tell her about the zoo, and again Sunday to tell Jamie that she was spending the day with Peter.

Melia nodded. “And he asked me to prom!”

“That’s so not the point here!”

“Why?”

“Because—you—you—” Jamie didn’t know how to say it. She understood human boys better than Melia did. She knew Melia trusted everyone more than they deserved, and not that Peter wasn’t trustworthy, Jamie didn’t trust him to not act compulsively. “Please tell me you at least used protection.”

Melia’s blank stare made Jamie shake her head. Of course a merrow wouldn’t know what a condom was.

“Melia!” she said too loud. She grabbed her best friend’s arm and lowered her voice. “What if you got pregnant?”

“I’m not pregnant,” Melia assured her.

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes I do.”

“It’s too early to know anything!”

“Not for a merrow.”

“Oh. Really? That’s…weird.”

Melia shrugged. “I guess so.”

Jamie let go of Melia’s arm. “Still, what if you got a disease?”

“What kind of disease?”

“Ones that can only be transmitted through sex.”

“What about sex?” a male voice asked, causing Jamie to jump. She turned to see Jeff smiling shyly.

“Nothing!” Her cheeks instantly reddened. Melia put her books in her bag.

“Jamie,” Jeff began, shuffling his feet. “What are you doing this weekend?”

“Um,” Jamie began. “Nothing.”

“Good. We’re trying to find a place to host Horrible Movie night. If we do, you should come.”

“What’s Horrible Horror Movie Night?” Peter, who just walked over, asked and put his arm around Melia.

“They watch movies,” Melia stated the obvious.

Jamie quickly explained, “They watch poorly made, lame movies. Whoever picks the worst movie wins.”

“Sounds like fun,” Peter said with a smile. “And I know a movie that would win.”

Jeff laughed nervously. “Jamie, you should host it.”

Now it was Jamie’s turn to be nervous. She deflected Jeff’s comment with a shrug and a vague ‘maybe’ and the four of them walked outside. Melia’s phone rang. While she paused to dig through her purse to find it, Jeff’s friends joined the little group.

“Hi, Mom! What—” was all Melia said before her brow furrowed. Melia began talking fast and low in a foreign language. Peter looked at her, confused and impressed. Melia sighed, and said something that was carried with the tone of disagreement. She fell silent, listening to her mother. She said something again, rapid and rhythmic.

Jamie liked hearing Melia and her mother talk to each other in Mermish. It was a smooth and beautiful language, and sounded so magical to her. “Bye,” Melia said in plain English, with just a smidgen of an accent in her voice.

“Everything ok?” Peter asked apprehensively, making a mental note to ask her what language that was later.

“Yea. My mom and Ed-my mom and my dad are going to Europe for a few weeks. It has something to do with uh, Dad’s new international business or something.” She frowned. “I hate being in an empty house.” She looped her arm through Peter’s. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

“Of course,” Peter told her, unsure of how he’d be able to get away with not being home on a school night. He rested his hand on the small of her back.

Melia was bummed. She really did miss spending time with her family. And she knew that she couldn’t expect Peter to stay with her every night. She would normally ask Jamie to stay, and she knew Jamie would, but she didn’t want to since Jamie’s dad was home. She didn’t want to take Jamie’s time away from him.

“It won’t kill me to stay one night this week,” Jamie said, knowing what Melia was thinking.

“I know, but your dad’s home.” Melia smiled at her friend. She glanced at Jeff and his friends, who were gaping. “You guys can have movie night at my house then.”

“Seriously?” CJ blurted.

“Yea. I like having people over,” Melia explained. “And Peter has a movie.”

“You-you want to pick out the movie?” Zack asked Peter, his mousy face glowing with awe.

“Yea. Jamie explained the idea. It sounds fun. And I know I’ll win.” He smiled his famous heart melting smile.

Elle made a weird strangled noise that turned into her clearing her throat. “It’s a date then,” she mustered.

“Awesome!” Melia smiled. “Do you guys need directions?”

*

“That was the worst movie I’d ever seen!” Jeff ran a hand through his hair as he spoke to Peter. “Hands down, you won.”

Peter laughed. “It was easy.”

“Yea, an evil gingerbread man. That’s all I have to say.”

“What’s even worse,” Peter said as he stood. “Is that there is a sequel.”

“No shit!”

“Yep. I haven’t lowered myself into seeing that one, yet.”

Rosemary giggled. “Next time then.”

“I still get the credit,” Peter joked. Slowly and lazily, everyone made their way upstairs. When Peter’s friends found out he was hanging out with Jeff and the likes, they gave Peter hell. Janet had fun mocking him, telling him that she knew Melia would bring him down. Peter just shrugged and told them that he liked making Melia happy. Eventually, the guys let it go and agreed that making Melia happy would work out in Peter’s favor.

Rosemary offered to help Melia clean up. Her friends followed her into the kitchen, looking around the gargantuan house with awe. Jamie knew they wanted a tour (who didn’t?) but knew Melia wouldn’t think to offer one. Melia still didn’t understand humans’ fascination with money and all things grand. She didn’t get why everyone in San Morado would die to see inside her house. She didn’t understand why anyone would spend so much on a house. Would her guests like her any less if the house was smaller? She hoped not.

Wolfy smacked the door with his paw. Melia opened the door for him, stepping out after the huge dog lumbered outside. The ocean breeze was strong tonight; the scent of salt and water heavy in the air. Melia inhaled, pleased, and closed her eyes. She felt it in her heart before she heard it. Otherwise she wouldn’t believe it.

A distant neigh, echoing and bubbling from being underwater, then a lot of splashing, followed by the unmistakable sound of hoof beats on the shore. Wolfy barked. Thank goodness the gate was closed. Melia struggled to get him inside.

“There’s a…cat, outside,” she explained. “Peter, can you, uh, hold Wolfy while I go look for it. I think it’s injured.” Her eyes met Jamie’s in a desperate plea. Jamie nodded.

“Hey,” Jamie said suddenly, turning to her friends. “Want a tour?”

Melia grabbed a package of ground beef from the fridge and slipped out the door. It couldn’t be. Actassi would never allow it. It was too dangerous, there were humans close by. Though she knew she could do major damage to her friends, she hoped it was true. She missed her.

“Cordelia!” she called, her heart racing. She dashed to the shore. It was far too dark for a human to descry the hoof prints, but she saw them just before the tide washed them away. “Cordelia!” she called again, hopeful. She pulled her dress over her head, carelessly throwing it on the damp sand, and jumped into the water. She made it only a hundred yards out when her heart skipped a beat.

She knew that kelpie. Jet black except for a little star of white under his forelock and one white sock on his right hind leg. “Rèalta!” As the name escaped her mouth, Melia was overcome with emotion. He knew her voice. Melia would have no problem getting Rèalta back into deep ocean.

He looked like a race horse, with long legs and a muscular body. His mane flowed in the water as he swam.  He was stubborn, arrogant, and too smart for his own good. And he had been Lana’s. Melia began to shake. Moonlight sparkled through the water. Melia held her breath as Rèalta glided his way to her.  He snarfed down the meat before greeting Melia, rubbing his head against her just like a normal horse would. Melia hugged Rèalta. She ran her hands over his sleek fur, short and smooth like a seal’s. Gills were hidden behind his luxurious mane.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked him, speaking in Mermish. “Why are you by yourself?” His nostrils flared and he was panting; he looked scared. Rèalta looked past Melia, hoping to see his owner swim up to him. “She’s not coming,” Melia told him, her voice quivering. Rèalta pressed his head against Melia. She wrapped her arms around him and cried. “I miss her so much,” she whispered to the kelpie.

Quickly, she composed herself. “It’s not safe here, ok boy? We need to get you home.” She swam forward but Rèalta didn’t follow. “Please, come on!” She motioned for him to follow. Instead, Rèalta looked at Melia and then at his back. “Y-you want me to ride you?” she asked incredulously. She had never been invited to sit on his back. One time she got on double with Lana and Rèalta didn’t like it one bit. Melia was dumped off in seconds. It was funny to the merrows, that only someone as bull-headed as the kelpie himself could ride him. Lana had laughed and climbed up on his back, telling everyone they understood each other.

Kelpies had the ability to transform. Above water, they were able to appear looking like beautiful horses. Underwater, their back legs turned into a tail, much like Melia’s, and their front hooves sprouted fins. They were powerful swimmers, able to propel themselves with surprising speed. And being meat eaters, kelpie teeth looked like those of a giant dog.

Melia sat on Rèalta’s back. She curled her tail around his thick body and held onto his neck. Rèalta nickered softly and slowly swam forward. Soon, they were flying through the water. Melia felt a weak smile pull her lips up. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the ride.

Melia couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her, hiding, trying to gammon her with an unseen trick. She looked around nervously, thinking it was very odd that Rèalta was all by himself. She knew it wasn’t something that was likely to happen. And she also knew she couldn’t be gone from land for too long before her human companions would question her whereabouts.

She got off Realta, gave him a final hug goodbye and sent him on his way. She swam back to the shore. “Crap,” she said aloud when she realized her bra was soaked. She took it off and hid it behind a rock. She rang out her wet hair and put her dress back on.

“You’re wet,” Peter said, stating the obvious.

“Uh, yea. The cat went into the water.”

Elle raised an eyebrow. “But your dress isn’t wet.”

“I took it off.” Melia smiled nervously.

Jeff asked, “Did you find it?”

Melia looked up, feeling like she had just gotten caught.

“The cat,” Jamie clarified. “Did you find the cat?”

“No, it, uh, ran into the water and I lost it.”

Rosemary gasped. “It drowned?”

“Yea.” Melia swallowed hard. “It must have.”

Zack scratched his head. “So you took your clothes off and ran into the ocean trying to save a cat?”

Melia nodded. “I’m gonna go upstairs and dry my hair.” She wanted Jamie to follow. Jamie, knowing it would be too obvious, sat down in the ‘leisure room’ that was attached to the kitchen.

“Peter,” she said, sensing his inclination to follow Melia upstairs. He turned to face her and Jamie scrambled to come up with something to say. She hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. “Wolfy seems to really like you.”

“Yea,” Peter said, petting the large dog. “We get along great, don’t we, boy?” Wolfy eagerly licked Peter’s face.

Rosemary shook her head. “I still can’t get over how big he is!”

“I know, he’s huge!” Elle agreed.

To Jamie’s relief, a conversation broke out about dogs. Jamie’s eyes darted to the window. Though she couldn’t see anything outside since the lights inside were on, she still strained to see the shore.

*

“A what?” Jamie asked.

“Kelpie,” Melia repeated. The girls sat on Jamie’s bed. It was after noon on Saturday, and it was the first time they had a chance to talk in private.

“And it’s a?”

“You would call it a ‘mythical creature’, though they sure aren’t myths. They live in water, quite happily, with merrows. They are loyal to us, and really fun, I loved Cordelia greatly. She was fast and we always won—but that’s not the point.” She shook her head. “Kelpies are great if you live underwater. If not, well…” She looked up into Jamie’s eyes. “They will kill you.”

“How?”

“Trick you into riding it. They look like a beautiful horse when they are out of the water. But once a human gets on, they-they become sort of stuck and the kelpie jumps into the water. After they drown a human, they eat them.”

“Oh, what a lovely pet you had, Melia.”

Melia weakly smiled. “We made sure they never got out. Trust me; they were better contained as pets, since we paid so much attention to them. They were well kept and we always knew where they were. They like merrows, and they’re easy to take care of. They become quite fond of you if you feed them regularly.”

“When they’re not eating humans, you mean.”

Melia winced.

“What do they eat?” Jamie persisted, more curious than frightened.

“Meat,” Melia answered simply. “They eat small fish in the ocean, but they love land meat. Lana and I used to sneak into a butcher shop in Mexico and steal pieces of beef. Cordelia loves beef.”

“Cordelia is your kelpie,” Jamie repeated to make sure she understood correctly. “And the black one, Rèalta, was your sisters.” Melia nodded.   “Cordelia’s a pretty name,” Jamie noted.
“You miss her, don’t you?” Jamie asked gently.

“Yea.”

“What does she look like?”

“Oh, she’s gorgeous! She is brown and white and has blue eyes.”

“If you were with me, could I see her without her trying to eat me?”

“Possibly,” Melia said. She began braiding a tiny fish tail braid in her hair. “It would be like…” She searched for an analogy. “Like if someone raised a wolf. It would like and respect the person who raised it, but you couldn’t expect it to show that same discipline and control to strangers. Especially strangers that are, more or less, a different species.”

“Why do you think Rèalta came to shore?”

Melia sighed. “I don’t know. He always was stubborn. If any kelpie were to break free, it would be him.” Melia frowned. “I think he was looking for Lana.”

Jamie nodded. She jumped when her mom knocked on the door. “Lunch is finally ready,” she told the girls.

“Ok, Mom.” Jamie took a deep breath. “We’ll be right down.”

Jamie was unable to ask Melia any further questions that afternoon before Melia had to leave to let Wolfy out and get ready for her date with Peter. He was taking her to see a movie and then driving a ways up north to go to a bonfire Connor’s cousin invited them to.

Melia double checked the gate before letting Wolfy out. She turned her iPod on, singing and dancing along to Shakira. She carefully braided and curled her hair, ending with an elaborate and pretty half up style. She skimmed over the contents of her closet, decided upon a blue dress with large print, brown flowers. She wanted to wear heels to the movie and change into more casual shoes for the bonfire. She put a pair of brown flat boots into a bag and even remembered a sweater.

“You look amazing,” Peter told her as he eyed her up and down. “Maybe we can skip the movie and just stay here.”

“That does sound tempting,” Melia agreed, breathing in the intoxicating scent of Peter’s cologne. She stuck her hands under his shirt and kissed his neck. Peter gently cupped her face and kissed her. “But you’re just gonna have to wait until after that fire thing. You are still staying the night with me, right?”

“I don’t really want to,” Peter said sarcastically. He kissed her again.  Melia looked into Peter’s sky blue eyes. There was something young and innocent behind them. She felt like she could really see him when she looked into his eyes. She wondered if he felt the same about her. She looked down, remembering how much he didn’t know.

“We should probably get going,” she suggested. Peter took her hand and led the way to the car. Since Melia picked the last movie, it was Peter’s pick today. He wanted to see a new action movie, but told Melia, more than once, that they could see something else if she wanted. The movie was in 3D and Melia didn’t know what that was. She took the glasses that came with her ticket, confused about what she was supposed to do with them and why humans would wear colored lens in a dark theater. She put them on while waiting in line for popcorn, made a silly face, which caused Peter to laugh.

“Well, well, well,” a female voice flowed from behind them. “Lookie here.”

Peter and Melia turned to see Janet, looking smug, standing with one foot forward and a hand on her hip. Next to her was Troy, the guy she used to cheat on Peter.

“Janet,” Peter muttered. “Hi.”

Melia, who was still wearing the glasses, tipped her head up to peer under the frames. “Hi, Janet.”

“Melia,” Janet said curtly. “This is Troy.” She yanked Troy’s hand forward.

“Hi, Troy,” Melia said and waved. She held her head up even higher to see Troy. She wrinkled her nose and took the glasses off. “That’s better.”

“Troy, you remember Peter, don’t you?” Janet asked, flipping her short hair. Of course Troy remembered Peter. It’s hard not to forget the guy who caught you having sex with his girlfriend. Troy nodded.

“I think we’re seeing the same movie,” Melia said, noticing the glasses in Janet’s hand.

“Good observation,” Janet sneered.

Troy eyed Melia like she was candy. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” he asked with fake charm.

Peter spoke. “This is my girlfriend, Melia.”

“Nice.” Troy nodded again.

Peter didn’t want to cause a scene. He didn’t want to start an argument. But he would have loved to kick Troy’s ass. And he knew he could; it would be easy. The line moved. He turned, taking Melia’s hand, trying to focus on what was in front of him.

“Why do we need these?” Melia asked, holding up the glasses.

“The movie’s in 3D,” Peter explained, shaking his hand from hers and putting it around her waist. Melia bit her lip. Peter answered her tactfully, as always, but she could tell from his tone that she asked an odd question.

“Three-dee?” she questioned.

“Oh, my God,” Janet’s voice was boisterous. “She doesn’t know what 3D is!”

“Yes she does,” Peter snapped.

“Yea,” Melia agreed. She wanted to text Jamie and ask. The lined moved again. With her face reddening from fear of a slip-up, Melia moved closer to Peter, holding onto his arm. They ordered their popcorn and drinks, walking quickly into the theater. “I don’t want to sit by her,” Melia told Peter.

“I don’t either. Look—there’s two seats up there.”

Melia leaned on Peter, munching on popcorn. She had never seen a movie in 3D and was intrigued by the process. She couldn’t wait to get home and do some research on it. Melia used the bathroom after the movie. While Peter waited in the lobby for her, Janet strutted up, Troy trailing behind.

“Peter,” she said, trying to convey a sweet and innocent smile. “Are you going to Kaitlin’s party?”

Peter shook his head. “Nope.”

“Oh. Well, you should. It’s invitation only, but I can get you in. Fish Girl, on the other hand…well, there’s no hope.”

“Don’t call her that.”

Janet laughed. “Oh come on, Peter.” She put her hand on his arm. He yanked it away. “Don’t tell me you don’t think she’s weird.” She turned to Troy. “I’m telling you, the girl’s a total freak show!”

“You sound so pathetic trying to insult her, Janet. And the fact that Melia is different than girls like you is just one of the things I love about her.”

“You-you love her?” Janet’s face fell.

“Yes, I do. Do me a favor and don’t talk to me again.” Peter turned, with perfect timing, as Melia came out of the bathroom. They walked hand in hand out of the theater.

They got into the car without speaking. “You seem mad,” Melia said quietly.

“I’m just annoyed,” he assured her. “It’s not worth getting upset over.” Peter put the top down on the Mustang and backed out of the spot.  Melia put her hand on his thigh. Peter relaxed almost instantly at her touch. He turned on the radio to a station Melia liked and smiled at her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

*

Melia was fascinated with fire. She had never seen one this big and was a little wary at first. She stayed close to Peter, not wanting to get too close but unable to resist moving toward the flickering heat. She wanted to throw something into it, or get a big stick and poke at the fire. She sat, completely transfixed by the dancing flames. They were in the middle of a forest and had to walk a rather long and winding trail to get to the party. The bonfire was in the center of a small clearing; logs and lawn chairs encircled it. Music played in the background, floating through the trees. People talked and laughed and some were throwing a little white ball back and forth into plastic cups. When the ball landed in one of the cups, it had to be drunk. Melia didn’t understand that game.

Peter was talking to Connor and two boys Melia didn’t know or recognize. The call of the crackling fire was stronger than that of the nearby stream, and Melia released Peter’s hand and stepped closer to the flames. She sat on a log feeling happily rustic, becoming hypnotized by the dancing fire.

After turning down yet another offer for a drink, Melia slowly rose and strode over to Peter. He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. The guys were talking about sports and complaining about the bugs.

“Are you getting eaten alive?” Unknown Boy #1 asked, waving an unseen bug away.

Melia had to recall the not so literal sense of the phrase. “No, I haven’t gotten bitten yet.”

“Really?” Peter asked, slapping a mosquito from his arm.

“Yea.” Melia shrugged. “I guess bugs don’t like me.” She smiled innocently. Mosquitoes didn’t like merrow blood; it was too salty.

“That’s—” Unknown Boy #2’s voice got cut off by a high pitched scream. There was a moment’s pause followed by more screaming. Three girls fumbled through the woods in a tumultuous and desperate escape, crying out frantically about a dead body.

At first no one believed them. The small crowd of partiers waited for a “Hah! Gottcha!” But when one of the girls began to cry, a chill echoed through the air. Eyes fell upon Unknown Boy #1, who apparently was hosting the party. “Where?” he asked the girls, his voice weak.

“Not too far,” the calmest answered. She pointed in the direction they had run from. “By the stream.”

Familiarity slid a cold finger down Melia’s spine. She gripped Peter’s hand and took a deep breath. Though it was extremely faint, the rotting smell of water slimed grass lingered in the air.

“Jason,” Connor called to the boy, who Melia figured was his cousin—they did have the same eyes. “I’ll come with.”

“Me too,” Peter said and gently removed Melia’s hand. “Stay here,” he instructed, getting out his phone to use as a flash light. Melia waited until he, Jason and Connor were a few paces ahead before falling in step behind. She didn’t understand why Peter was acting protective. The body was already dead; it could do her no harm.

The gentle babbling of a stream is oddly serene when it houses a rotting corpse. The smell alone alerted the boys the body had been here for more than a few days. Laying face up in the shallow water, birds or bugs ate away at the dead boy’s eyes. His skin was pale and crinkled, and the flesh around his mouth was ragged and torn.

The smell was stronger here. Melia had smelled it before. She shivered at the memory. It was one of the few she had of her father. He had taken her and Lana to a rocky shore to watch the sun sink into the ocean. Being a full merrow and unable to transform into human shape, he stayed in the water, keeping a close eye on his daughters. Of course, Lana didn’t listen to his requests to stay nearby. She beckoned Melia to follow her and led her to a river that dumped into the sea. Melia remembered being hit with the pungent smell of decomposing plants.

Then the woman appeared. Not being familiar with humans, neither Lana nor Melia knew she was dangerous. In a flash, she grabbed the girls and dragged them under the water in an attempt to drown them. Of course that didn’t work, and Melia’s father swam to save them. He stabbed the woman, whom Melia later overheard him call a ‘gwyrrd’, in the heart with a trident made of silver. Melia also overheard that the only way to kill a gwyrrd was by staking them in the heart with silver.

Since that day, Melia had learned more about the gwyrrds. She couldn’t be certain. She stepped closer to get a better look. A twig snapped under her foot and caused all three boys to jump.

“Shit, Melia, what are you doing here?”  Peter asked, wide eyed. He felt sick from looking at the body. Moonlight cast eerie shadows over the dead boy’s face. Well, what remained of his face. Melia bypassed answering and took Peter’s hand. Her merrow eyes allowed her to see every detail; it looked like algae covered seaweed was wrapped around the boy’s fingers on his outstretched hand.

“We need to call the cops,” Peter mumbled. Jason sputtered about the beer and how everyone was underage. Peter motioned to the body. “He’s something to someone.”

Peter’s words hung heavy in the air.

“Right,” Jason agreed. “Lemme hide the booze.”

“It’ll still look suspicious,” Connor warned. “All of us, up here.”

Peter nodded. “The girls that found the body—they need to stay. Everyone else needs to leave.”

“Right,” Jason uttered again. “Give me ten minutes.”

Melia tiptoed to Peter. He looked sick; Connor did as well. “We don’t have to watch it,” she said quietly. “He’s not going anywhere.”

Connor agreed and turned away. “I feel bad leaving him alone. Is that crazy?”

“No,” Melia assured him, taking his hand and leading him away. She took Peter’s hand in her other hand. “It shows that you are more caring than I thought you were. Though his spirit is gone, the body still symbolizes his life and everything that used to be.”

“Yea.” Connor cleared his throat and gave Melia’s hand a squeeze before letting go. They stopped at the edge of the clearing. Melia was on high alert. She didn’t know what she would do if the gwyrrd attacked, though her first and only plan was to let it take her since she can’t drown. That was one of many holes in her plan. Anxiously, she waited for the others to leave. She needed to keep the small group that remained together. Gwyrrds don’t attack groups. And what about the police officers who will examine the body? Melia knew, from watching numerous shows on solving crimes, that she couldn’t stay when the authorities looked for evidence.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Peter apologized, hugging Melia.

“It’s not the first dead body I’ve seen,” Melia whispered softly. Peter hugger her tighter.

The wait for the cops to arrive was excruciating. Awkward small talk was made, but the fact that there was a dead, rotting body nearby was hard to forget. The girls who had discovered the body were MJ, Nikki and Chloe. They exchanged a few words on fashion with Melia; Chloe complimented her designer boots.

MJ interrupted the silence that fell over the group. “You guys, that boy was probably murdered. What if the killer is still out there?!”

Nikki gripped Jason’s hand.

Melia shook her head. “If I were going to dump a dead body, I’d put it somewhere I’ve never been and wouldn’t come back.  Unless I was crazy, then maybe it wouldn’t matter.” Peter looked at her sideways. “Or at least, that is what would happen on crime shows.”

“So,” Nikki spoke. “We either are safe, ooorrr we have to watch out for a raging lunatic.”

“Basically,” Connor assured her.

“Do you think they’ll suspect us?” MJ asked.

“I doubt it,” Peter answered, unable to help the red hot flash of fear that flooded his veins. Would the cops find it ironic a group of kids innocently went for a walk in the woods and stumbled upon the body?

Melia’s head snapped to the left. Voices. Flashlights bouncing off the trees. Footsteps. The police were finally here.

What seemed like hours later, Melia and Peter got into the Mustang. Peter sighed, looking tired. Melia placed her hand on his.

“Want to go to my house?” she offered.

“Yea.” Peter revved the engine to life. “So much for a fun night, huh?”

“Well, at least it was exciting.” Melia half smiled. Peter laughed. She didn’t like seeing Peter upset. It bothered her more than she expected. She brought up the subject of prom and it seemingly worked to cheer Peter up. They discussed dinner plans; Peter admitted he had assumed they would go with his group of friends. He didn’t say it, but Melia knew he didn’t think Jamie would be going to prom. Connor was taking Courtney, Matthew and Amanda were going together, Nate was taking Hannah, a cheerleader Melia had few interactions with, and Brian was going with Justine, a junior from another school. He didn’t mention anything about Kaitlin or Janet.

It made sense, Melia knew, for Peter to want to go with his friends. And it would be fun going with a group of people, right?

“My mom wants me to go to New York to find a prom dress,” Melia told Peter.

“Should be fun.”

“Yea, but I don’t like shopping.”

“Really?” Peter glanced over at her.

“It’s fun at first, then I get bored.” She turned to face him.

“You are too good to be true, Melia.”

*

“And you’re sure you know how to get there?” Jamie asked apprehensively.

“Yes.” Melia didn’t look away from the road. She pressed the pedal and the R8 lurched faster. “I paid attention on the way home so I’d remember.”

“Ok, good.” Jamie nervously played with her hair. She was beyond freaked out. She didn’t want to believe such things existed. Melia explained what a gwyrrd was to Jamie as soon as she got to her house the next morning. At first Jamie excitedly agreed to go back to the woods with Melia. It was what she always wanted, right? Adventure, feeling needed, making a difference…

Now fear balled in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to see a gwyrrd….but she did. Jamie couldn’t make up her mind. And they were on their way. Jamie took a deep breath. There’s no going back. Be brave, she told herself.

“It’s a crime scene,” Jamie commented.

“I know. We’re gonna have to sneak in around the back. We probably can’t get to the same spot, though I’d imagine they moved the body after they took all the pictures. At least that’s what they do on TV.”

“Ok,” Jamie said and was silent the rest of the way. Melia parked the R8. There were no cop cars in the parking lot nor were there any other cars. News of a dead body travels fast. No one wanted to visit the nature park today. Melia had told Jamie she doubted the gwyrrd would make an attempt to harm them. She was mostly likely hiding since so many humans had trampled her nesting grounds.

But there was still a chance. Jamie wished she had brought a weapon; some warrior she was. The plan was to get in and get out as quickly as possible. Jamie needed to try and pick up on any lasting feelings of the dead boy to be certain a gwyrrd was responsible.

The hike to the stream was a hot one. The sun beat down on them and no breeze offered relief. The bonfire had been reduced to a smoldering pile of ash. Melia hesitated, tempted to feel the heat. She held her head up and pressed forward. She diverted to the left, avoiding the scene of the crime by several yards. She stopped, let out a breath and looked at Jamie.

“Can I do anything to help?”

Jamie shook her head. “I just have to see what I can find.” She closed her eyes and held out her hands. Slowly, she turned, reaching with her mind. She felt anger and a need to prove herself, followed by fear and pain. In her mind she saw the boy. It was night. He dropped his flashlight and spun around. She was upon him in seconds. “It happened fast,” Jamie whispered, her words shaking. Her eyes opened, relieved to see Melia’s pretty face looking back at her. “You didn’t tell me how horrible looking gwyrrds are.”

“You saw one?”

“I think so.” Jamie shook her hands, trying to expel the energy. “She looked like an old hag. From a distance, I guess you could mistake her for an old lady. But up close,” she closed her eyes again. The face of the gwyrrd flashed before her. Quickly, she opened them. “Her hair is like moldy seaweed. Her dress is dripping wet and she smells like old, wet cloth. Her skin—” she shuddered. “I, well, he felt it when she grabbed him. It’s rough, not human like, right?”

Melia nodded. “It’s covered in tiny scales.”

“And her teeth. They are razor sharp.” That was the worst part. Jamie had felt those teeth sink into his shoulder. Gwyrrds bite down to the bone. She shivered and Goosebumps broke out on her arms, despite the warm sun. “I get that they kill, but why exactly—”

Melia grabbed her, cutting off Jamie’s question. “Shhh!” she whispered. Melia inhaled; the stench of rotting earth was growing stronger. The gentle babble of the stream grew so loud it pounded in her ears. “We should go,” she told Jamie, hooking her arm though her best friend’s.

“Not yeeet,” a hoarse voice came from behind them. Melia and Jamie spun around. The voice gurgled, as if whoever was speaking was underwater. Jamie’s eyes met Melia’s.

“Should we run?” she asked. Before Melia could reply, cold, wet, and slimy fingers reached from the damp weeds and grabbed Jamie’s ankle. She screamed when it yanked, pulling her to the ground. Tiny drops of water collected on the ground, fast, filling an invisible mold until the outline of an old lady could be seen. Slowly, the figure gained color.

“Visitors!” the gwyrrd cried. “It’s been so long since I’ve had visitors! Please don’t go, we can have so much fun together!”

Jamie thrashed, terrified. The gwyrrd began dragging her backwards. Jamie desperately reached out to cling to anything that would slow her down. She forgot any and all self defense moves she had been taught in Tae Bo.

Melia hadn’t. She kicked the gwyrrd so hard in the face it broke the old hag’s nose. The gwyrrd cried out, snatching her hand back from Jamie’s ankle, her razor sharp nails slicing through Jamie’s skin as she did.

Melia scrambled over to Jamie, helping her up. The gwyrrd recoiled. Shaking her head, she straightened. Melia watched as the gwyrrd sniffed the blood on her fingers.

“What are you, dear,” the gwyrrd asked Jamie. “Your blood is sweeter than the others’.”

Melia yanked her keys out of her pocket. “Go to the car, now!”

“No, I don’t want to leave you,” Jamie protested.

“You can drown,” Melia reminded her, leaving ‘I can’t’ unsaid but very much implied. “I’ll catch up to you. Start the car—go!”

Feeling a burning ball of horrible remorse fall heavy in her soul, Jamie sprang up. She fumbled and tripped the entire way to the car.

Melia faced the gwyrrd, still stunned from her kick. Melia looked around; she grabbed an apple sized rock, ready to strike. “Leave my friend alone,” she threatened.

“Granny wants more,” the gwyrrd cooed, licking the rest of Jamie’s blood from her fingers. “And granny always gets what she wants.” Quickly, the gwyrrd was back on her feet.

“Not this time,” Melia promised. She swung. The rock connected with the gwyrrd’s head in a sickening crack. Melia knew bones had been broken. The gwyrrd yelped and fell backward. She hit the ground and exploded into a million little water drops.

She was gone, but not dead.

Melia dropped the rock and ran. Jamie had just reached the car when Melia emerged from the woods. She screamed when she heard Melia’s footsteps suddenly behind her. Frantically, she opened the door and jumped in the driver’s side. Melia was in the passenger seat by the time Jamie started the car.

She had never driven the R8 and pushed way too hard on the gas. The tires squealed and they were off.

Melia waited until they were a safe distance away from the gwyrrd to speak. “Jamie, she has a taste for your blood.”

“Mm-hm,” was the only response Jamie was able to muster. The scratches on her ankle suddenly burned.

“We need to keep you safe. I know a spell.”

“You know a spell?” Jamie asked incredulously.

“Know of a spell,” Melia corrected. “I saw it in one if my mother’s books. Lana and I used to sneak looks at it. We got caught once and—it doesn’t matter.”

“Ok, good. Wait, how do you have a book when you lived underwater?”

“On my mom’s side. Oceanids don’t live under the sea,” Melia reminded her.

“Oh, ok, right. What do we need for the spell?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only skimmed over it. I remember seeing a charm about making amulets.  And a spell that should help.”

“Ok,” Jamie said again as if on auto pilot. “And what is the spell exactly?”

“A spell to repel waterfolk.”

Jamie cast a sideways glance at Melia. “Won’t that do…something to you?”

“Yes.”

“Then we can’t do it.”

“Jamie, you have to. Until I can get Actassi to handle the gwyrrd situation, you have to ward her off. Gwyrrds are stronger than you think. And they can leave their streams.”

The impact didn’t hit Jamie until she turned onto the highway. “Wait, back up. You mean she might come looking for me? And who is Actassi?”

“Yes, they can leave.” Melia said gravely. “I’m so sorry, Jamie. I should never have asked you to come. This is all my fault.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Jamie responded. “Who’s Actassi?” she repeated.

“I would call him a king but that’s not the right word. He’s the King of our part of the ocean, but it’s not run like a kingdom; it’s more like a democracy, I suppose.”

If Jamie hadn’t been so shaken up, she would have praised Melia for using the word ‘democracy’.

“And he can help?”

“Yes. He won’t allow darklings in his area.”

“Darklings?”

“Darklings are what we call anything…anything bad.”

Jamie knew Melia was being elusive. “Ok,” she simply stated. That was enough information to digest for now. She turned on the radio and didn’t speak until they were in the familiarity of downtown San Morado.

“We’re over an hour away. Do you really think she will find me?” Jamie asked. The look Melia gave her told her everything. “Ok, so this spell. What should we do first?”

The first thing Melia did was disinfect the claw marks on Jamie’s ankle. They weren’t deep, but gwyrrds weren’t keen on keeping up with their hygiene. The antiseptic burned, and the tears hurt when Jamie flexed her ankle. This, unfortunately, meant that every step was painful. She hobbled behind Melia, following her down into the basement. Jamie knew there was a large, walk-in safe down there. She always assumed it was full of money, savings bonds, stock market papers, valuable paintings and expensive statues. Normal stuff rich people would keep hidden and safe.

She didn’t expect to find the remnants of Melia’s life as a merrow collecting dust on steel shelves. The items were no doubt valuable. Melia told Jamie that merrows liked to ‘collect’ things. Carefully, Jamie picked up a silver coin. She turned it over a few times, inspecting the markings before putting it back in the large wooden box that housed probably a hundred more coins. Next to it sat an even larger box filled with large, gold coins. The shelf above held dozens of ancient pieces of pottery. There was a handful of jewels, several old swords (and one shiny dagger), a few pieces of clothing, jewelry, silverware and drift wood. A pretty floral patterned vase, its pattern chipping away, was full of shells. Jamie felt a wave of sadness when she thought of what Melia’s life had been reduced to. Everything she found and valued as a merrow had to be hidden away in the family vault.

Jamie picked up an ivory chess piece. A museum would kill to get their hands on this.

“Here it is,” Melia said, pulling an old wooden trunk out from under the shelves. She opened the lid; inside reeked the smell of old books and ocean mixing together. “Since Oceanids don’t live underwater, they make friends with other ‘mythical creatures’. And since the others can’t go underwater to get treasures, they do a lot of trading.”

She set the books on the floor one by one, sorting through the lot until she saw what she was looking for. It was a large, brown, leather bound book. The binding was crackled and the pages had yellowed over time. She sat cross-legged on the floor, flipping through the brittle pages. “This. It says how to make an amulet.” She turned the book to Jamie.

“Uh, it’s not in English,” Jamie pointed out the obvious.

“Of course not.” Melia looked down at the page. “But I can translate.” She leaned close to the page. “The ingredient list isn’t too long.” She looked up at Jamie. “You’ve been reading your books, right?”

By books, Jamie knew Melia meant the spell books she had purchased at Barnes and Noble. She doubted they would come in handy. She nodded, nonetheless.

“I think we can find most of this in the kitchen,” Melia said, her voice hopeful. “We should get started right away.”

The doorbell rang. Both girls jumped. Jamie cast a fearful glance at Melia. Did gwyrrds ring doorbells?
“Peter,” Melia breathed, “Is coming over for dinner.” She closed the book. “Is it six o’clock already?”

“Yea,” Jamie told her, looking at her phone. “Time flies when you’re being hunted.”

“Stay. You can eat with us.”

“Melia, neither Charles nor your parents are here, and you don’t know how to cook. Peter isn’t coming over for dinner. Plus, I need to do homework.” Melia gave her a pained look. “And,” Jamie continued, standing up. “I need clothes for tomorrow.”

“You can wear mine, and one day of not doing homework is better than getting your soul sucked out.”

The color drained from Jamie’s face. “What?”

“That-that’s how they feed.”

“Oh.” Jamie suddenly felt like she was sinking. “Lovely.”

“So, you need to stay.” Melia led the way upstairs. Jamie hung back while Melia opened the door for Peter. She watched as Peter greeted his girlfriend with an enthusiastic hug and kiss. “Hang on,” Melia told Peter and scurried off to speak in a hushed voice to Jamie. It seemed they were debating something. He pet Wolfy while he tried not to eavesdrop. He overheard Melia saying something about it ‘not being safe’ and Jamie protesting that she needed ‘magic supplies’. He must have heard wrong.

“Text me when you get home,” Melia instructed. “I’ll be waiting. And if I don’t hear from you, I’m coming over.”

“Yes, Mom,” Jamie attempted to joke when she saw Peter looking at them. “I’ll be careful. I promise.” She smiled, said a quick hello/goodbye to Peter and fished her keys from her pocket and left. Melia put her head in her hands and sighed.

“Melia,” Peter’s voice came from in front of her. “Are you ok?”

She looked up into his beautiful, blue eyes. And everything felt a little better. “I am now.” She wrapped her arms around him. Peter hugged her tightly back, catching a glimpse of the large book that was precariously placed on the edge of the table in the foyer. He eyed it suspiciously before turning his attention back to Melia.

After eating dinner (Melia made frozen pizzas for the first time), Peter suggested they take a dip in the ocean. In fear of darklings, Melia regretfully suggested the pool instead.

“Is it usually this hot?” Melia asked, stepping onto the patio. She noticed the hungry look in Peter’s eyes when she dropped her towel, her body barely covered in a white bikini.

“No,” Peter told her, taking his shirt off. “This whole spring has been hotter than normal.”

“Oh,” Melia sighed, looking at the ocean. Weather changes, darklings…she was so anxious the cool pool water actually felt refreshing. It was better now that the pool was eco-friendly and not full of chlorine. Melia couldn’t stand being submerged in a pool full of chemicals. She dove underwater, sighing, and swam down to the bottom. She forgot how long a human can hold their breath for (one minute…five minutes?) so she quickly popped back up.

She and Peter settled on the steps. Melia extended her legs, allowing the water to carry her weight. Peter put his arm around her.

“I love you, Peter,” she told him.

“I love you too.” He kissed her. Melia turned, putting both arms around his shoulders. Peter easily moved her in the water so that she was sitting in his lap. Emotion flooded Melia’s veins. She was on Peter—kissing him—in the water. She smiled, thinking things might work out after all.

*

Jamie jumped at every little sound. She locked her bedroom door and turned on the TV. Wait, no, she should turn it off. She needed to be able to hear if anyone was trying to break in. No, she shook her head, TV is good. She turned up the volume and drew her blinds. She took off her muddy shorts and hesitated. She really wanted to shower.

The gwyrrd turned into water. Could she…
“No,” Jamie answered her question aloud. “Not possible.” Still, she took the fastest shower ever. She pulled her English book from her backpack. She tapped her pencil nervously on her notebook, not able to concentrate. She turned the TV off and forced herself to write the worst essay she’d ever written. Then she rushed through her math homework and attempted to study for a chemistry quiz. After fifteen minutes of being unable to think about anything but the gwyrrd’s razor sharp teeth, Jamie gave up and closed her book.

It was only seven forty-five. Her mother would be at work until eleven and Jill was God knows where doing God knows what. Jamie refilled her backpack with her school books and packed an overnight bag to bring to Melia’s. Lastly, she scraped up what little magic supplies she had.

A jar of black salt, a sage smudge stick, sandalwood incense, a handful of quartz crystals, white candles, Tarot cards and a tiger’s eye necklace. She put that, along with her magic books, in a duffle bag. Feeling like a bag lady, she hauled her items to her car.

The wind blew. Jamie’s heart skipped a beat. She jumped in her Jeep and slammed the door. Pulse racing, she waited. When nothing happened, she let out a breath and dashed back into the house. Melia hadn’t called her yet. Jamie thought about texting her instead but decided not to at the last minute, not wanting to intrude on the little time Melia was spending with Peter.

Jamie was happy that Melia was happy. She didn’t want to admit it to herself, but she shared the same fear that Nyneve had. She didn’t want to lose Melia to the ocean. She was her best, and presumably only, friend. She had opened up a whole new world to Jamie, and though that world was starting to reveal more darkness than Jamie imagined, she could never thank Melia enough for showing her what she had been missing. Jamie knew Melia didn’t feel whole on land. She never brought it up for fear of hearing something she didn’t want to. She also couldn’t shake the feeling that Melia was just waiting for something to happen before returning to the ocean.

But what? Graduate high school? Go to college? None of those things were important to Melia. Being with Peter seemed to fill Melia’s heart with what it was missing. She didn’t talk about what she missed as much. She didn’t get that faraway look in her eyes when she looked upon the water.

And then Jamie wondered if Melia would ever tell Peter the truth. She wondered what Peter would say, if he’d even believe her. Would he break up with her? Would he tell people? She hoped not but honestly couldn’t be sure. What if their relationship continued, and they got married and had kids? What would they look like? Then Peter would have to know.

Jamie shook her head; she had more important things to be thinking about. But thoughts of the gwyrrd just made Jamie anxious. Instead, she opted to go back to her room and get on her computer. She didn’t log on her Facebook page that often and was surprised to see three friend requests and one message. One was from Rosemary, another from CJ and the last was the most surprising of all.  She clicked ‘accept’ on all three but wasn’t as excited as she thought she’d be.

After dealing with mean photo comments and internet drama, Lacey had deleted her account. She said she’d never give in to the popular, social temptation again, but here she was, smiling in her profile picture. Curiously, Jamie clicked through her page, eager to learn about who Lacey had become.

She had lost a good fifty pounds, though she was still not as thin as Jamie. And she had makeup on, another thing she swore she’d never do. Nevertheless, Jamie smiled. Lacey looked happy and it seemed like she had a lot of friends. She browsed through her pictures and read her info. Lacey seemed so normal. There was nothing about adventure seeking or magic hunting. It’s crazy, Jamie thought, how much someone can change. She clicked back to her own page, looked at her profile picture of her and Melia at the Harry Potter theme park and sighed.

Then someone knocked on the door. Jamie froze. Was it the gwyrrd? Would she even bother knocking? Why didn’t they ring the doorbell? The sun had nearly set. Who would be coming over at this hour? She crawled across the hall into Jill’s room. Slowly, she lifted the mini blinds and peered outside. She held her breath as she waited.

A few seconds later, two men dressed in black suits walked down the driveway, carrying a flyer. Jamie laughed at herself and slumped against the wall. She didn’t like dealing with the church-recruiting type, but they were at least harmless.

Still, she didn’t want to be alone. Figuring she still had an hour before she’d hear from Melia, Jamie forced herself to calmly walk to her car and drive into town. A new coffee shop had recently opened up and she had yet to go there. She regretted it as soon as she walked in to the café. The place was haunted.

It was a residual haunting, but a haunting nonetheless. And she didn’t want to deal with it tonight. Groaning, Jamie mustered up the courage to walk to the counter and order a white chocolate mocha. She sat at a table up front, close to the doors. She pulled an encyclopedia of magical herbs from her bag and began reading.

It wasn’t long before she felt eyes on her. She looked up and jumped, sloshing her hot drink all over the table.

“Go away,” she whispered, unsure if the ghost could hear her. It was the ghost of a middle-aged man. He tipped his head and stared at Jamie, unspeaking. “Leave me alone!”  A couple sitting at a table to Jamie’s left looked at her, raising their eyebrows. When the ghost didn’t respond, Jamie looked back down at her book, tears blurring her eyes. She was scared. She was embarrassed. And she had no freaking clue what to do.

She gulped her too hot drink, burning her tongue and throat. She looked past the ghost at the photos hanging on the exposed brick walls. Each depicted a different piece of candy and each was for sale. They were highly priced and poorly done. Jamie bet she could paint one just as well, if not better, and would charge half of what the artist was asking.

With more caution, Jamie took another sip of her drink. She gathered her belongings and scooted past the ghost. She sat in her car until Melia called.

-Chapter 9-

“Is the water boiling?” Melia asked, looking up from the book.

“Just about,” Jamie told her, looking at the little bubbles forming in the pot. “Should we add the ingredients yet?”

“Just the ocean water. But not until the water boils first. The translation isn’t clear, but it says something about needing the water to absorb the power of the element fire.” Melia looked back down at the book and finished her list. She got up and gave it to Jamie.

Jamie looked at the ingredient list. “Your handwriting is too perfect,” Jamie observed. It was a totally irrelevant observation, but she felt compelled to talk about something other than the potion she was making that would ultimately cause an unknown amount of pain to her best friend. Written in Melia’s perfect letters, almost looking like calligraphy, was the translated list. Jamie read it quickly. “You put ocean water on here twice,” she told Melia, pointing to ‘ocean water’, written at the top, and ‘essence of the sea’ written at the bottom.

Melia blinked. “No, it’s not the same.”

“Then what is ‘essence of the sea’?”

“It’s-it’s part of a sea creature.”

“Like a fish?” Jamie asked, knowing that wasn’t the answer.

“Not like a fish.”

“So, we need part of the gwyrrd.”

“Ideally.” Melia ran her hands through her hair. “But we don’t have part of the gwyrrd.”

“So we can’t do this then.”

“No, we can.”

“With—no, I’m not doing it,” Jamie said when Melia got a knife from the knife block and extended it to Jamie.

“You just need one scale. I can’t do it to myself.”

“Melia, no. I’m not cutting a scale off of your tail. No.”

“Jamie, you have to. We need this to work.”

“NO!” Jamie protested. “I’ll buy a gun, sleep with one eye open and shoot her when she comes for me!”

“Bullets won’t kill a gwyrrd. Only silver through the heart.”

“What if I buy silver bullets?”

Melia pressed her lips together. “We’re doing the spell. Come on,” she rummaged through the spice rack. “Let’s get started. You’re gonna have to help me substitute some of the ingredients. I don’t have any elderflower in the house.”

After all the ingredients went into the pot, Melia pressed the knife in Jamie’s hand. “Grab a scale and pull it up, then slice, ok? Do it fast.” Melia removed her underwear and lay down on the kitchen floor. She closed her eyes and transformed.

Jamie had never really taken a good look at Melia in merrow form. Her tail was always under water. Like the mermaids in movies, Melia’s tail started under her belly button. It was the length of her legs and split into two fins at the end. Unlike the mermaids in movies, Melia had a very practical back fin, running from the back of her knees down to the end of her tail. It was thin and flowy and reminded Jamie of a beta fish. Jamie’s heart hammered in her ears.

“I can’t, Melia, please don’t make me.” She looked at the purple and gold scales. Which one would she pick? Would Melia bleed? Would it hurt? No doubt it would; Jamie imagined slicing off a chunk of her own skin.

“Jamie, it’s just a little cut. And you have to. What other merrows do you know?”

Jamie knelt down on the cold tile. The knife poised above Melia, who looked utterly helpless and immobile on the floor. And then Jamie laughed. What if someone walked in on them? How would they explain this? She regained her composure and looked for the ugliest scale.

Of course, none of them were ugly. Iridescent purple of all shades with shimmery gold thrown in the mix, Melia looked like the Rainbow Fish. Jamie decided upon a dark purple scale, lower on Melia’s tail. She swallowed. She hesitated. She forced herself to grip it.

Like Melia instructed, she lifted it up, loosening it from the others with a sickening, tearing sound. Melia flinched. Harsh light reflected off the knife. The potion bubbled. Jamie’s hand shook. She positioned the knife under the scale. She closed her eyes and cut.

Then it was over.

She opened her eyes to see the scale hovering over Melia. Blood dripped from the wound. Melia pressed her lips together in a forced smile. Jamie hopped up, placed the scale in a bowl and grabbed a clean towel. She gently put the towel over the wound.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Melia said as she placed her hand on the towel.

“I’m never doing that again. I feel horrible. I just cut you.” She turned the burner down. “Should I add it now?”

“Uh, yea.”

Jamie looked at Melia, confused by her hesitation.

“It hurts to change with an injury,” Melia explained.

Jamie instantly felt even guiltier. She hadn’t even thought about that. She never thought about what it felt like to shift shapes. Melia’s bones and skin had to go through a huge change. Did it hurt every time? And just how would a cut like that transform?

Melia balled her fists and changed. She let out one cry of pain. The cut, which was only an inch long in merrow form, was twice as big in human form. Jamie almost dropped the bowl.

“Shoot! Melia, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s ok,” Melia said, wincing as she pressed the towel on the cut, which bled faster now that she had legs.  Slowly, she staggered to the counter. “Add it,” she told Jamie.

“Are you sure, I mean, we can wait until you’re, uh, done bleeding.”

“It has to boil for a while, so I’ll be fine.” She smiled a fake smile. Jamie dropped the scale into the potion. Jamie had Melia sit down so she could assess the damage. The scale removal took place on what was now Melia’s left leg, a few inches below her knee on the outside of her leg. Carefully, Jamie pressed gauze to the cut and placed a large bandage around it. “Thanks,” Melia told Jamie.

“No problem.” Jamie sat at the island counter next to Melia and waited for the potion to bubble over, like the book instructed. The next step was to add the amulet and repeat an incantation three times. Neither Melia nor Jamie knew if it should be translated into English or not, so they opted to leave it in the ancient language it was written in. Melia slowly read it, helping Jamie get through the difficult words.

Taking the book with her, Jamie strode to the stove. She dipped the necklace that would become the amulet (a sapphire and diamond necklace form Melia’s jewelry box) into the potion and read the incantation three times.

And nothing happened.

“You need to invoke the charm,” Melia told her, reading over her shoulder. “With a drop of your blood.”

“At least I get off easy with just a drop,” Jamie joked. “Do you have a pin?” Melia limped off to get one. She returned quickly with an antique hat pin. “Want to stab me, for payback?” Jamie asked and held out her finger. Melia shrugged and jabbed the pointy end down into Jamie’s flesh. “Ow!” she cried, feeling like a wimp.

She shook her hand to get the blood flowing. She looked at Melia and then back at the amulet. She pressed her finger to the blue stone.

Melia shrieked and doubled over in pain. Jamie watched in horror. Melia fell forward, her hands supporting her from falling completely over. The thin web of skin between her fingers began to grow. Melia’s body shook and she panted, resisting the shift. Jamie reached out to help but Melia recoiled at her touch.

Tears filled Jamie’s eyes, and she slid the amulet across the room. Melia collapsed. Jamie scooped her up.

“Melia! Are you ok? Please talk to me!”

“I-I didn’t expect that,” she said, her voice weak and breathy.

“I’ll get rid of it. I can’t wear something that hurts you.”

Melia pushed herself up. Her body ached. She longed to transform. The ocean called her name. “I need you to help me fight it.” Nothing seemed better than swimming. Why was she inside? Why did she have legs? Why was she talking to a human?!

“Fight what?”

“The call.”

“The what?”

Melia grabbed a section of hair and started braiding. “The amulet. It’s making me want to go back to the ocean. I guess that’s how it works.”

“Oh,” Jamie suddenly understood. “It repels by making waterfolk go home.”

Melia closed her eyes. “I feel funny.”

Jamie  hugged her. “I’m sorry.”

Melia didn’t have the heart to tell Jamie that being near her made the spell stronger. She was blood tied to the amulet. If there was enough distance between Jamie and the magical object, maybe the effect wouldn’t be so strong. Melia wasn’t sure.

It was nearing midnight and the girls decided it was time for bed. Melia guiltily looked at Jamie. “I think its best you stay in the guest room.”

“Oh, yea, I guess.” She fingered the amulet. She always stayed with Melia. The guest rooms were, of course, nice. But not familiar.

Melia undressed and fell into her bed. It was exhausting resisting the call of the ocean. If she hadn’t known about the spell, she wouldn’t have been able to resist. After tossing and turning for three hours, Melia gave up on sleeping and turned on the bathtub. While it was filling with lukewarm water, she ventured into the kitchen to get the jar of sea salt Charles used for cooking. She dumped the entire container into her bath and climbed in.

It was far from the ocean. But it worked. For now.

*

Peter sat happily outside in the courtyard Monday morning.  He had to arrive early today to finish his math homework that he neglected to take home with him over the weekend. He anxiously awaited Melia’s arrival. He glanced up from his homework every few seconds, looking for her.

He knew something was wrong as soon as he saw her. It was as if someone punched him in the stomach. Peter rose, quickly going to her side. Melia wrapped her arms around Peter as soon as she could, almost collapsing.

He just knew something was wrong, and Peter had never been an intuitive person.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly, holding Melia tightly.

“Yea,” she breathed. “I’m really tired and don’t feel well.”

“Let’s sit,” he suggested and held her hand as they walked back to the table Peter’s belongs were on. Jamie, who walked to the courtyard with Melia, gave an awkward wave and strode away looking pained.

Peter brushed hair from Melia’s face. Dark circles hung under her eyes, her hair hung in damp, unbrushed clumps, her body was tense and shaking, and her cheerful aura was almost gone. Of course, Peter didn’t know the latter, but its absence was depressing. And Melia was wearing a black track suit and sneakers. She didn’t look like herself. Not one bit.

She feebly lifted her head off of Peter’s shoulder, watched Jamie walk away and sighed. It was as if a weight had been lifted. She smiled weakly at Peter trying to erase the concern from his face.  She knew he was confused; he had been with her a mere twelve hours ago and she had been fine. But that was before a spell had been cast to rid the area of all water folk.

Melia could attest to the spell’s power. She definitely wouldn’t have stayed around if she didn’t have to. It was agony. Every bone, every muscle, every cell in her body longed for the ocean. Her head pounded and her stomach churned. She wanted to run, flee, and never look back. But she couldn’t. Instead, she held tightly to Peter’s hand and walked to chemistry.

The distance Jamie put between them helped ease the call of the ocean. The vice that Melia’s head felt like it was in loosened momentarily. Then Jamie walked in the room and regretfully had to take the seat next to Melia. Immediately Melia shook. She gripped the desk to keep from running. Peter, who still sat next to Janet, sprung up. Just then the bell rang.

“Can I help you with something, Mr. Anderson?” Mr. Thompson asked. Everyone was to be seated when the bell rang. It was his favorite rule. Peter shook his head and sat back down, casting a concerned glance at Melia. She covered her ears with her hands and put her head on the table. Jamie scooted her chair as far to the left as possible and was leaning away from Melia. Everyone in the class noticed the oddity.

Mr. Anderson launched into a lecture about organic chemistry. Melia was usually the star pupil, answering all the questions, sometimes raising her hand but usually blurting out the answer.

“These are all derivatives of benzene, and the six carbons form a ring with one hydrogen that is bonded to each carbon. Who can tell me what they are?” Mr. Thomson asked. No one answered. “Melia?” he called, expecting her to shout out the answer.

Melia slowly raised her head, squinting her eyes as if the bright florescent lights are too much. “Ocean,” she responded, barely whispering.

Mr. Thomson blinked, unsure of what to make from her answer. Before he could speak again, Jamie said, “Aromatic hydrocarbons.” She never spoke out loud unless she had to, and this was one of those times.

Melia felt worse as the day dragged on. By lunch, she wasn’t able to stand it anymore. Her stomach had been protesting all day.

“Oh, Melia. You look green.” Jamie had to stop herself from physically comforting her friend.

“I’m turning green?” Melia asked, looking at her arms.

“Not literally. It’s an expression that means you look sick.”

“I feel sick. Or at least I think this is sick. I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Really?” It was Jamie’s turn to be shocked. She quickly thought back; in all the months she had known Melia, Melia had never once complained about feeling under the weather. “Maybe you should go to the nurse.”

“Yea, and tell her that the spell is making me sick.”

“You can lie,” Jamie suggested. “And if you did mention a spell, I think she’d send you to see Mrs. Rogalin, the school counselor.”

“You’re right,” Melia agreed. Slowly, the girls made their way to the lunchroom. “Oh no,” Melia said suddenly, holding her stomach. “It-it’s gonna come up.” Jamie rushed her to the bathroom just in time. She held Melia’s hair out of the way as Melia threw up. “This is awful,” Melia said through chattering teeth.

“It is.” Jamie tried to soothe her by rubbing her back but stopped after only a second, remembering that touching Melia strengthened the spell. “You’ll feel better when it’s all out,” she told Melia, but felt like she was lying. Would Melia feel better? Probably not until the spell was lifted. Her mind drifted to how odd it was merrows never threw up. Why?

She shook her head; it didn’t matter right now. “Want me to bring you some water?”

“Yes, but don’t leave me.”

“I won’t.”

Melia leaned over the toilet and heaved again. “You’re brilliant, Jamie.”

“Huh?” It sounded like a genuine compliment, well, as close to one coming from someone who had their head in a toilet.

“Your blood on the charm. It’s really powerful.”

“Oh.” Jamie stopped herself from touching the sapphire. “Thanks.”

“I knew you could do it.” Melia wiped her mouth and slumped against the stall. It pained Jamie to see such a beautiful creature in a state like this.

“I couldn’t do it without you.” A toilet flushed a few stalls down. “But let’s talk about it later.”

“Ok.”

“I think you should go home.”

Melia nodded. “That house isn’t my home.” She looked at Jamie with tears in her eyes. “I want to go home. To my real home.”

Jamie frowned and impulsively hugged her best friend, causing Melia to get sick again.

*

“Looking for Melia?” Janet asked Peter as she sat down at the lunch table. Peter only shrugged. He was, in fact, looking for his girlfriend. He assumed she was with Jamie, since he hadn’t seen her yet either. “I think a ‘congrats’ are in order, Peter,” she scoffed. “You must be so excited to be a father!”

“What are you talking about, Janet?” Peter reluctantly questioned.

“Melia’s in the bathroom puking her guts out. Obviously she’s pregnant.”

Sensing Peter’s anger, Connor stepped in. “Janet, that’s bullshit. Haven’t you ever puked before? Melia’s not pregnant. Besides, it’s not possible because that would mean that Pete finally…” he trailed off, seeing the horror of possibility on Peter’s face. “No way!” He punched Peter in the arm the way guys do. “And you didn’t tell me!”

Peter shrugged again. “She’s not pregnant,” he said aloud, mostly to convince himself.  “She’s sick.” He put his food down, suddenly not hungry.

He smiled curtly at his male friends’ jealous expressions and looked through the doors, trying to will Melia to appear.

“I’ll go check on her,” Amanda offered. Peter thanked her and forced himself to eat and listen to Connor complain about his parents until she came back. “She’s in the hall. Jamie’s trying to convince her to go to the nurse. She wants you.”

“Thanks, again,” Peter told her and quickly got up. Melia was slumped on a bench outside the lunchroom. She looked completely worn and exhausted. She brightened slightly when she saw Peter. Jamie sighed in relief. She knew that moving away from Melia would help. She nodded at Peter and slinked off. Peter put an arm around Melia.

“Can I take you to the nurse?” He kissed her forehead. “I really think you should go home. I hate seeing you like this.”

“Sorry,” Melia groggily apologized.

Peter laughed softly. “Don’t be sorry. I want you to get better.”

“Ok.” Melia let Peter help her up. The school nurse, a plump platinum blonde named Jordan Kinston, was notorious for never sending anyone home. Going to her was pretty much useless unless you were on your deathbed. Her gray eyes softened as soon as she saw the pathetic sight of Melia.

“Oh, dear,” she cooed and ushered Peter to help Melia onto a hard, foam-filled vinyl bed. Melia heavily sunk down, pulling Peter with her. “Oh, my poor darling. You look horrible!” Though Melia never once came into the nurses’ station, Mrs. Kinston knew who she was. She knew that Melia usually looked radiant; today Melia was definitely sick. She asked the standard set of questions and determined that Melia must have contracted the flu. She stuck a thermometer in Melia’s mouth and told Peter to go back to class. When he told her he was missing lunch, she said he could stay until the end of the lunch hour.

“Well, that can’t be right,” Mrs. Kinston muttered to herself when the thermometer beeped. Melia was too sick to care that her normal temp was way lower than 98.6 degrees. Melia moaned and attempted to stand. Lucky Peter was still there, for he grabbed the garbage can just in time for Melia to throw up in it. Mrs. Kinston noticed the gentle way in which Peter held Melia’s hair back and rubbed her back. She met her husband when she was in high school. While the sight of a young girl tossing her cookies was anything but romantic, the gesture brought back a wave of memories.

“What’s your phone number, dear? I’ll have your parents come get you right away.”

“They’re out of town—out of the country, really,” Peter answered for Melia who retched again. Mrs. Kinston brought Melia a paper cup of water and a napkin. Melia sipped the water and rested her head against Peter.

“Is there anyone who can come get you?” Mrs. Kinston sat down at her desk. Melia weakly shook her head.

“Did you drive today?” Peter asked. Melia shook her head again, then groaned at the way the movement made it hurt. “You can take my car,” he offered.

“I can’t do the shifty,” Melia mumbled.

Mrs. Kinston spoke up. “I don’t think you should be driving, dear. You seem awfully weak.”

“Can I take her home?” Peter inquired. Mrs. Kinston pursed her lips. “I’ll come right back,” Peter added. He gingerly tucked Melia’s hair behind her ear and gave her a gentle hug.

The nurse rose. Melia was obviously very ill. There were still four hours of school left. She didn’t want to make her lay on the uncomfortable foam bed until the end of the day. And she didn’t want the smell of vomit stinking up the nurses’ station. Her eyes darted out the door, making sure the coast was clear.

“Since you two are a couple, Peter, you probably have what she has. You both need to go home before you spread it around.”

“Right,” Peter said, catching the glint in her eye. “Now that you mention it, I’m starting to feel pretty queasy.”

“I’ll call your parents.”

Peter left Melia in the nurses’ station, told Jamie he was taking Melia home and gathered his and Melia’s belongings. He even pulled the Mustang to the front doors so Melia wouldn’t have to walk as far. She stopped shaking as soon as they pulled out of the school parking lot. She rested her head on the window and fell asleep.

“Melia?” Peter spoke softly. He cut the engine and walked around, carefully opening the passenger side door. Taking the keys from Melia’s purse, he unlocked and opened the door to her house, let Wolfy out and jogged back to the car. Melia was still fast asleep. He unbuckled her and very carefully lifted her out and carried her inside.

When Melia woke three hours later, she was nestled in her bed. Confused about how she got there, she attempted to sit up. The claws of the spell no longer sank into her soul, but the aftermath still took its toll. Her head hurt; the sunlight was so bright it was painful. Her energy was gone, drained completely from resisting the call.

Peter was asleep next to her. After walking on wobbly legs to the bathroom, Melia got back under the covers and snuggled next to him. Even in his sleep, Peter put his arm around her.

“Peter,” she whispered. He didn’t wake. “Peter,” she said a little louder. His eyes flew open.

“Are you ok?” He started to sit up.

“Yea, I feel a lot better. I wanted to thank you.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.” He kissed her, despite the fact that she had been puking. “Are you thirsty?”

Melia nodded. The thought of going into the kitchen was daunting. Her eyelids were so heavy. She sighed and closed them.

“I’ll get you something.” Peter untucked his legs. “What do you want?”

“Just water,” she said so quietly it was barely audible. Removing her jacket and pants was so much of a feat right now that it took every ounce of energy she had just to grip the glass, which felt so heavy, and drink the water Peter brought her. Peter climbed back in bed with Melia, who snuggled up next to him. He kissed her forehead and rubbed her back until she fell back asleep.

Melia stayed home from school Tuesday. She and Jamie agreed that after how sick she seemed Monday, it would be more believable if she took another day off to recover. The distance from Jamie brought Melia back to her old self. She slept for fifteen straight hours yesterday. Peter stayed with her the entire time, not wanting to leave and have Melia wake up alone.

*

Jamie walked to her Jeep Tuesday after school. She was still jumpy. After seeing Melia’s reaction to the amulet, she was confident the gwyrrd wouldn’t be making an attempt to attack any time soon. She pulled her cell phone from her bag, eager to text Melia and see how she was doing.

“Jamie!” a friendly voice called. A voice Jamie knew. She pocketed her phone and looked up. Standing next to her Jeep was Lacey.

“Lacey!” she called back. Was she excited to see her? Jamie wasn’t sure. She should be. Instead she felt betrayed. She wanted to shout, “You moved away and forgot about me!” but didn’t.

“You look surprised. Didn’t you get my message?”

“Message?” Jamie questioned as she hugged her old friend.

“On Facebook.”

“Oh, no, I guess I didn’t.”Jamie hoisted her backpack in place. It was heavy with her and Melia’s books.

“Well, it said I was coming in for a visit. Dad’s meeting with friends or something. I’ll be here until Saturday!”

“Awesome!” Jamie said, forcing a smile.

“So, let’s hit the town! Do you want ice cream? We should get some and talk. I want to hear all about your life!”

“Sure. I have one thing to do first. You can come with, if you’d like.” Lacey shrugged. She glanced around the parking lot. Jamie could sense her fear of having to relive the teasing. “I have to drop homework off at my friend’s house. She’s sick. I won’t stay long, I promise.” She couldn’t stay long. Melia couldn’t take being around the amulet. Jamie unlocked the Jeep and they both got in.

“Is your friend the girl in your Facebook pictures?”

“Uh, yea. Her name is Melia.” Jamie swallowed. Lacey didn’t know anything about her new life. And she felt it wasn’t right to tell her.

“She’s really pretty,” Lacey commented.

“Yea, she is gorgeous.” Jamie wasn’t sure what Lacey was getting at. Was she jealous Jamie had made new friends? The thought made Jamie frown. Lacey had tons of new friends.

“Holy crap!” Lacey said as they pulled into The Ridge. “I remember this being built before we moved. Your friend lives here?”

“Yea. Have you heard of Edward VanBurren?”

“Yea, he’s been in the news before, right? He’s from New York.”

Jamie nodded. “Melia is his daughter.” Well, kind of. Stepfather was more accurate. Melia’s mother was an Oceanid from Greece and her biological father was a merrow from the Pacific Ocean. Jamie had to stifle a laugh. She remembered to take off the amulet, which she carefully hung around her rearview mirror. She quickly texted Melia to tell her that she was here and that she had company.

Melia, who had been stuck inside being bored all day, busied herself by doing her hair and makeup. She looked stunning, to say the least. She opened the door and welcomed Jamie and Lacey inside. Jamie quickly introduced the two. Melia’s eyes fell on Jamie’s neck. Jamie smiled guiltily.

“It’s in the car,” she told Melia, ignoring the confused look Lacey gave her. Jamie set her bag down and retrieved several notebooks. “Here, most of it’s done. Ya know, since I felt bad about…about you being so sick and all.”

“Thanks,” Melia said with a genuine smile.

“You’re too pretty,” Lacey told Melia.

“Oh, thanks!” Melia beamed. Her dress was, like always, short. It was a pale purple with tiny jewels along the bust.  She had on heels and Lana’s shell necklace. Her hair was half up, half down, with the up part in a system of intricate braids and curls.

“Are you going somewhere fancy?” Lacey asked. Jamie couldn’t tell if her tone was mocking.

“Nope. My boyfriend’s coming over for dinner though.”

“Oh, lucky him.” Lacey smiled a pressed smile. “Who is he? Anyone I might remember.”

Just as Melia said ‘Peter’, Jamie blurted out ‘Parker.’ She was not ready to explain how she became friends with Peter Anderson just yet. Lacey had especially despised him for dating Janet.

“Peter Parker,” Jamie covered up. Melia pressed her eyebrows together but was able to get the hint to go with it.

“Peter Parker?” Lacey repeated, with one eye brow raised.

“Yea, his parents were, uh, still are, huge Spiderman fans.”

“Oh.” Lacey nodded. “I don’t remember a Peter Parker at our school.”

“He’s not from our school,” Jamie said, looking at Melia to finish.

“Nope. He’s from New York.” Melia’s smiled faltered. Little whips of magic were hitting her. Jamie picked up on it.

“Well, we better get going. I’ll call you later, Melia.”

“Ok. It was nice meeting you, Lacey!”

*

If I can just make it to Saturday, Jamie thought as she parked the Jeep in her driveway. She hated lying in general. She especially hated lying to someone she had been so close to. In her panic to get her stories straight, stay calm and deflect the conversation about herself and back to Lacey, she forgot about the amulet hanging in the car.

Things finally started to feel normal again after dinner. Lacey seemed to enjoy talking about her new life and friends. They moved into Jamie’s room, where they reminisced about past adventures. Jamie’s mom softly knocked on the door frame, saying goodnight and reminding Jamie she was working a night shift at the hospital tonight.

“Don’t stay up too late, ok? I’ll be back in the morning. Glad you’re back, Lacey!”

An hour later, Lacey’s mom picked her up. Jamie felt relieved to not have to hold up a front anymore. She changed into her pajamas and settled into bed.

“Jamie!” Jill screeched.

“What?” Jamie answered back, already annoyed.

“My check engine light came on!”

“So?” She heard Jill’s heavy footfalls. She didn’t understand how someone as little as Jill made so much noise when she walked.

“I’m taking care of Heather’s cat while her family’s on vacation and I need to go over and feed it.”

Jamie sighed; it was nine-forty. “Shouldn’t you have done that already?”

“I guess, but it doesn’t matter. Can I take your car? I’ll be right back.”

“Sure. Don’t wreck it, ok?”

“Thanks! I’ll be careful.”

Jamie was sure there was another reason her sister waited so long to take care of the damn cat. The quiet house was peaceful and she settled into bed. She closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep early. Just as her body relaxed, something tapped on the glass of the front door. Her hand flew to her neck. She wasn’t wearing the amulet!

It was in her car. Her car that just left. And now something was tapping on the door. Coincidence? Yea, right. Had Jill been smart enough to lock the door? Jamie froze, tempted to pull the covers over her head. What should she do? Hide here and hope the gwyrrd goes away? But then her sister and her mom would come home…

Maybe it wasn’t the gwyrrd. The tapping ceased. Jamie exhaled and slowly sat up. She was so glad her room was on the second floor. She grabbed her phone, set on calling Jill and telling her to hurry back. No, telling Jill one thing will probably only make her do the opposite. That’s it. She’ll stay here until Jill gets home. No harm no foul, right?

Jamie watched the minutes tick by. She’d never felt more coward like than she did right now. She wondered how much longer it would be until Jill came home. “Hurry,” she whispered. Athena silently padded into the room and jumped on Jamie’s bed. Jamie hugged her cat and the thought hit her: what if the noise had just been her playful kitten?

“Was that you making that noise?” she asked Athena. Jamie set her down and tiptoed downstairs. Her hand hovered over the doorknob. At least the door had been locked. She wasn’t brave enough to open it. She raced into the kitchen to grab a large knife. “It was just the cat,” she told herself as she walked back to the front door. It took her another minute to find the courage to open the door.

There was no one there. Currently. But the smell of rotting plants and the wet stain on the porch let Jamie know that someone had been there.

-Chapter 10-

Melia ended up having to leave school again on Wednesday. She muffled a shriek of pain when Jamie accidently bumped her during a chemistry lab. By the end of the class she was muttering to herself in her native language, shaking and pulling at her hair.

Jamie didn’t tell her about the incident. She knew what the amulet did to Melia and didn’t want to trouble her even more. She promised herself to call Melia later Wednesday night and explain the whole thing, but Lacey showed up after dinner and insisted they hang out. Melia didn’t attempt to go to school on Thursday. She felt normal again by the time she woke up. The sun was out and the ocean sparkled.

She hadn’t gone swimming in fear that being under the amulet’s power would make her never return. She was positive the magic wasn’t currently affecting her. She gave Wolfy a treat and ran into the water. It felt so good to be free, to be herself. Melia zipped along the ocean. It was as if she forgotten how beautiful everything was.

The colors, the life that surrounded her. It was quiet, it was peaceful. It was home. She swam faster and farther than she had in a long time. After several hours she stopped to rest. A sudden feeling of forlorn washed upon her. Melia spun around, expecting to see someone behind her. Instead she saw nothing.

Her body tingled with the need to flee. She couldn’t explain the feeling but she knew enough to trust her instincts. She swam a few miles deeper, hoping to run into her old friends. But there was nothing. No merrows, no sharks and barely any fish.

Something wasn’t right.

Melia could tell by the position of the sun that it was after four. And Peter was coming over at five. She swam nonstop back to her house. Exhausted from her long swim, Melia looked convincingly sick. She was never one to like being fussed over, but the way Peter attended to her needs was, well, nice.  She felt guilty for lying to him. It was better than knowing the truth, right?

Melia was tired and Peter had homework ,so he left after only staying for two and a half hours. She fell asleep and dreamed about the empty ocean. She was swimming through dark water, searching for her friends. The water was murky but she persisted forward. Then it became hard to breathe. Whatever was in the water clogged her lungs. She sped to the surface. Under the full moonlight, Melia could see she was covered in blood.

Her phone rang just in time to wake her from her nightmare. She grabbed it without looking at who was calling, assuming it was Peter.

“Hello?” she said, her voice a bit shaky.

“Hey,” Jamie replied.

“Oh, Jamie. How are you?”

“Uh, ok. Melia, I have to tell you something. Please don’t be mad I didn’t tell you before. I just didn’t want to because—”

“What is it?” Melia asked, her voice too demanding for her liking.

“I-I think the gwyrrd was at my house.”

“What? Oh, no, Jamie! Tell me what happened.”

Jamie recanted the story. When Melia hung up, she knew what she had to do.

*

Jamie came up with the idea that she stay home from school Friday and have Melia go. That way people wouldn’t think Melia was on her deathbed having missed an entire week of school. It didn’t take much to convince her mother either; Jamie told her that she would be hanging out with Lacey all day. Melia was happy to be back at school. Peter protectively put his arms around her in the morning, worried she should have stayed home.

“I promise I feel better,” she told him.

“Ok,” he sighed and kissed her. “You do look better.”

“Thanks.” She had to lie about the ugly scab on her leg. She should have worn pants again to cover it up, but Melia absolutely hated her legs being encased in fabric. The thought of wearing a long dress hadn’t occurred to her either. She also had to lie her way through the day. At least she could blame the faraway looks on being sick.

Jamie’s words haunted her. The gwyrrd knew where she lived. And Melia knew that Jamie couldn’t rely on the amulet forever…

Peter opened the Mustang’s passenger door for Melia at the end of the day. She got in silently, folding her hands on her lap. She stared out the window.

“You ok?” Peter asked, looking from Melia to the road and back again.

“Yea. I’m a little tired I guess,” she lied.

“Oh.” It wasn’t that Peter didn’t believe her. It was just that he thought there was more to it. Melia had acted distant all day. She didn’t hug him back as enthusiastically as she had before. She didn’t meet his eyes. It was difficult to keep a conversation going with her. He wanted to believe it was just because she didn’t feel well. But in the back of his mind he worried that she was getting bored with him. “I don’t have to come over then. I’ll just drop you off and you can take a nap,” he suggested, hoping she would object.

“I want you to come over.” She looked at Peter and smiled. He felt a bit of relief. “I asked Charles to make us enchiladas, since you said you like them.”

“Thanks.” Peter put his hand on her thigh. “What else do you want to do?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Panic rose in his chest.

“That I’m staying with Jamie tonight. Her friend is visiting and we’re all having a girl night.”

“Oh,” he sighed, pushing the panic down. “When are you going there?”

“Uh, like eight-ish.”

“Ok. Do you want me to stay until then?”

“Of course.” She put her hand on his. She was jumpy, quiet and anxious the rest of the night. Charles noticed her odd behavior too. He and Peter took turns looking quizzically at Melia throughout dinner. Melia kept thinking about the gwyrrd. The last time she faced one she narrowly escaped. And she hadn’t been alone. Her chances of survival were looking slimmer and slimmer the more she thought about it.

But did she have a choice? There were no merrows to be found yesterday. No human would believe her, let alone be able to help her. She told Charles to enjoy his Friday night and not worry about cleaning up the dishes. Charles raised his eyebrows, looked at Peter and smiled, assuming Melia was rushing him out to be alone with Peter.

And she was. She took Peter’s hand and led him up to her room. She threw her arms around him, wondering if this could be the last time she was able to. Peter put one arm around her and ran his fingers through her hair. He gently kissed her forehead.

Melia looked into his eyes, sky blue outlined in a navy ring. She put her hand against his cheek, admiring his strong jaw and lips. She kissed him. In a fury of passion, they kissed again and again, each one deeper than the last. Tangled in each other, they somehow made it to the balcony. Peter picked Melia up, her legs wrapped around his waist, and they fell back onto a lounge chair.

“I love you, Peter,” she whispered. “Really. I really do.”

Peter mistook the desperation in her voice. He smiled, feeling rather desperate himself. “And I love you, Melia. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Melia closed her eyes, forcing back tears. She kissed Peter again, pushing him back until he was laying down. She wished they could stay here, up on the balcony where it was safe and where the only thing that mattered was each other. With the sun setting behind them, after Peter’s sweet words, Melia knew it was too good to be true. She settled into Peter’s embrace, hoping this wouldn’t be their last time.

She didn’t let his last kiss linger on her lips; now wasn’t the time for romantic feelings. She needed to harden her state of mind. She thought of Lana. Of finding her lifeless body drifting through shallow water. Of the seaweed she had to untangle from her sister’s neck. The memory of carrying the body back to her home, of carefully taking off Lana’s treasured pink shell necklace, of the torn flesh, seeing her mother cry…

The gwyrrd didn’t kill Lana. But it would feel like revenge. Melia took a deep breath and walked downstairs and into the vault. She wasn’t going to let Jamie get hurt. She couldn’t stand to lose her. And Jamie hadn’t done anything to anyone; the whole thing was unjust. She ran a finger over the weapons.

“Silver,” she whispered to herself. She had found over a dozen ornate, decorative battle weapons, no doubt having seen their fair share of death and war. They were more than instruments of death; they were works of art. She picked up a several centuries old sword, admiring the Celtic knots engraved in the blade. Beautiful, yes, but the blade was made out of some sort of steel.  The light glinted off a polished metal handle. It had a plain black sheath, devoid of anything remotely pretty and only five inches long. Melia slowly pulled the blade out, inspecting the metal. “Yes,” she spoke to the knife. “You will work.”

She let Wolfy in, and he followed her upstairs as if he could sense something was about to happen. At the last minute Melia decided her dress wasn’t the most practical thing to wear. As if her brain was trying to put off impending death, she rationalized that she needed to change. She walked into her closet, remembering what humans in movies wore on such occasions, and emerged wearing tight black pants, lace up black boots, and a black shirt with a black leather jacket over it. She slipped the dagger insider her boot and frowned at how unstable it was. She didn’t have any black ribbon. Deciding navy blue was close enough, she tied the sheath around her leg. She shook her foot and, satisfied that the dagger would stay in place, she picked up her keys and got into her car. She didn’t turn on the radio. She just drove.

The parking lot was empty. She pocketed the keys. Face set, she marched into the woods. Tendrils of fog whirled around the forest floor. Melia’s bravery diminished with each step she took deeper into the forest, leaves rattling under her boots. She thought of Lana, Jamie and Peter. It was too late for Lana; it literally hurt to imagine bad things happening to Jamie or Peter. And she remembered the gwyrrd’s last victim. She wanted to set him free.

Melia’s every instinct told her to run. She jumped at the slightest sound. She unsheathed the dagger and held it defensively in front of her, eyeing the dense trees suspiciously. Patchy moonlight cast eerie shadows, moving slowly across the forest floor in the calm breeze.

A branch snapped behind her. Melia spun, holding her breath. Leaves crunched. A bird took flight, the flapping of wings echoing. Melia’s heart pounded. The dagger shook in her hand. She circled, trying to descry anything. She forced herself to take a breath and move on.

The wispy fog thickened. She was getting closer. Her grip tightened on the dagger. She swallowed. Her footsteps were too loud. With more care, she took a few more steps forward. It was a bad idea coming here. Images of things other than the gwyrrd flashed through her mind.  Still, she pressed on.

The stream was close ahead. She was almost there.

“It’s been a while since someone so willingly wandered to my home,” a voice cut through the forest. Melia spun but didn’t see anything. “Come closer, darling. Let Granny help you find your way.” In a rush of water, a transparent outline of the gwyrrd rose from the stream.

Melia was a yard away. If she could just do it now… without hesitation she lunged. The dagger sliced right through the heart of the gwyrrd, and so did Melia.

Horrible laughter echoed through the trees. Melia landed hard on the other side of the creek. She tried to catch herself. Her right wrist twisted upon impact, and the dagger clanked against the rocks before sinking to the bottom of the water.

“Tsk, tsk. What do you think you are doing, my dear?”

Melia scrambled up the embankment, cradling her hurt wrist. The gwyrrd stood across from her, smiling and bearing her fangs. The water had just been a trick. Melia should have known. She looked at the dagger, water rippling over its sharp blade. If she dove for it, the gwyrrd could easily attack, taking Melia down. If she didn’t dive for it, well, she’d have no way to kill the gwyrrd.

Before she could decide, fog rose from the water. Temporarily blinded, Melia froze. She smelled the heavy stench of rotting right before the gwyrrd shoved her to the ground. The gwyrrd opened its mouth, lowering her head to Melia’s. Melia thrashed and clawed at the gwyrrd, trying to roll her over, but the gwyrrd was heavier than Melia, and she was pinned underneath the foul creature. She kicked, finally jarring the gwyrrd’s hold on her. Anger flashed through the gwyrrd’s black eyes and she jerked her head down, teeth breaking through the skin on Melia’s shoulder.

Melia screamed. Somehow she managed to get out from underneath the gwyrrd. She took off, tearing through the trees. Branches caught her face, ripping her skin and snagging her clothes. She didn’t know where she was going and didn’t know the way back to her car. She raced through the woods, jumping over fallen logs and tripping over undergrowth. Fog circled her. The gwyrrd’s laugh echoed from behind.

Heart pounding, Melia waved at the air in front of her, trying to dissipate the fog-with no success. She spun around. Something scurried past. She changed directions and took off. The fog thickened but Melia didn’t slow down. She was trapped inside a white haze, unable to see anything around her.

The stream.

If she could get back to the stream she could find her way to her car. She leapt to her right, following the call of the water. She sprinted forward and smacked headfirst into a tree.

-Chapter 11-

Melia laid on the dewy forest floor, dazed. Her whole body hurt, and the blow to her head did nothing to help her see through the already impossible fog. Just as she rolled over and attempted to push herself up, the gwyrrd’s scaly fingers wrapped around her wrists. Melia fought against her, pulling and kicking and screaming.

Something hot dripped in her eyes, burning and forcing her to close them. Blood. She must have cut her head when she hit the tree. The babbling water grew louder. Yes, Melia thought. Let her try to drown me. She didn’t know how far she had traveled from the dagger. She didn’t know if she ran up or down stream. She would need to incapacitate the gwyrrd somehow. Another rock to the head? Not just one will do this time around.

“It’s a pity you didn’t bring your friend, deary. Her blood was just a sample of how good her soul would taste.” She dragged Melia-who put up enough of a struggle to make the gwyrrd think she was trying to escape- to the water and shoved her face down.

Melia supposed a drowning human would panic and do everything she could to get out of the water. She flailed her arms and kicked her feet, counting. When she reached one hundred, she let her body go limp. The gwyrrd pulled her back and flipped her over. She pressed her fingers to the gash in Melia’s forehead and licked her fingers. She gasped in surprise just as Melia kicked her as hard as she could.

“You-you taste of merrow and yet you’re on land!” the gwyrrd shrieked.  Knowing the gwyrrd had tasted merrows infuriated Melia. She sprung forward, hands clamping the gwyrrd’s shoulders. She shoved the gwyrrd against the ground.

“I will be the last one you taste!” She punched the gwyrrd in the face and was taken by surprise at how much it hurt her hand. She stood and kicked the monster in the ribs before sprinting down the creek. Water loudly splashed around her feet. Stones unsettled underfoot and Melia fell, catching herself with her sore wrist. She cried out in pain but refused to stop.

Moonlight glinted off the blade. She dove for it, her fingers weakly wrapping around the handle. The gwyrrd had staggered after her, injured. Melia narrowed her eyes and smiled a wicked smile.  The gwyrrd advanced, hissing and showing her fangs. She crouched down, her arms out in a defensive pose, her eyes full of hate.

Then they flickered to the shiny piece of metal in Melia’s hand. She faltered, which was all the time Melia needed, and she pounced, knocking the gwyrrd to the ground. She held the knife above her chest, ready to bring it down when the gwyrrd said,

“You must be the one he wants.” Melia hesitated; the gwyrrd continued. “Such a beauty, he says. Can live on land as well as the ocean. She’s needed for his plans, he says. Others will be pleased. Others will be angry. All he talks about, this one.”

“Who?” Melia demanded. The gwyrrd struggled beneath her.

“Granny can’t tell you if she’s dead, deary.”

It was a trick. Melia squeezed the dagger, unaware of the pain in her wrist. “Go to hell, you bitch!” she cried and drove the knife into the gwyrrd’s heart. The gwyrrd opened her mouth and let out one last horrible scream. It was high pitched and resonated for miles. Melia held the knife steady as the body began to shake.

A beautiful, transparent, rainbow ribbon of light flowed from the gwyrrd’s mouth. Souls. Once trapped inside the monster; they were finally free.

The gwyrrd exploded into tiny droplets of water that vaporized the moment they hit the air. Melia collapsed on the ground, panting. It was over. The gwyrrd was dead. Jamie was no longer in danger. The boy who they had found in the creek could move on, as well as the others. Melia had no idea how long some of the souls had been trapped inside their host.

The forest was serene. Slowly, wildlife came out from hiding. Crickets chirped. Frogs joined in their chorus. The creek babbled. Wind rattled the branches, raining loose leaves down on Melia. She sat up, stuck the dagger back in her boot and walked back to her car.

She didn’t remember driving to Jamie’s. The next thing she knew, she was standing on her front porch. She saw Jamie and another girl— Lacey, right?—peer out from behind the living room curtain.

“Melia!”Jamie explained when she threw open the front door. Melia dropped to her knees, her body going rigid. “Oh!” Jamie yanked off the amulet and threw it behind her.

“You. W-won’t,” Melia stammered. “N-need that anymore. I kil-illed the gwyrdd.”

“How much distance?” Jamie asked frantically.

“A f-few miles,” Melia answered, knowing what Jamie meant. She heard Jamie scramble for her keys. She watched feet running past her and heard the Jeep peel out of the driveway. She was able to regain her composure by the time Jamie returned.

“I threw it in the bushes two miles away. I’ll get it in the morning, I promise!” Jamie said, helping Melia to her feet. It didn’t strike Jamie as odd that Melia’s clothes were wet. She ushered her best friend inside. “OMG!” She put her hands over her mouth. “You’re covered in blood!” Melia shrugged. The ‘I killed the gwyrrd’ part was finally registering in Jamie’s brain. “Are you ok?”

“Yes,” Melia said confidently, though her head and wrist throbbed with pain.

“What happened?”

Melia looked at Lacey. She didn’t care if this girl heard her recant the story. Did Jamie? “I went after it. I couldn’t risk it hurting you. You’re my best friend, Jamie. I wasn’t gonna let her hurt you.” She half smiled. “We got into a fight. But I took care of her; you don’t need to worry. She took me seriously.” There. It was secretive enough but she was sure Jamie understood.

Jamie couldn’t believe it. She was scared, though it was pointless. Melia was alive. Banged up, muddy, bruised and bloody, but alive. She would never be able to march into the woods alone. She considered Melia a lot of things, but brave and ferocious never crossed her mind. Reverence waved over her as she looked at her best friend. Dressed in all black, with blood running down her face and a knife in her boot, Melia looked absolutely lethal.

Then Melia’s knees went weak and she sank to the floor. Jamie rushed forward.

“Melia!”

“I’m ok,” Melia assured her. “Just tired now that the adren-dra-lyn wore off.”

“Adrenaline,” Jamie automatically corrected. Both girls laughed. Lacey cleared her throat. “Melia, you, uh,” Jamie began, fumbling over her words. “You really shouldn’t go horseback riding by yourself at night.”

Lacey nodded, not buying the story. Still, she helped Jamie get Melia to the couch.

“I’m all dirty,” Melia protested, refusing to sit down. Knowing Melia all too well, Jamie tossed a brown blanket over the cushions. Melia sank down, wincing as she put pressure on her wrist. She held it against her body, feeling suddenly tired.

Jamie’s cell phone rang. She raced upstairs to get it. She was arguing with someone as she walked down the stairs into the living room.

“Call Mom! I’m not coming to get you!” She threw her hands up in the air. “No! Something happened. I can’t leave. Jill! It’s not my fault you got drunk! Wait, what? Why on earth are you alone with him? And the cops? You’re hiding where?” She paused, listening to Jill ramble. “Hang on,” she shouted.

“Jamie,” Melia said sleepily. “If you need to get Jill, that’s fine. I can go home.”

“No! Melia, after all you did Jill can find another way home. Or I’ll call my mom and make her deal with my slutty, drunken sister. And I don’t think you should drive. You might be concussed.” She shook her head at the nasty wound.

“You are worried about her, I can tell by your eyes. Please, go get her.”

“Stay here?”

“I need to go…home,” she said, stressing the last word. Jamie understood she meant the ocean. “I will call Peter.”

Jamie shook her head, not liking the plan. Jamie wavered and eventually got unreliable directions from Jill. “You should take a shower first,” she said in a hushed voice to Melia. And change into something else. Peter won’t buy any story I feed him. He cares too much about you to not question things.”

Melia nodded and let Jamie help her upstairs. Melia winced when she took of her jacket. After turning the water on, Jamie helped her best friend strip out of her clothes. As soon as Melia stepped into the shower, Jamie grabbed a pair of athletic shorts and a tank top for Melia to change into. She even remembered to put a pair of flip flops out for her to wear home.

“Jamie,” Melia called. Jamie raced in, thinking something bad happened.

“Yea?”

“Go get your sister,” she reminded her.

“Melia, I-I can’t—I’ll wait until you’re out.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted.

“Uh, not you’re not.”

“Ok, I’m in pain, but I’ll live. And I’ll call Peter to come get me. Go.”

“All right. I’ll call you in the morning. Rest. Maybe have Peter stay with you tonight.” Lacey stood in the hall, a confused expression on her face. “Lacey,” Jamie began, “I’ll explain when I get home. Wish me luck that I find my sister before the cops do!”

Lacey silently nodded. Melia let the water wash away all of the blood and dirt. She would have liked to stay in the water longer but wanted to be at her own house in Peter’s arms even more.

“Melia,” Lacey called through the closed door. “A-are you alright?”

“Yea, I’ll be fine. Thanks,” Melia answered. She quickly got dressed and flipped her head upside down to dry her hair. The friction of the terry cloth over the wound scraped the thin scab off. Fresh blood dripped down her forehead. Ignoring it, she called Peter and got his voicemail. She waited a minute and called again. On the third time he answered, sounding alarmed

“Melia, are you ok?”

“Uh, sort of. Can you come get me?”

“Of course, what’s wrong?”

“Long story. I’m at Jamie’s.”

“Ok, I’ll be right there. I love you.”

“Love you too.” Melia hung up, only to pick up the phone again to give Peter directions.

Lacey ushered Melia to the couch, where she gently pressed a clean cloth to the cut. “I think you might need stitches,” she said softly. “It’s bleeding again. And dirty. I don’t want to hurt you but you need the dirt scraped out.”

“Oh,” was all Melia was able to say back. She was fighting the urge to closer her eyes and sleep. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Allow me?”

Melia slowly stood and followed Lacey to the bathroom where the two worked on cleaning Melia’s face. When the doorbell rang fifteen minutes later, Lacey offered to open the door. Her mouth dropped when she saw the blonde haired, blue eyed boy standing on the porch looking very concerned.

“Peter Parker,” she said with more than a slight sneer in her voice.

“Uh, no one’s called me that since the sixth grade,” Peter retorted. He remembered this girl. She was Jamie’s friend. He remembered the cruel jokes played at her expense, and he remembered laughing along with them. But he didn’t remember her name. “Melia,” he said shortly. Lacey waved him inside. Peter rushed to Melia’s side, kneeling in front of her, cupping her face in his hands.

“What the hell happened?” he demanded, fear and anger clouding his beautiful face.

“Fell off my horse,” Melia calmly repeated Jamie’s lie.

“You have a horse?” Peter asked, though that really wasn’t relevant.

“Edward just bought me one,” Melia said quickly. Too quickly. Peter didn’t notice her lie; he was too concerned about the bloody gash on her head to question her.

Melia leaned into Peter’s arm, wincing at the pain the slightest bit of pressure on her wrist caused. She closed her eyes. The squishing crack the knife made as it broke through the gwyrrd’s sternum before piercing the heart echoed in Melia’s mind. She never killed anyone before. Though, she reminded herself, the gwyrrd wasn’t a person.

The shock wore off and Melia’s toughness faded. Suddenly she felt like a vulnerable human girl, scared and in a lot of pain. She buried her face in Peter’s shirt. Then, aware she got blood all over him, pulled her head back.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I got blood on you.”

“I don’t care about that, Melia.” He pulled away and looked at Melia. “I think I should take you to the hospital.” He wiped fresh blood from Melia’s forehead. “You’re still bleeding. You probably need stitches.”

“I-I think the cut reopened when Lacey helped me clean it.”

Peter just nodded, staring into Melia’s eyes. Her story didn’t make sense. He was certain Melia would have mentioned her horse before. And Edward was out of town. He pushed that thought from his mind and stood, extending a hand to Melia. When Melia didn’t take it he said, “Melia, let’s go get you fixed up.”

“No,” Melia said quickly. Hospitals. Doctors. X-rays, blood tests, IVs…human stuff. She couldn’t go. “I’m fine. I’m just tired. I want to go home.” She slowly stood. Her ankle hurt when she walked. When did she twist it? “Please, Peter.”

He nodded. “Where’s Jamie?”

“She had to get Jill,” Lacey said honestly. “She just left. And only after Melia insisted. I stayed to look after her.”

“Oh, thanks,” Peter told her. He looked back at Melia, his heart finally stopped racing with fear. “I’ll take you home.” He put an arm around Melia and escorted her to the car. Before they went out the door, Melia mouthed ‘thank you’ to Lacey, who just nodded in return.

Peter helped Melia into bed. He frowned and asked again if he could take her to the hospital when he saw her wrist, which was swollen and bruised. After telling Peter all she wanted to do was sleep, he stopped nagging her and held her until she was asleep.

Melia let Peter and Jamie fuss over her the rest of the week, hoping they’d get sick of it after a few days. She even agreed to let Jamie’s mom take a look at her wrist. Certain it was not broken, Nikki still urged Melia to follow up with a doctor since sprains can take a while to heal. Melia smiled, promised she would, then went home and Googled what she needed to do to help her wrist get better.

When questioned about her wounds at school, she told Jamie’s lie about the horse, and it was bought without a hitch. Charles bought an arm brace and made sure Melia wore it and got plenty of rest Monday and Tuesday. Jamie brought Melia dinner on Wednesday, and Peter stayed with Melia until she fell asleep.

As he quietly walked down the stairs, a shadow passed the front door. Peter paused, unsure of what he had seen. When nothing out of the ordinary happened, he set the security system and locked the door behind him. A weird feeling blanketed him. He turned, expecting someone to pop out from behind the palm trees that lined the driveway.

His first thought was that he didn’t want to leave Melia alone. She was a sound sleeper, and vulnerable. He wanted to protect her. From what? There was clearly nothing here. Shaking his head, he got into the Mustang and drove home.

-Chapter  12-

“Lacey still won’t answer my calls,” Jamie told Melia as the plane took off. She gripped the armrest. Taking off was the worst part.

“Maybe it’s better that way,” Melia suggested. “She mustn’t have been a true friend.”

Jamie knew Melia meant to console her, but her words came off just a little cold. “Maybe. I guess it upsets me because I thought she was on my side, you know, believing me and everything, for years.”

“It’s a lot to swallow. Remember when I first told you who I was? Even though you saw it, you had trouble believing it.” Melia flipped a page in the dress book she was looking at. “She was really helpful, though, with making the story seem believable.”

“Yea, I guess. Peter still hasn’t said anything?”

“No. I think he’s suspicious, but he hasn’t even brought it up other than to ask how I’m feeling. I think he’s afraid of upsetting me.” Melia watched the ground get farther and farther away. “I hate this stupid thing.” She held up her wrist, which was in the brace. It wasn’t a bad sprain, and Melia healed faster than humans. When she was in the ocean, that is. Peter had been too concerned to leave her alone, so she hadn’t been able to sneak down to the shore. She had dumped more sea salt into the bathtub, shifting into her true form while she slept.

“How long do you have to wear it?”

“Your mom said a few weeks, but I bet I’ll be better in just one.”

Jamie nodded. She picked up a magazine and flipped through the pages. The girls were on their way to New York City to meet up with Melia’s mother to go prom dress shopping. Though Jamie didn’t officially have a date (Melia was certain Jeff was going to ask her), she agreed to come along and get a dress anyway. It was Thursday morning, and the girls wouldn’t return back to San Morado until Friday night. Jamie was amazed at how Melia bounced back to her normal self. She had a new respect for her best friend. And she was beginning to think merrows were a lot tougher than she gave them credit for.

Jamie loved New York. She liked staying in the VanBurren penthouse, which had a bigger staff than The Ridge, she liked having a limo drive her around and she liked the looks she got when she exited with Melia. The consultants at the dress stores gushed over Melia and Jamie, complimenting them so much even Melia wrinkled her nose and pretended to stick her finger down her throat when they weren’t looking.

Nyneve enjoyed every minute spent with Melia and Jamie. Melia whispered to Jamie that she thought her mom wished she was more human and liked regular girly stuff. Eventually, Melia admitted to having fun. She was having a hard time choosing a prom dress, mostly because every dress looked stunning on her.

When she emerged from the dressing room in a pale purple gown, everyone gasped.

“You are beautiful,” Nyneve told her with tears in her eyes. Jackie, the consultant that was assigned to them, put her hands over her heart.

“It is perfect,” she told Melia, looking behind her at the other consultant who just couldn’t seem to stay away. “I’ll get jewelry!” She scuttled off, returning promptly with dangly earrings and a diamond bracelet.

“Do you like it?” Melia asked Jamie, whose opinion was the only one Melia seemed to care about.

“I love it. It looks like it was made for you.” The strapless dress had a sweetheart neckline and a very intricately beaded bodice; the gold beads reflected light beautifully. The body was flowy, cascading over Melia’s body in an extremely flattering way. “You look like a Greek Goddess,” Jamie admitted.

“And I like the colors,” Melia said with a smile. “Since you know what else is purple and gold.” She turned around in the three way mirror. “Ok, this is the dress.” There was a bit of excited chaos as Jackie took Melia’s measurements and discussed ordering and pickup.

Melia picked out three dresses for Jamie to try on. Jamie admired them, hanging them on the hooks before stripping off her clothes. The first was floor length, skin tight and yellow and would look gorgeous on anyone else. Melia liked it, of course. Jamie only weakly smiled and retreated back to the dressing room, feeling very self conscious. She quickly took it off and tried on the awful green dress Melia had picked out. It was a mermaid style; tight in all the wrong places. It had to be a joke. Shaking her head, Jamie whipped it off before anyone could see her in it. The next dress was midnight blue. It had thin, silk straps, an empire waist with jewels under the bust and a fitted waist. It was beautiful. Jamie spun; the softly pleated skirt flew out around her feet. She cracked the dressing room door and waved Melia in.

“Oh, I love it!” Melia told her. She stood behind Jamie and lifted Jamie’s hair off of her shoulders. “You look beautiful!”

They joined Edward for dinner. He was discussing business with his interns, two of whom were young and attractive men. Jamie guiltlessly flirted. When she didn’t know someone she was surprisingly open. She had nothing to hide, no lies or rumors to cover up and didn’t have to worry about being called crazy. Melia and Jamie ate until they were beyond stuffed.

They returned to the penthouse after ten, already ready for bed. Melia called Peter while Jamie was in the shower. She told him she missed him and had found the perfect dress. Though there were plenty of rooms, Melia and Jamie stayed together, sinking under luxurious covers in a king sized bed. Melia turned on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but both were asleep before the movie was halfway over.

They spent Friday shoe shopping with Nyneve, had lunch with Nyneve’s friends who hadn’t seen Melia since the wedding. The usual flow of compliments streamed from their perfectly lipsticked mouths. Melia smiled, letting it all seem copacetic. Inside, it hurt. Her mother was so proud of her life in New York. She had turned her back on who she really was. And she was good at it.

Melia wasn’t sorry to leave the city. As soon as her feet hit the brick of her driveway, she took off, running to the water. Just as she was about to yank her dress over her head, she stopped. A low growl rumbled under the water. She suddenly felt cold.

Something wasn’t right.

The feeling of being watched was so strong she ran back inside. She had promised Peter she’d call him as soon as she got home, and he arrived shortly after she did. They hugged and kissed as if they had been parted for more than two days. Peter was astonished at how fast Melia was healing. The bruising was almost gone on her wrist. She took the brace off, stating it was too uncomfortable. Wolfy, who wasn’t happy with his owner’s recent absence, wouldn’t leave Melia alone. She hugged him and gave him treats but he wanted more. Giving in to his ever-wagging tail, she and Peter let him outside to play ball. Assuming the gate was closed, Melia threw the ball several times before settling on the veranda, sitting with her back to Peter’s front. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

Melia pointed to different stars, explaining the meanings of constellations. “I used to think I’d have a star named after me,” she said with a laugh. “Lana and I used to fight over which one would be ours. She said I always picked the brightest. No matter which star she found, I’d find one that shone just a little brighter.” She sighed. “I miss her.”

Peter hugged her tighter. He didn’t know what to say. Words couldn’t take away the pain of losing a sister. Melia had shown him a picture of Lana, and her face flashed before Peter’s eyes. She looked like Melia but with fairer skin, blonde hair and freckles. She had the same sea green eyes. The picture was taken at Nyneve and Edward’s wedding. Melia and Lana were wearing matching pale blue dresses. They had their arms around each other, smiling broadly. “I love you,” he finally said.

“I love you too.” Melia turned around so she could kiss him. It didn’t take long before the two of them were removing each other’s clothing. All too soon, they were interrupted by a scuffling in the plants. Wolfy barked once and pounced. A cat hissed. While Peter helped wrestle Wolfy away from the poor kitty, Melia pretended to be unable to see in the dark. She retrieved a flashlight from inside and looked through the flowerbeds. Sure enough, a dirty, young cat stared at her. Moving slowly, Melia closed in on the thing. Remembering how she picked up scared cats at the shelter, she gently scooped it up.  Peter threw Wolfy’s ball and snuck inside with Melia and the cat.

“Poor thing,” Melia cooed, setting the filthy animal and the flashlight on the counter. Too scared to move, the cat shivered and growled. She opened the fridge and poured a bowl of milk.

“I wouldn’t give it that much,” Peter advised. “It will probably puke it all up.”

“You’re right,” Melia said and dumped half of the milk back into the jug. She carried the cat and the milk upstairs and into her bathroom. She folded a towel into a make-shift bed, set the cat down on it and snuck out of the room. “I’ll let him eat first,” Melia told Peter. “Then I think he needs a bath.”

“I can’t believe that thing is still hanging around,” Peter said, astonished.

Still hanging around? It was the first time Melia had—oh, right. “Yea, it must know I have food.”

“It must.” He took Melia’s hand and led her to the balcony. She sat on his lap and kissed him. Wolfy barked in the distance. Melia pushed her eyebrows together and stood.

“That’s way more fierce than normal,” she said as she moved to the railing. And it sounded far away. Too far to be in the safe confines of her fenced in yard.  “Wolfy!”

More ferocious barks echoed across the rocky beach. “Wolfy!” she called again.

Silence.

Then a howl and a high pitched yelp. Melia turned and ran. Peter shot up and followed her, somehow able to logically remember to grab the flashlight off the kitchen counter. Fear coursed through Melia’s veins as they tore across the yard. The gate was open! Why had she let Wolfy near the water? Why hadn’t she gone with? She knew what lurked under the dark waves. She had felt the eyes spying for weeks…and she had ignored it. Now it might cost her her dog.

“Wolfy!” she screamed into the night. It never took this long to get to the beach before. Melia ran faster, tripping over the uneven ground. She would have fallen if Peter hadn’t reached out and caught her. “Thanks,” she breathed and pushed forward again. Finally, they skidded to a stop on the sandy shore. “Wolfy! Where are you?” Melia’s voice broke.

Peter took her shaking hand. “We’ll find him,” he promised, scanning the water. Had it been this windy earlier? Melia folded into his embrace. He kissed the top of her head. “Maybe he went this way.” Peter pointed south, away from the public beach.

It was darker here, Peter noted. Commodious, cold rocks studded the shoreline. They walked through uneven footing around a boulder. Peter gripped Melia’s hand; he eyed each shadowy overhang and cave suspiciously, recalling the unknown creepiness he felt Wednesday night. The rocky part of the hillside jutted out, making passage impossible. Melia stepped into the water with no hesitation. After a split second Peter followed suit.

A cave in the hillside loomed ahead. Melia glanced at Peter and went inside. Peter nodded, turned on the flashlight and led the way. They stepped out of the water onto slippery stone. A low growl rumbled, echoing off the cavern walls.

“Wolfy!” Melia cried. The giant dog limped over. “He’s bleeding!”

“Where?” Peter asked, reaching out in the darkness to feel Wolfy’s rough coat.

“His leg,” she told him, almost forgetting his vision was hindered in the dark, despite the weak light of the flashlight.

Peter knelt down, examining Wolfy’s right front leg. “It looks like something bit him. We should go.”

Melia was about to agree. Something splashed. She whipped her head around to see ripples moving across a tide pool. She strode over and knelt down, leaning over the water. It was murky; still, she could see movement. And the water was deep, way deeper than a typical tide pool. She apprehensively reached out, ready to stick her fingers in the water to try and feel what swam beneath.

Wolfy growled.

A slimy, wrinkled hand shot out of the water and grabbed Melia’s wrist. With one strong yank, it pulled her in.

Kappa, it’s a kappa. Melia knew it right away. She could see its beady black eyes and the depression in the top of its head. She knew better than to struggle; kappas love a good battle of strength. The kappa dragged her down. “You can’t drown me, you idiot!” she shouted, rolling her eyes. She was really getting tired of things trying to drown her. The kappa grumbled and gripped her injured wrist tighter. “Ow! You’re hurting me. Let go!” It snarled and snatched her other hand.

Peter looked up just in time to see Melia get pulled underwater. He froze, his brain not wanting to believe it was true. The flashlight fell from his limp grip and rolled across the cave. He blinked and sprang up. Wolfy arched his back and bared his teeth; his eyes fixed on something behind Peter. Peter was only a few feet away from jumping in the water after Melia when something hit him.

It felt like a baseball bat had been swung, hitting him in the back. He staggered, feeling instant pain. The thought of who attacked him didn’t cross his mind. All he thought about was Melia. He suffered another blow, this one on the back of his legs and he fell, hitting his knees hard on the rocky floor.

Wolfy snapped at something. A small round figure scurried past and lunged onto Peter, sinking its teeth into his shoulder. He rolled over, pinning it down under his weight. It let go and hissed, clawing at the rocks to get away. That’s when Peter got a good look at it.

It was small, probably standing only four feet. Its skin was a gray-green, wrinkled and slimy. It had sunken in cheeks, dark, small eyes, a beak-like nose and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Wispy red hair surrounded a shallow depression in its head. It grabbed Peter’s leg and attempted to drag him, struggling to hold its head upright. Its clawed hands flew up to cover the depression, as if it was trying to keep the water from splashing out. Peter shoved its head down. Water poured out of the depression. The Kappa screeched and scrambled back into the water.

Peter clumsily rushed to the pool. “Melia!” he yelled, though he knew she couldn’t hear him. Wolfy gave a warning bark. Peter turned around just in time to see another hideous creature lunging. It landed on his back and pushed him into the water.

“This will get boring, you know,” Melia warned the kappa. “And wait until I have a word with Actassi about this. You guys will never be allowed near this beach again. Trust me!” She sighed. “You better let me go before my human companion realizes just how long I’ve been underwater, ok?”

Peter voice echoed from above. “See! Let me—” she cut off as she watched Peter sink beneath the surface. The kappa held onto her tighter. She watched in horror as Peter’s attacker clawed and bit at him. “No!” she cried and yanked one hand free. The kappa tried to hold onto her. It was the stronger swimmer, she couldn’t get away.

Not in her human form at least. She transformed, and with one swift swish of her tail, was able to break free of the kappa’s death grip. She swam to Peter, punched the kappa in the face, wrapped her arms around him and swam to the surface.

Coughing, Peter clawed his way out of the water. Melia jumped out of pool easily, shimmying away from the water’s edge. Her heart racing from fear, she gripped Peter.

“Melia,” he said between coughs. “Are you ok?”

“Yea, I…” she drifted and looked down. I have a tail. Shaking her head she replied. “I’m fine.” With a shudder she shifted back. “Let’s go.”

Peter was hurt. He was bruised and bleeding. His pulse beat a million miles an hour and his hands shook. His lungs burned from inhaling so much water. But that didn’t matter. All that did was that Melia was ok. He struggled to stand. “I thought you were dead,” he confessed. “I was so scared.”

“I was too.” Melia cast a wary glance at the pool. “We need to go before they come back.”

“What the hell are they?” Peter took her hand.

“Kappas.”

“What?”

“I’ll explain later. Let’s go.”

Wolfy took the lead. The walk back home seemed to take hours. Melia was so worried about Peter. Blood stained his soaking wet shirt. He grimaced with each step. They frantically stumbled along the rock studded shore, not stopping or slowing down until they were in the safety of Melia’s house. Ignoring his pain, Peter locked the door and pulled Melia away from the window.

“Will they come after us?”

“No, they don’t like to be that far from the water.”

“Ok.” He sat at the kitchen table and flinched.

“Peter,” Melia began. Hesitating, she pulled his wet shirt over his head and looked at the injuries.  The kappa had taken a good chunk of skin off his shoulder. Blood steadily dripped down Peter’s body. Claw marks ran the length of his back. He didn’t object when Melia continued to strip him. Whatever he had been hit with cut his skin. Little lesions bled and a pale bruise was already visible over his spine. His knees were bruised as well; the skin on the right one had broken open in the scuffle.  “I think you need to go to the hospital,” she told him. Melia was scared. It was clear Peter was hurt. And she wasn’t a healer.

“I’m alright, Melia,” he said, sounding almost annoying.

“Please,” she begged, realizing that she must be feeling what Peter had felt when he tried to get her to go only a week ago.

He shook his head and pressed a hand over his bleeding shoulder. “Get me a towel?”

Melia nodded. She came back with several towels, a first aid kit and a bottle of pills. “Does it hurt?” she asked as she very lightly pressed a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol on his torn skin.

“Not really,” Peter lied. Silently, Melia continued cleaning his wounds, putting gauze and bandages over them. When she was done, she brushed the hair out of Peter’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Peter.”

“It’s ok,” he told her automatically, assuming she was sorry for him being injured. The pain he felt while Melia cleaned the cuts distracted him from thinking about what had just happened. What the hell is a kappa? he thought. Did Melia really know? Was it a weird sea creature? No, they looked too…too human. He opened his mouth to ask Melia when she held her hand out to him, showcasing two white pills.

“Edward gets headaches. He takes these for the pain.”

“Thanks,” Peter said and took the pills. Melia removed his boxers and gave him a pair of Edward’s pajama pants to put on. Peter stayed put in the kitchen while Melia had a difficult time putting Neosporin on Wolfy’s leg. She wrapped gauze around his leg only to have him rip it off. After fifteen minutes, she gave up. The bite marks weren’t very deep anyway.

“I-I need to talk to you,” Melia said shyly. She refilled Peter’s cup with water. She waited until he drank it. “There are things, Peter, things I should have told you.”

He nodded. She was right. There were things…wait, what things? He shook his head. His thoughts were cloudy. Suddenly, he felt nauseous. When he stood, his vision blacked out. He vaguely remembered Melia catching him, crying and leading him into the living room. Then the black fog took over and he passed out.

“Peter?” Melia’s voice shook. She didn’t understand what was going on. “Peter?” She shook him and he didn’t move. “PETER!” she cried, tears running down her cheeks. Was he dead? Had he lost too much blood? Did the rubbing alcohol poison him? “Peter, please! Wake up!” He groaned. “Peter! Peter! Can you hear me? Wake up!” She waited. Nothing. Frantic, Melia tripped over the end table, knocking it to the ground. The lamp fell, shattering the light bulb. Ignoring the glass that stuck in her palm, Melia numbly got her phone and called Jamie.

No answer.

She couldn’t breathe. She was hyperventilating. She scrambled back to Peter’s side, shaking him and calling his name. She dialed one more number—the only other person who could help her—and cried when he answered.

“Charles!” she screamed.

“Melia, what’s wrong?”

“We got attacked by kappas and I think I killed Peter!”

“What!? Where are you?”

“Home,” she sobbed.

“I’m on my way.” There was a rustling and then the jingling of keys. “Why do you think you killed Peter?”

“He won’t wake up.”

“Ok. Is he breathing?”

“I don’t know,” she barely managed to say in between hysterical sobs.

“Melia, calm down. You can’t help him if you’re a mess.” Charles paused to give Melia a minute to compose herself. “You might have to do CPR, ok? First, check and see if he’s breathing.”

Melia put her hand under Peter’s nose. At first, she felt nothing then—“I feel air! He’s breathing!”

“Ok, check his pulse.”

Melia pressed her fingers to Peter’s chest. “I can’t find it!” She started crying again.

“Calm down, it’s ok,” Charles soothed. “Right under his ear. Put your fingers on his neck and push, but not too hard. Count the beats…now.” After a minute Charles asked, “How many?”

“Forty seven.”

“Ok, that’s a little slow. But Peter’s an athlete, right? It might be normal for him.” Charles let out a breath of relief. “Stay with him and I’ll be there in less than ten minutes.”

“Thank you.” Melia hung up and held Peter’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Peter. I’ll figure everything out, I promise. And I’ll explain everything to you. Someday.” She stroked his hair. Wolfy barked, causing Melia to jump. He was upstairs…oh, right. “The cat,” she said out loud. “Wolfy! Leave the kitty alone!”

The ten minutes took forever to pass. The sight of Charles of striding into the living room was such a relief. He knelt down next to Peter, checking his pulse and breathing.

“Tell me what happened,” he said to Melia.

“I just got home and Peter came over. There was a cat outside, so we caught it and came inside and left Wolfy out. I thought the gate was closed but I guess it wasn’t because Wolfy got out and must have found the kappas so when he barked we went to find him,” Melia said that all in one breath. She paused to take in more air and continued. “I knew the tide pool wasn’t natural. Kappas like to burrow,” she shook her head, “but that doesn’t matter. It pulled me under and I thought it was trying to drown me.” She looked up at Charles, the thought clicking in her mind. “I think it was holding me back so they could get to Peter.” She frowned and forced tears from welling in her eyes. “But they ended up in the water. I really thought he was going to drown.” Charles put his hand on her shoulder. “We got away and came back. I disinfected his cuts—he got bitten and all scratched up, and I gave him pain pills and then he—”

“Pain pills?” Charles interrupted.

“Yea, the ones Edward takes for his headaches.”

“How many?”

“Two.”

Charles grinned. “Melia, you didn’t kill Peter. You drugged him.”

“I what?”

“Ed takes one pill. And he’s been taking them for years so I think he has a bit of a tolerance. Two pills would knock anyone out.”

“So he’s gonna be ok?”

“Yes, when he wakes up.”

“Oh!” Melia hugged Charles. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Just don’t play pharmacist anymore, ok?”

“I promise, I won’t.” She wiped her eyes and stood. She got her softest pillow off her bed and a thick quilt. She tried to make Peter as comfortable as possible and fussed with the blanket until she was satisfied.

She explained everything to Charles, starting with the gwyrrd. She missed talking to him, having what Jamie told her were called ‘heart-to-heart’ talks. He always gave good advice, offered new perspectives to view things and truly listened to everything Melia said.

“…and Actassi will be really angry when he finds out the kappas attacked a human. I can’t imagine how they got out. He’s the best at keeping the darklings in check.”

“So, Actassi, he’s a merrow?”

“Yes. Merrows usually are the so called ‘kings’. Not to sound like I’m bragging, but merrows make good leaders. They are rational, unlike other creatures.”

Charles nodded. “Tell me more.”

Melia shrugged. “It’s politics, I guess. Each ocean has its ruler. The rules are simple: stay away from humans, keep the darklings in check and keep the peace. That’s the way we like it though, well, merrows at least.”

“But others, others don’t like it?”

“Well, I guess not. I’ve never thought about it much because that’s the way it’s always been. Merrows have ruled the ocean for centuries. We like our simple lives so no one objects.”

“Interesting,” Charles noted. The cat loudly meowed, the sound echoing downstairs.

“I better check on him,” Melia said and stood. She stopped at the couch, checked on Peter—his heart rate was a little stronger— and went upstairs. With help from Charles, the scruffy white cat was bathed and flea free. It didn’t totally object to being handled, so Melia speculated that it must have been a pet before and escaped or, more realistically, got dumped off somewhere. It was a female, and Melia named her Gwenllian, which she told Charles, was a common merrow name. She fed Gwenllian turkey and chicken lunch meat and locked her back in the bathroom.

She sat next to the couch, checking on Peter. His feet were cold. She trudged into her parent’s room and got a pair of Edward’s socks. She put them on Peter and tucked the blanket around his feet. She stroked his hair, wishing he would wake up.

“You look tired,” Charles’ voice came from behind her.

“I am,” she agreed.

“Go to bed.”

“I’m not leaving Peter.”

“I’ll sit with him for a while.”

“It’s ok. I probably won’t be able to sleep anyway.”

“Then go shower or at least change out of your wet clothes.”

“Oh, right.” Melia had forgotten her dress was wet, though it was nearly dry now. She kissed Peter and slowly went upstairs. It felt good to be clean. Melia brushed and dried her hair before putting on a night gown. She brought her comforter and the zebra Peter bought her from the zoo with her and settled next to Charles on the love seat. They stayed up chit-chatting, Melia randomly getting up to check on Peter, but fell asleep around two-thirty in the morning.

Melia woke around six AM. She could smell bacon cooking. On her way to the kitchen, she knelt next to Peter. He had moved in his sleep; his arms were hanging off the couch. His breathing wasn’t as labored and he looked like he was sleeping more than being in a drug induced coma. She kissed his lips. “I love you,” she whispered, suddenly nervous for him to wake.

“Morning,” Charles said with a smile.

“Good morning.” Melia sat at the island counter. “That smells wonderful.”

“Thanks.” He flipped the bacon. “You have your choice of bacon, omelets, waffles, fruit salad or biscuits and gravy.”

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“I’ve been up for a few hours.”

“Thank you, Charles, for staying last night.”

“Of course, Melia.”

They ate in silence. Finally, Melia spoke. “I know I owe Peter an explanation.”

Charles nodded. “Yes, he will be curious.”

“What should I say?”

“I don’t know. I think that’s something you have to decide yourself.”

“What if he’s mad? Or he hates me? Or if he thinks I’m a freak?”

“I doubt he’ll hate you.” Charles started cleaning the dishes.

“Maybe I don’t have to tell him about me. I’ll tell him about the kappas but not about me. The less he knows the better, right?”

“And then when will you tell him?”

“Never.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yes. I can sneak into the ocean at night, like I have been. It’s worked so far.”

“Oh, yea. Live a lie your whole life. We both know how good you are at lying.”

“Well, I can get good! And Peter hasn’t suspected anything yet!”

“He deserves to know,” Charles pressed.

Peter had quietly walked into the kitchen. “What do I deserve to know?”

Melia jumped off the stool. “Peter! I’m so sorry!” She hugged him, forgetting about the cuts on his back. He groggily put his arms around her. His brain still felt fuzzy. “I didn’t know that the pills were that strong.”

“What pills?”

Melia took his hand and led him to the counter. She pushed a plate loaded with food in front of him and poured him a glass of milk.

“The white pills I gave you yesterday. I sort of overdosed you and you passed out.”

“Oh, yea, I guess that makes sense. I don’t really remember any of that though.” He smiled at Melia and poked at his food. “Did you at least take advantage of me?”

She laughed and ran her hand over his head, moving a wave of sandy blonde hair out of his eyes. “Will it make you happy if I say yes?”

Peter nodded, eating a piece of bacon. “I’d be very disappointed if I got drugged for no reason.”

“Then yes, I did. All night.”

“Good.”

Melia sat on the edge of her stool, biting her lip. “So you don’t remember anything from last night?” she asked hopefully, casting a nervous glance at Charles.

Peter though… “I remember coming over. We found the cat and then—” He dropped the bacon. “Kappas. You said those-those things were kappas.” His eyes widened. “H-how?” he stammered, not knowing what to even ask.

“Well,” Charles said loudly. “I’m gonna go get some sleep. Call me if you want dinner, Melia. If I don’t hear from you…” he trailed off, looking at Peter. Melia nodded, understanding what he meant. As soon as he was out the door, Melia turned back to Peter.

“There are things, Peter, things that you’ve never seen. Things that you would only consider to exist in myths or fairytales.”

“Like the kappas?”

“Yes, just like the kappas.”

“Ok.” He nodded. “What are they?”

“They are considered darklings, which is what we call anything bad. Kappas pull people underwater, drown them and eat them.”

“Oh. And that’s what they tried to do last night?”

“Yes,” Melia said, thinking this was going better than she planned. “But we got away, of course.”

“Obviously.” Peter looked intently into Melia’s eyes. She had a hard time holding his gaze. “How do you know about them?”

“I’m…my family…Peter, what would you do if I told you I’m not like you?”

“I-I don’t know.” He shook his head. “If you’re about to tell me that you’re from a family of demon hunters or something like that, I’ve seen enough shows on TV about it to think it’s cool,” he said with a half smile.

“No, I’m not from a family of demon hunters. I-I’m the thing that they…never mind. I think I should show you.”

Melia slowly walked to the pool. Déjà vu spun in her thoughts. But this time she was nervous. Her heart hammered and she dreaded the change. She pulled her night gown off and turned to Peter. He looked her naked body up and down. “Please don’t hate me,” she whispered.

“I will never hate you,” Peter told her.

“You say that now.” Melia took Peter’s hands in hers. A tear ran down her face. Peter wiped it away and kissed her.

“Why are you crying? And why are you naked? Not that I mind, it’s just a little odd.”

Melia kissed him instead of answering and then dove into the pool. She transformed as soon as she hit the water. Peter watched, not sure what was going on.

“Peter,” Melia said when she stuck her head out of the water. “This is who I really am.”

Peter turned his head to the side, thinking it must be a trick. “How did you…” he started. Melia floated on her back, swishing her tail. He swore and backed away, bumping into a table.

“Peter!” Melia called. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t go!” She shifted back to human form but it was too late. Peter was inside, searching for his keys. By the time Melia got in, Peter revved the engine and tore down the driveway. She fell to her knees, sobbing. She curled up in a little ball and let herself cry. She didn’t know how long she cried, but eventually Wolfy licked her face and encouraged her to get up.

She called Peter three times. He didn’t answer. On the fourth try, the phone went straight to voicemail. “He turned his phone off,” Melia told Wolfy, tears spilling. She wiped them away. She needed to do something. She couldn’t cry over Peter forever. This was bound to happen, and she had known it all along. Maybe it was good that it happened now. She didn’t have a real future with Peter anyway. Maybe it was good she got out now before she loved him even more.

Could she love him more? A sob escaped her and she pressed her hands over her mouth, refusing to cry anymore. She got dressed, let Wolfy out, fed Gwenllian and drove to the animal shelter. She took six dogs for long walks and came back home around noon. She had left her phone on her bed. She picked it up; her heart skipped a beat when she saw that she had two missed calls. But they were both from Jamie.

She wanted to call her best friend, but she knew if she did that she would start crying again, and she didn’t want to. She texted her instead. “Peter knows. It’s over,” was all she wrote. Jamie quickly responded, saying she was on her way.

Jamie flew up the stairs. “Melia!” she called. She found Melia on her bed, curled up under the covers. Her eyes were red and puffy. “Oh, Melia. I’m so sorry!” She wrapped her arms around her best friend. The genuine love and concern from Jamie’s embrace unlocked Melia’s feelings. She started crying again, and soon Jamie was too.

“His face was the worst, Jamie,” Melia told her. “He looked at me like I was some sort of horrible creature. It was like he was scared and disgusted all at once.”

Jamie pet Melia’s hair. “I’m sure he’s just shocked.”

“Maybe. But I lied to him.”

“What were you supposed to do? You had no choice.”

“Yes I did. We always have a choice, no matter what. But thanks for saying that.”

Melia tried to call Peter two more times that night. She felt numb imagining a life without Peter. Numb, but ok…maybe. In the end, she knew she would be. But right now it hurt so much. Jamie stayed with her. She felt so bad for Melia. She knew what it was like to be hated, mocked and ridiculed for something you couldn’t help. She’d often thought about herself in a similar situation, if she’d ever tell her boyfriend (if she ever got one) about being able to talk to the dead. But talking to the dead and turning into a mermaid were totally separate things.

Melia didn’t want to cry. She clutched her phone and the zebra, fighting back tears.

“It’s ok to cry,” Jamie told her. “Especially tonight. You’ll feel better if you get it out.”

Melia nodded. Jamie flipped through TV channels, trying to find something funny and not remotely romantic to watch. She let Wolfy out; Melia hadn’t moved in hours. After she fed Gwenllian, she opened the bedroom door to find Melia crying. Jamie got into bed next to her and put her arms around her best friend, holding her until Melia cried herself to sleep.

Sunday came and passed without hearing a word from Peter. The realization that their relationship was over cut into Melia deeper and deeper as each hour went on. Melia didn’t want to go to school Monday. She wanted to run away to the ocean. She told Jamie that she needed to find Actassi and make sure the kappas were back in the depths of the ocean. Jamie tried to persuade her but agreed someone had to keep a leash on the kappas. When she took her seat in chemistry, she was surprised to see that Peter wasn’t at school either.

Melia swam with fury. Deeper and deeper, farther out than she had gone in months. Finally she slowed. Her body was sore and she was so tired. She had only gotten a few hours of sleep on and off since Friday night. She let herself sink to the ocean floor and fall asleep.

When she woke up, it was afternoon. She turned and swam back to her house only because she promised Jamie she’d call her after school. She let the tide bring her to the shore, the feeling of defeat starting to settle in. Peter left her. Kappas were on the loose. She couldn’t find any merrows. It was out of her character to wallow in self pity, and Melia was mad at herself for it. Feeling sorry for yourself wasn’t going to do anything but make you feel worse.

“Melia,” a voice came from the sand.

“Peter?” she called hopefully, swimming now. She saw him, standing a few feet from the water. “Peter!” she cried, changing into human form so fast she stumbled and fell in the sand. Peter rushed over to help her. That’s when she noticed the knife in his hand. She recoiled, thinking he was going to kill her.

“No!” he shouted and tossed the knife behind him. “I was afraid those-those things might come back.”

“Oh.” Melia diverted her eyes to the ground. “I’m sorry for lying to you.”

“No, I’m sorry I acted like a jerk and ran off.”

“You had every right to. And I don’t blame you if you hate me.”

“Melia.” Peter took her hand. Melia didn’t move; she kept her eyes focused on the sand, feeling ashamed. “Melia,” he repeated. “Look at me.” She cast her eyes quickly to his then down again. Peter softly laughed. “Look.” He cupped her face and tilted it up. “I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you even though you have nothing to be sorry for,” she whispered. Tears filled her eyes.

“Yes, I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you.” Peter hugged her, becoming rather aware that she was only wearing a bikini top. He sat on the wet sand and pulled her into his lap. He kissed her. “I shouldn’t have left like that. It was just…a lot to take in.”

“I’m sorry,” Melia whispered again, unable to keep the quiver from her voice. “You can leave if you want. Coming back was more than enough.”

“Why would I leave?”

“Because you know what I am.”

“Melia,” Peter said her name passionately. “I love who you are, not what you are.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I  promise. It shouldn’t have taken me that long to figure out. But I do.”

“Good. Because I love you too.”

“Can you do something for me?” Peter asked.

“Anything.” Melia looked into his eyes.

“Show me.”

“What?”

“Show me again.”

Melia looked at the ocean. “A-are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Can we go into the water?”

Peter nodded. He kicked off his shoes and took his phone, keys, and wallet out of his pocket. They went into water up to their knees. Melia sat down and tugged on Peter’s hand. He sat too, putting Melia in between his legs.

“Are you sure?” she asked again. Peter nodded. “Ok.” Melia closed her eyes and changed. For a moment, Peter just stared. Then he slowly moved his hands from around her waist, running his fingers over the rigid rim of scales on her waist that divided her skin from her tail.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

Melia put her arms around Peter. “Is this really happening?” she asked. His eyes were the exact same shade as the sky above. “I’m scared I’m going to wake up.”

“Not a dream,” he told her.

“I love you, Peter.”

“I love you too.” He kissed her. “Can we get out of the water now? The, uh, salt water kind of burns.”

Melia didn’t understand at first until Peter reminded her of the kappa claw marks. Hand in hand, they walked into the house. Melia ran upstairs, washed the sand from her body and got dressed in a pink and black sundress. Peter had changed into dry clothes as well. He was in the hall near the dining room, looking at VanBurren family pictures.

“Your mom and Ed, are they like you?”

Melia shook her head. “Just my mom. Well, kind of.”

“What do you mean?”

“My mom’s an Oceanid, which is why I can shift back and forth from human to merrow form.”

“Merrow?”

“Yea, ‘mermaid’ isn’t the correct term. My father, my real father that is, was a merrow. My parent’s marriage was arranged so the merrows and Oceanids could share territory. Even after my father died, we stayed in the ocean. Lana and I liked it better, but my mom never did. Since Oceanids can walk on land, some of them prefer it to water.”

“And your mom does?”

“Yes. She hates living in the ocean.”

“Oh,” Peter said, feeling far away. This was the weirdest conversation he’d ever had. “And Ed knows?”

“Yes. He did from the start. He fell into the water and my mom saved him.” She turned to Peter “I should have done that. From the start. It would have been easier.”

“But I didn’t fall into water.”

“Remember that night? The first night we really ever talked?”

Peter thought. “Yea. It was storming. We met on the beach and—wait, that was you?”

Melia nodded.

“I knew something pulled me to shore. I knew it. I thought I was stupid for thinking it, now I know I was stupid for not. It was too weird, how you just showed up. I didn’t want to think it could be true.” Peter smiled. “Thanks for saving my life.”

Melia smiled back. “Well, you owe me.”

Peter slipped his fingers through hers. “Who else knows?”

“Charles. Jamie. She told Lacey but I don’t think she believed her.”

“Why do you live here? I mean, if I could live in the ocean, I would.”

Melia pulled away from Peter and walked to the window. She gazed longingly at the ocean. “My mom got married not long before Lana died. We both tried living in New York with them, but it was awful. Lana hated it more than me. So we came back. And then Lana got murdered. My mom said she needed me with her, that she couldn’t stand losing another daughter and begged me to live on land. I agreed, of course, but I don’t really get it. She says she needs me, but she barely ever sees me.”

“Do you hate living here?”

“At first, I did. It was interesting, to say the least. There was so much to do and so much to learn. Merrows like simple things. We don’t worry about materialistic things like humans do. There isn’t as much death and violence. Merrows wouldn’t let others go hungry or go without. There are no drugs under the sea.” She turned to find Peter looking down. “But there are certain things that make land bearable.”

“Like what?”

“Food.” She smiled. “I never had popcorn or ice cream or cheese before. I tried bringing popcorn to Lana once. I didn’t know it pretty much melted when it got wet.” She and Peter laughed. “Electricity. It’s so complex. I like movies, though at first they scared me. And flowers. I watered mine with ocean water before. I didn’t know the salt killed them.” She took a step closer to Peter. “But there are two things that I really enjoy. These two things have by far helped the most in liking living on land.”

Peter put his hands on her waist. “And what are they?”

“Jamie and you.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Jamie is amazing. She’s kind and caring and accepted me from the start. And you, Peter. When I’m with you, everything,” she put her hand over her heart, “feels whole.” They kissed. Keeping his face just inches from hers, Peter whispered,

“If you had a choice, to stay here or go back, what would you choose?”

Melia looked into his beautiful blue eyes. “Here, with you.”

Peter smiled and kissed her again, locking her in an embrace. “You never lied, you know.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You said you lied to me about who you are. You never did. You just didn’t tell me.”

“Oh, well, that’s the same, isn’t it?”

Peter shook his head. “Let’s just move on. Pretend you just told me and I didn’t run away.”

“That works for me.” She hugged him tighter. “Did you ever think I acted really weird?”

“Yes,” he said with a laugh. “But I never would have guessed you were a, a…”

“Merrow.”

“Merrow,” he repeated. An alarm on his phone beeped. Breaking apart from Melia he said, “Want to come over? My parents think I’m home sick.” He silenced his phone. “I need to go before they get home.”

“Of course. I think you need a nurse to take care of you,” she said with a coy smile.

Melia texted Jamie and Charles on the way, telling them that everything was better than ok. She enjoyed playing nurse for Peter, tucking him into bed and taking care of his every need. She helped Mrs. Anderson make dinner and watched Tarzan with Ava after they ate. She left after the movie ended, on the pretense that Peter needed to get plenty of rest and feel better. She stopped by Jamie’s to fully explain everything. Melia was exultant, smiling the whole way home. She did her homework in a happy daze, showered and quickly fell asleep, sleeping soundly for the first time in days.

-Chapter 13-

Melia and Peter were glued to each other at school on Tuesday. Arms constantly locked around one another, they were reminded twice by a teacher to ‘stay at an arm’s length apart’.

“What’s with them?” Elle asked Jamie as she watched the make out session that was taking place between Melia and Peter.

Jamie shrugged and worked to keep her face neutral. “Just happy to see each other, I guess.”

Elle continued to ogle. “They are too pretty. It makes me sick.”

Zack sighed. “Tell me about it.” Enviously, he watched Peter’s hands move over Melia’s body. “Oh,” he pointed, “look at Janet. I think she’s going to explode.”

From across the courtyard, Jamie could sense Janet’s red hot anger. She was beyond jealous. She was taking it very personally, as if Peter kissed Melia again and again just to make her angry. And she was hurt. Hurt because Peter never showed that much passion with her, hurt that he was able to get over her so fast when she was still not over him. And she’d do anything to get him back. Partly because she wanted him, and partly because she didn’t want anyone else to have him. She had him first. He was hers.

Whoa. Jamie shook her head. That was a lot of information to absorb in one glance. She felt dizzy.

“You alright?” Jeff asked.

“Uh, yea.” She smiled, blinking several times and shaking her hands to rid herself of the negative energy. She looked at Jeff, Janet out of her line of sight, and still sensed a blob of red shifting and growing. Jamie felt the urge to scream. She closed her eyes; she was not going to let Janet Williams get the best of her. “Tired, that’s all.”

Melia and Peter stopped for air. Peter ran his hands through Melia’s hair. Jamie watched as Barnet Kalicky asked them to pose for a picture. He was the chief photographer for the school newspaper as well as the year book. That was no doubt the ‘cutest couple’ shot he was seeking. Melia had a short, white sundress on and Peter wore a white polo shirt. Total coincidence, of course, but it would look planned in the photograph.

The red blob exploded. Bits of green and black burned like glowing embers of hate. Jamie jumped up.

“Uh, see you in class,” she mumbled and scuttled off, arriving to chemistry class before anyone else. They had a lab to do today; Jamie helped Mr. Thomson set up the chemicals, feeling like a loser for being there so early. But it got her mind off Janet, for a while at least. Since Peter was still forced to be lab partners with Janet, Jamie kept nervously glancing over at her, worried she might dump the bottle of HCl on Peter’s lap or something.

“Why are you so jumpy?” Melia asked her, halfway through the class.

“I’ll explain later. You-know-who is super angry at you.”

Melia followed Jamie’s eyes to Janet. “Oh. I’m not surprised.”

“I’m getting a bad feeling, Melia. Like she’s plotting something.”

“Really?”

“Yea,” Jamie whispered and bit her lip. “But I can’t tell what. I sensed that from her awhile ago and it turned out to be nothing.” She turned her attention back to the lab. “Crap. How much of this do we add again?” She held up a beaker full of some sort of clear liquid, the name she couldn’t recall.

“One and a half milliliters,” Melia responded without having to consult her book. “And then a drop of the blue stuff.”

“Are you going to Tae Bo tonight?” Jamie asked as she measured out the chemicals.

“My wrist hurts again,” Melia said with a frown. “Because the kappas grabbed me,” she added to clarify, speaking in an ‘outside voice’ again. Peter snapped his head around at the sound of the word. Melia smiled innocently and shrugged, as if to say ‘no one will know what I’m talking about’.

It was the warmest day of spring by far. Almost everyone opted to eat lunch outside. Jeff asked Jamie to sit with him, though she thought it was only due to the obviousness of Melia’s preoccupation with Peter at the moment. Melia sat with Peter and his friends, with Peter on her right and Amanda on her left. Everyone was chattering away, talking about prom, the weather and the beach. Jamie almost didn’t sense it. She looked up just in time. Even as the warning escaped her lips, it was already too late.

Janet dumped a bucket of slimy water and dead fish right over Melia’s head. The nasty mixture splashed, soaking Amanda and Peter. A half rotten koi plopped on Melia’s lunch tray. Amanda screamed, Peter jumped up, fists clenched and Melia sat frozen.

Janet smirked. Kaitlin doubled over in laughter. “Remind you of home, Fish Girl?” Janet sneered. She dropped the bucket and strutted away. Chaos broke out next. Mathew frantically tried to mop the water off of Amanda, Connor held back Peter, who was ready for a fight, and Melia ran away. Teachers rushed around, trying to figure out what happened so they could punish those who needed it. Janet snuck away with Brandon Hartmann, the good looking but utterly dumb quarterback, and Kaitlin tried to control her laughter. It didn’t matter, Jamie knew, since everyone saw what happened and no one would cover for Janet Williams. After the shock wore off, she sprung up and darted off to find Melia.

Soaked, with brown and yellow-green stains dripping down her white dress, Melia had hidden in the library. She hugged her knees, biting back tears.

“Melia?” Jamie called, though she could undoubtedly follow the slimy water stench. With a shiver, she recalled the gwyrrd. She found Melia in the last row. Jamie rushed over, dropped to her knees and hugged her best friend. Melia jerked away.

“You’ll get it all over you,” she mumbled. “It stinks.”

“Oh, Melia, I’m so sorry!” Jamie picked fish parts out of Melia’s hair. They were squishy and Jamie thought she was going to be sick. They both looked up at the sound of fast footfalls. Peter ran to Melia.

“Are you ok?” he asked. Jamie thought it was a dumb question but appreciated his concern.

“Yea. I smell, but I’m fine. And so do you. I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize,” Peter almost shouted. Melia knew he was angry, but not angry at her. He hugged Melia.

“Peter, I changed my mind. I’d choose the ocean.”

“Me too,” Peter whispered. He held her for another minute and stood. “Do you have clothes to change into?” Melia shook her head. Peter looked at Jamie, who said she didn’t have any either. “I’m sure I can find you something.” He extended a hand to Melia and Jamie. Melia took it, letting Peter pull her up; Jamie pretended not to notice. Peter scraped at something brown on his pants. It was starting to dry and get crusty. “Let’s go shower.”

“Here? Together?” Melia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Peter laughed. “I don’t think the school would like that. We can go home I’m sure.”

He held her hand and walked with as much dignity as someone who was covered in mucky water could. Amanda was already pulling her bag from her locker. Melia apologized to Amanda, who said the same thing as Peter. (“Do not take the blame for that, Melia. That bitch did it, and I will get her!”) Melia smiled and nodded, thinking Amanda sounded pretty insane at the moment.

Melia flicked a piece of dead fish from her wrist. Had Janet caught fished and killed them just to torture her? She wondered what Lana would do if someone did something cruel to her. No doubt get revenge.

Melia didn’t want revenge. Not over something as stupid as Janet’s pranks. Didn’t she have bigger things to worry about? Like the kappas. What she told Charles haunted her. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed a real possibility. But why would a kappa want Peter? She needed to talk to him about it.

She mulled it over during the drive home. The gate was closed, wasn’t it? Had Wolfy somehow knocked it open? Or did something open it to draw him out? The kappa she faced just held her. It didn’t try to bite or eat her. She had assumed it was waiting for her to drown, but what if it was waiting for something else?

“You’re quiet,” Peter said, glancing away from the passing road to look at Melia.

“Just thinking,” she quietly responded.

“Don’t let it upset you.” He put his hand on her leg. “Connor told me that he heard Janet got suspended. And they might ban her from going to prom.”

“They can do that?”

“Yea. But I don’t know if they actually will. I hope so. That bitch doesn’t deserve to go.” He gave her leg a squeeze before removing it to shift gears. He parked in front of The Ridge and looked up. “It smells like it’s gonna rain, doesn’t it?” he asked Melia, thinking she might be able to sense it better than himself.

“Yea. It does. Those clouds are moving in fast.” She looked at the sky. “Too fast…” She shook her head and waited for Peter to put the top up on the Mustang. Charles was in the kitchen making dinner. He looked quizzically at Melia when she walked in.

“Trying out a new fashion?” he asked with an eyebrow raised. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of the scummy water.

“No.” She set her bag on the counter.

“Long story,” Peter answered, sighing. He followed Melia up the stairs; she went into her room to shower and Peter went into the guest room across the hall. He scrubbed himself clean in the shower, changed into some of Edward’s clothes. He went into Melia’s room and waited for her to emerge from the shower.

She did—completely naked. Peter’s eyes bulged a little and he had to force himself to look away until Melia got dressed. They went back downstairs to wait for dinner and talk to Charles.

“Everything ok?” Charles asked.

“Yes,” Melia sighed. “Just stupid human drama.”

“Oh,” Charles said as he chopped up garlic.

Melia looked around. “Where’s Wolfy?”

“I took him to the dog park. He seemed bored.” Charles added the garlic to a bowl. Whatever he was making smelled delicious. “And Gwen got a clear bill of health from the vet. She’s underweight, but the vet doesn’t think it will take long for her to gain it. I put a litter box in the bathroom of the guestroom across the hall from yours, since Wolfy stays with you most nights I figured it would work out better.”

“Thank you, Charles.”

“You know, you are the only person who still calls me Charles. Even my own mom calls me Chuck.”

Melia smiled. “Then she should have named you Chuck. You were named Charles so that is what I will call you.” She got two glasses from the cupboard. “And I like Charles. It’s a good, strong name.”

“It’s too formal, if you ask me.” Charles looked at Peter. “What about you? Ever go by Pete?”

“Most of my friends call me that,” Peter said, taking the glass from Melia. “It doesn’t bother me, either way.”

Charles laughed. “I made the mistake of calling her ‘Mel’ once. I learned my lesson.”

“I just don’t get nicknames,” Melia said with a chuckle.

*

“Peter,” Melia spoke softly. Her voice was barely audible over the crash of the waves.

“Yea?”

“Can I ask you a question about Friday night?”

“Of course.”

They were snuggled close together on a lounge chair on the balcony. Clouds covered the stars and a strong wind brought in the waves. “When the kappa pulled me under water, I assumed he was trying to drown me.”

“I bet he was surprised.”

“But he wasn’t.” She shifted so she could look into Peter’s eyes. “It was like he was holding me back. The only thing to hold me back from was you.”

“Why would they want to keep us apart?”

“I don’t know. That’s what I need to ask. What happened? I mean, I know you got attacked.”

Peter traced the curve along Melia’s hip. “Well, something hit me in the back. It knocked me over and grabbed my foot. I think it tried to drag me—”

“Into the water?”

“No. Out of the cave.”

A chill ran down Melia’s spine and it wasn’t from the wind. She shivered. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m not sure. It-it just doesn’t make sense. A kappa hasn’t killed a human in over fifty years. What would they want with you?”

“Didn’t you say they eat people?”

“They do.”

“Maybe it was taking me to the ocean.”

Melia shook her head. “Kappas like their caves. It would be too much effort to drag you across all the rocks and into water deep enough to drown you.”

“Can you go, go…ask someone?”

“I tried. Yesterday. I didn’t find any merrows.” Realization crashed down on Melia. “I haven’t been able to in almost three months.”

“And I take it that’s not normal?”

Melia shook her head, sitting up. Nervously, she looked over the water. “Inside,” she whispered. After the doors were closed she told Peter, “Merrows move a lot. We live deep in the ocean. Actassi lives in the middle of the Pacific. I can swim there, but it would take days. I’ve only been going out half a day’s worth.” She bit her lip, thinking. “I wish Lana was here. She could make some sort of connection.”

“Connection?”

“Yea, the kappas and the gwyrrd.”

“Gwyrrd?” Peter repeated the word awkwardly, sounding very American in his accent.

“Oh.” Melia sank on her bed. Gwenllian jumped up next to her. “I guess I need to explain a few things.” She picked up the gray cat and told Peter the whole story. He started at her admirably for a few seconds before he spoke.

“You amaze me.”

Melia shrugged. “It had to be done.”

Peter touched the patch of shiny skin on Melia’s forehead. “I knew that story about getting a horse was bullshit.”

“Are you mad?”

“No. Will you tell me more?”

They resituated on the bed. Peter rested his head on Melia’s chest and she raked his hair with her fingers. “What do you want to know?” she asked.

“What’s an Oceanid?”

“You need to brush up on your Greek mythology,” she joked. “Have you heard of water nymphs?”

“Yea.”

“There are three kinds of water nymphs: Naiads, Nereids and Oceanids. Naiads reside in freshwater, like rivers and streams. Nereirds live in the Mediterranean Sea and Oceanids live in the ocean.”

Peter felt horribly inadequate. He was a normal human. There was nothing special about him. He had a normal family and didn’t have any special powers. And Melia was half water nymph.

“Do you know why your mom doesn’t like the ocean?”

“Not completely. I imagine her arranged marriage had something to do with it. I would hate that.”

“Is that common for you? Arranged marriages?”

“No. Well, not for merrows. It’s not unheard of to expand territory, though.”

“Oh. So does that mean your grandfather on your mom’s side was like royalty or something?”

“No.”

“Then why did they pick your mom?”

“Because she’s beautiful.” Peter couldn’t argue that. Melia picked up on his confusion and continued. “You can understand why the arrangement was so appealing: an Oceanid from the Atlantic, marrying a merrow from the Pacific. It joined territory as well as kinds. And if you picked the Oceanid, who would you choose? The most beautiful one of course.” Gwen curled up in a ball in between Peter’s legs. “My father’s death was an accident. The treaty continued on, since Actassi-who rules the Pacific, in case I didn’t tell you yet, and Uisce, the ruler of the Atlantic, decided it was better to be allies anyway. And he was old. When he died, Actassi took over both oceans.”

“Hmm,” Peter moaned, sounding sleepy. “That’s a lot to remember.”

“I guess so, but it’s easier to follow than human politics.”

Peter laughed. “You got that right.”

*

Peter had fallen asleep. He woke up at ten forty-five knowing he was in deep trouble. He kissed Melia goodbye and made her promise to lock the doors and set the alarm system. It had rained, dropping the temperature and leaving the earth smelling fresh. His house was dark; he hoped his parents had gone to bed and not noticed his absence.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Sue’s voice spilled from the darkness.

Peter froze, his wet shoes squeaking on the kitchen tile. “Bed,” he mumbled.

“Oh really. If you’re so tired then maybe you shouldn’t stay out ‘til midnight.”

“It’s only eleven.”

“Only eleven! Hah! You have a nine-thirty curfew.”

Peter rolled his eyes, thankful for the lack of light. Since Melia told his parents off, they hadn’t bugged him or bothered to keep up with his curfew, which wasn’t nine-thirty anyway.

“I’m a little late, so shoot me.”

“Where were you?”

“At Melia’s, where else?” Peter heard the distinct sound of liquid pouring into a glass and then a delicate ‘chink’ as the wine bottle was set on the counter. Great, his mom was drinking. It was beyond hypocritical that she harped on him when she had a wine glass glued to her hand twenty four seven. Once Peter pointed it out and Sue countered with ‘Jesus turned water into wine!’ It wasn’t worth it to Peter to bring it up again.

“And her parents are ok with you staying that late? Typical uppity New York behavior! That does not fly in my house, mister!”

“Well, I was at her house, not yours.”

Peter’s father trudged up the basement stairs. “Peter,” he bellowed.

“Hello to you, too,” Peter said sarcastically.

“You kept your mother and me up.” Roger flicked on the kitchen light and glared at his son.

“You could have gone to bed.”

Sue drained her glass. “What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t worry?”

“Why would you worry? I was at Melia’s, where I’ve been almost every night for the last three months. It’s a fifteen minute drive- tops. And you don’t care. You just like yelling at me.”

“Is that any way to talk to your mother?” Roger questioned. “This is our house and we have rules. You missed your curfew.”

“I know. Sorry. I fell asleep,” Peter said with a sigh, wanting the lecture to be over.

Sue carried her glass to the sink. “And just what were you doing over there at this hour?”

“I told you, three times now, that I fell asleep.”

“So you were in bed with Melia,” she accused.

“What does it matter?” Peter spat.

“It matters that it is immoral! Being in bed with a girl at this hour can only mean one thing!”

Peter laughed. “So if I was in bed with her at three in the afternoon, it would be fine?”

Roger said, “That is not the point, Peter.”

“Then what is?” Peter asked, throwing up his hands. His parents talked in circles and never made sense.

“You have a curfew. You need to be home by or before then. Do you understand?” As a principal, Roger put on an air of intimidation daily. It stopped working on Peter when he was twelve.

“And,” Sue said, her voice full of superiority. “It’s just not acceptable to be at a girl’s house past nine. Nothing good happens past nine. I know what you two were—have been—doing and it disgusts me. I pray for you. ”

Peter laughed. “Really, mom? You think we’re only going to have sex after nine?” Sue gasped at the word, as if Peter swore. “What if I told you I banged her in the parking lot before school? And after. And sometimes in the janitor’s closet during lunch.” He laughed again, enjoying the horror on his parents’ faces. Is this what reaching the breaking point feels like? he wondered. “You are so pathetic. You want to know what we did tonight? Homework. Ate dinner. Hung out with her cook. Picked up her dog from the dog park. Watched the waves and talked and then I fell asleep.” And it was the truth. He kicked off his shoes. “But I better get some sleep since I have a wild orgy planned for tomorrow during study hall.”

Roger blocked Peter’s way as he tried to push past them. “You better start showing some respect or I’ll—”

“What? Kick me out? Go ahead. I’ll stay with the VanBurren’s. Think of all the premarital sex I’ll have then!”

Sue yelled, “You’re grounded! For a month. That means no prom!”

“That’s not fair,” Peter snapped.

“You didn’t follow my rules. I say what’s fair and what’s not!” Sue smiled triumphantly.

“I come home an hour and a half late and you want to take away my senior prom. You’re punishing Melia too.”

“If she would keep her legs closed, then this wouldn’t be an issue, would it?”

Peter’s body tensed. “Do not talk about her like that.”

“You’ve been awfully infatuated with her, don’t you agree, Roger?”Sue inclined her head toward her husband, wanting backup. Roger just nodded, thinking Sue had, once again, gone too far. “Peter, you are my son and I want what’s best for you. Spending time with the VanBurren girl has caused nothing but trouble. Maybe it’s time you reevaluate your relationship with her. You are going to be graduating soon. You wouldn’t want her holding you back in getting an education, would you?”

“That’s bullshit! Melia’s the best thing that’s even happened to me. And she wouldn’t hold me back, she’s—” Peter cut off, reinterpreting his mother’s words. “Are-are you,” he looked from his mom to his dad, “are you trying to blackmail me?”

Sue’s hand flew to her heart. “How could you even say that?” She sobbed, fake, of course. “Peter, I want what’s best for you. People are starting to talk. Why aren’t that girl’s parents ever home? There has to be something wrong with her.”

Peter took a practiced deep breath. “I’m going to bed,” he said calmly. His parents must have seen the rage in his eyes because neither tried to stop him. Peter was furious. First Janet and now his parents…he clenched his fists, shaking.

His parents had no right to take away prom. They had no right to talk about Melia like that! She had been nothing but nice, well, except when she scolded his mom. He paced around his room, at a loss for what to do, so angry he could punch a hole in the wall. His door slowly opened. He spun, ready to yell at his parents. He let out the breath he took when he saw Ava’s innocent face.

“What are you still doing up?” he asked, straining to keep the anger in check.

“I had a bad dream.” She ran into the room to hug her brother.

“You’re safe now.”

“I know,” she said, her face pressed into Peter’s side. “But it was really scary.”

“What was it about?”

“There was a monster in the bathtub. It looked like a turtle with claws.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s not. Want me to go check?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, I will. But how about I tuck you in first? It’s late.”

“You’re not leaving, are you?” she asked, looking up at Peter.

“Not until next year when I go to college.”

“Can I visit you?”

“Of course.” Peter stood, picking up Ava with him. He turned on a nightlight and ruffled her hair. “Night, Ava.”

“Goodnight, Peter. I love you.”

“You too.” Peter smiled and closed the door. A turtle with claws…that didn’t sound familiar at all.

*

“It’s all connected somehow,” Melia whispered to Jamie at lunch on Friday. “The gwyrrd, the kappas and Lana’s death. I know it is. I just don’t know how.”

Jamie looked up from her tuna salad into Melia’s green eyes, wide with hope. “What should we do?”

“I don’t really know. But we need to figure something out. Why would the kappas want Peter?”

Jamie took a bite, chewed and swallowed. “Maybe they didn’t want him as much as they wanted him out of the way.”

“To get to me?”

“Yes.”

“But why?”

“That, I have no idea. Maybe the same reason they wanted Lana.”

Melia pushed her salad around on her plate. “The gwyrrd said something before I killed her.”

“What did she say?”

“That I was part of ‘his plan’. I didn’t believe a word she said. Now I wished I would have asked before I stuck that knife in her heart.” Melia stabbed an olive. Jamie felt her cheeks redden as Peter’s friends looked curiously at Melia.

“Shh!” she reminded her best friend. “People will think you’re crazier than you already are.”

Melia shrugged and picked the olive off her fork. “I wish I had killed that kappa too, after what he did to Peter and Wolfy. If we ever cross paths again,” her voice slowly rose, “he will be the one begging for mercy. I will hang him upside down until he’s dry, crack his shell and then slit his throat!”

“You ok, sweetie?” Peter asked, sitting down just in time.

Jamie nervously laughed. “She’s just making murder plans.”

“Oh. For who?”

“The kappas,” Melia said loudly, taking her anger out on a tomato. Peter and Jamie winced at the volume of the word. “I just feel like something’s about to happen and I don’t like not knowing what it is. And nothing makes sense. I don’t like being confused.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Jamie promised, though she had no idea how.

“We will,” Melia said definitely.

*

Nyneve had flown to California earlier that week. She had Melia’s prom dress and was more excited for the dance in two weeks than Melia was. The visit was short and superficial, Melia felt as if her mother came home to get the details for prom more than she came home to see her daughter. They were supposed to have dinner together tonight. Melia was looking forward to spending time with her mom, plus, since Peter was grounded, she didn’t have any other plans.

The note on the counter left Melia feeling more than dejected. Her mother had caught an earlier flight, stating that she needed to be in New York for Edward, whose CNN interview got pushed up a day. Melia crumpled the note and threw it as hard as she could across the room. It didn’t go very far, and Wolfy leapt after it thinking it was a toy.

At nine o’clock, Melia shut off the TV. Feeling restless, she found herself on her balcony. The stars were out in full force tonight. She laid on the cool, wooden floor, and stared above her. She crossed her eyes until the stars blurred together. When stormy clouds rolled in and blocked the stars from sight, she sighed, and considered going to bed already.

Then she felt it. The familiar aura of something non-human. She sat up, eyes on the ocean. Two figures slowly rose from the water. “I knew it!” she whispered to herself. With lightning speed, Melia ran through the house and onto the shore.

“Vaianu!” she called. He wasn’t the first ocean dweller she’d choose to be reunited with, but he was familiar and could answer some questions. “Vaianu!”

“Melia?” a deep voice called back.

“Vaianu, it’s good to see you,” Melia said in English, smiling at him. Vaianu looked nothing like a merrow. He was an adaro, a human like creature with fins, gills and razor sharp teeth.

“You too, Melia. It has been too long.” He let her go and gazed upon her face. “I didn’t think it possible but you are more beautiful.”

“You were never shy with the flattery.” Behind Vaianu, Melia saw a second adaro lurking in the water. “Is that Mako?”

“Yes. He’s still leery of land.”

Melia laughed. “I can’t blame him for that.”

“Not you. You seem at home here.” He waved at the house.

Melia shrugged. “I have to make do.”

Vaianu took Melia’s hand. “Want to go for a swim and catch up? It’s been too long.”

“Yes.” Melia spoke without hesitation, knowing that denying the offer would raise a red flag.

“Good. I can’t stand to walk another minute.” They walked into the water. “You’re wearing clothes?” he asked incredulously.

“Oh, habit,” Melia mumbled and pulled her dress over her head. I’m sorry, Peter, she thought. Merrows don’t wear clothes. Wet cloth is heavy and gets in the way. Thunder rumbled in the distance. She leapt into the moving water, disappearing from human sight.

“Melia, what are you doing?” Vaianu asked Melia once they were about a hundred yards out.

“Swimming,” Melia responded with a laugh. In truth, it felt good. She missed the power in the water during storms. Electricity danced with the waves. It was terrifying and intoxicating.

Vaianu laughed as well. “That’s not what I meant. I meant, what are you doing living on land?”

Melia shrugged, somersaulting in the current. “Helping my mom. She’s not dealing very well after...”

“That was almost a year ago.”

Melia was surprised Vaianu remembered. He wasn’t that close and merrows didn’t keep track of time. “ It takes a long time after you lose someone.”

“Will you ever come home?”

“I want to. I miss this.” She darted forward. “I miss the freedom.”

“And your friends miss you.”

She spun around. “They do?”

“Oh yea. A lot.”

“I miss them too.” She circled Vaianu. “You know, I looked for them.”

“And?”

“I don’t know where they are.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Vaianu smiled. “Everyone moved.”

“I figured. I mustn’t have gone out far enough.”

“Why not?”

Melia shrugged. “Takes time. I have to pretend to be human, you know. I can’t disappear for days anymore.”

“Say you’re on a vacation,” he suggested.

“I didn’t think of that.”

“How about now? Go back and make arrangements. Then come spend some time with me. I’ll take you to your merrows.” He extended a hand. The current pushed Melia forward. She shied away from Vaianu.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I-I have responsibilities on land.”

“Like what?”

“A dog,” she said quickly.

“Oh. I thought you were going to say a boy,” he said with a smile.

Melia smiled in return. “Maybe.”

“Really?” Vaianu asked, sounding immediately disgusted. “A human boy?”

“And what would be wrong with that?”

“Humans? Do you remember what they’ve done to us? It would be a waste! Melia, you are beautiful. Amazing. You are half merrow and half Oceanid. But you don’t have half the qualities. You have all the qualities of a merrow and all the qualities of an Oceanid. You are strong and smart. You could advance.”

Melia flicked her tail, put off by his sudden burst of passion. “I don’t want to advance. I would make a terrible ruler.”

“A ruler’s partner then. Everyone would follow you. The merrows of the Pacific. The Oceanids of the Atlantic. And once the Oceanids follow you, the merrows of the Atlantic would follow suit.”

“But I’m only half merrow,” Melia persisted. “Merrows always rule. I don’t think everyone would be happy with that.”

“It would work in your favor. Not everyone is happy about being under a merrow’s rule.” There was a spark in his dark eyes as he spoke. Melia thought it was odd for him to lionize her so much in a hypothetical conversation. “You could change things.”

“What needs to change?” Melia asked, growing uncomfortable with the topic.

Vaianu laughed. “Of course you wouldn’t know. Your father wanted to rule.”

“What?”

“You didn’t know?”

“I had no idea. How did you know?”

“We talked,” he said causally.

“Why would he want to? He had everything.”

“He agreed that some things needed to change.”

“Oh, well, I don’t.”

“You will. There’s part of him in you after all.”

“No. I like things the way they are.”

“Don’t you remember how your father died?”

“Of course! It was his fault! He shouldn’t have done that! He tried to be so valiant but all it did was get him killed, leaving his wife and daughters to have to live without him.”

“You miss him, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she lied.

“Then why make him die for nothing?”

“Where’s Mako?” Melia wanted to change the subject. She slowly swam forward.

“Around.”  Vaianu swam up head, turning so he was facing Melia. “Melia, please consider my offer. It would be great to have you back in the water. The ocean isn’t the same without you.”

“I will,” Melia promised and forced a smile. Why didn’t Mako greet her? She had actually known him longer than she’d known Vaianu. “But I should get back. My dog…he’s outside and the storm is picking up.”

Vaianu grabbed her injured wrist. Melia flinched at the pain and was scared for a moment that he wouldn’t let go. “Don’t make up excuses.”

“I’m not.” She jerked her wrist back. “It was really nice to see you.”

“Have fun with the humans,” he scoffed.

“Swim me home?” she asked, trying to mend the awkwardness. Vaianu nodded. Without speaking, they swam side by side. “Oh, there’s something I need to tell you.” Melia stopped before the water got too shallow. “I found kappas the other day.” Vaianu looked surprised…too surprised. “They tried to drown me, thinking I was a human,” she laughed. “It was really annoying, actually.”

“Lucky it was just you.”

“Yes. Just me. Anyway, can you tell Actassi? He needs to know about it.”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” Melia pressed her cheek to his, an underwater custom. “I’ll see you again?”

“You can count on it. I’ll let you know how it goes with Actassi.”

Melia couldn’t tell if she had imagined it, but she thought he spat Actassi’s name with repugnance. “Tell Mako I said hello.”

“I will, Melia.” He began to swim off and quickly stopped. “Melia,” he said without turning. “It’s a shame you never were close with your father.” He moved to see her, enjoying the question in her expression. With one last lingering look at Melia’s beautiful face, Vaianu turned and disappeared into the rough water.

*

“Melia,” Peter repeated.

“What? Sorry, I’m listening.”

“What’s with you today? You seem distracted.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. “I am. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he told her, wrapping his arm around her waist. “Hey!” he shouted to Adam. “Don’t do that! You could fall and hit your head on the side of the pool.” He waited until his little brother jumped off the inflatable raft before continuing. “Want to talk about it?”

“Later,” Melia sighed, eyeing Ava. “When no one will hear us.”

Peter waved his hand at the twins. “They’re too distracted.”

“It looks like they’re having fun,” Melia commented, watching Ava go down the water slide for the sixth time. It was the only way Peter was allowed to see Melia without his parents getting angry. And since both he and Melia enjoyed spending time with the twins, it worked out in everyone’s favor. Adam and Ava were more than excited when Peter told them that he could take them to Melia’s to go swimming. It was hot again today, but the ocean was still too choppy from last night’s storm to safely allow swimming.

“They are,” Peter assured her. Melia buried her face in Peter’s neck, her breath on his skin unintentionally turning him on. He pulled her closer. “What’s going on?”

Melia’s eyes met his. “I saw some of my old friends last night.”

“You mean, old, underwater friends?”

“Yea.”

“That’s great, isn’t it?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Oh.” Peter tipped his head. “Why not?”

“It was…weird.”

Peter laughed. “How so?”

“Just something Vaianu said before he left.” Melia didn’t bother to explain who Vaianu was. “I don’t know what he meant.” She twisted and rested her head against him again. “It’s probably nothing. I’ve been out of the water for too long.”

Peter ran his fingers through her hair. Melia closed her eyes; she was tired. Vaianu’s last words carried some sort of message, she was sure of it. She was up most of the night mulling it over. And when she did sleep, her dreams were full of fire and danger.

Peter didn’t know what to say to make her feel better, so he continued to run his fingers through her hair. Not too long after, Melia’s muscles relaxed. Just as she was drifting to sleep, Wolfy barked. Both she and Peter jumped.

“It’s Chuck,” Peter told her, looking through the open doors.

“Oh, right.” Melia stretched. Peter told Melia he was going to say hi to Charles and asked if she’d stay and keep an eye on the twins. About half an hour later, Peter called out to tell them lunch was ready. Since it was so nice out today, the five of them ate on the veranda. Melia picked at her salad, her appetite small since her mind was so full.

Melia was so busy trying to not think about her father that she didn’t sense their auras. She stood, picking up her plate and empty cup. Suddenly it hit her, and like a hook, it jerked her toward the water. Melia dropped her dishes. They shattered into tiny pieces.

Her eyes scanned the water. He hadn’t surfaced yet. He probably wouldn’t with this many humans as witnesses. Melia’s heart pounded. She turned to Peter and Charles, her expression unmistakably full of fear. Ava’s big blue eyes questioned Melia. Catching sight of her, Melia forced a smile.

“You guys haven’t seen the theater room yet, have you? Peter, why don’t you show them it. Now.”

Peter nodded. He attempted to usher his brother and sister inside. Adam protested; he wasn’t done eating and he wanted to swim more. Thankfully Charles intervened, reminding the twins that they shouldn’t swim right after eating and promising he’d make chocolate chip cookies if they came inside with him right now.

As soon as the twins were safely inside, Melia took off, clambering over the fence and stumbling along the rocky sand. She pulled off her bikini bottoms and dove under the water.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, yelling in Mermish.

“I should ask you the same,” he retorted, distaste heavy in his voice. “Consorting with humans.”

“Vaianu…” she started, but stopped, not knowing what else to say. His dark eyes narrowed, viewing her as a threat. He was radically different from last night.

“Sorry,” he less than sneered. He forced a smile. “Last night…last night just didn’t make me happy, Melia.”

“Ok,” she stated, noticing the school of swordfish that menaced behind them. “I don’t understand, Vaianu. What’s going on?”

“You really don’t know, do you?” he asked. He swam forward, leisurely flipping and floating in the water.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” He smiled coyly.

“Vaianu, I’m not.” She shook her head.

“Melia, think really hard about this, ok? Do you really think your mother needed you on land to cope? I haven’t seen her around these waters much.”

“Of course she needs me! What? What do you mean you ‘haven’t seen her’?” The thought of Vaianu spying on Melia infuriated her.

“Don’t doubt me, Melia. I may not be as pretty as your human, but don’t mark me as dumb.”

“Vaianu,” she pleaded, watching the fish move closer. Her heart pounded with fear. “I really don’t know what’s going on.”

“I suggest you talk to your mother then. Ask her why she kept you away from the water and why she’s so afraid of history repeating itself. I’ll give you a day to sort it out. Then I’ll be back to carry out the arrangement.” He flashed an evil smile, grabbed Melia by the shoulders and forcefully kissed her before swimming away, the fish following him. Flabbergasted, Melia floated in the water. When she broke out of the shock, her body shook. Weakly, she swam to shallow water, transforming into human form and running as soon as her feet hit the sand.

*

Melia pressed redial for fourteenth time. Her mother would answer sooner or later. Peter had taken the twins home, not questioning Melia’s request to clear the house. Charles took Wolfy to the dog park and then went back to his own house. Melia sat in Edward’s office, her wet hair and clothes dripping all over his desk. She stared at the computer screen, impatiently waiting for her mother to hear her calling.

When the call went unanswered, Melia retreated inside herself. She lowered her head and glared at the screen. Vaianu’s words terrified her. She had no idea what he had been talking about. The ominous way he spoke could only portend something bad was going to happen.

Ten minutes later, Nyneve called back. Thankfully, the computer automatically connected and popped the video screen up on its own since Melia didn’t know how to do it.

“Melia!” Nyneve was startled. “Is everything ok?”

“No,” Melia spoke harshly in Mermish. “Why am I here?”

“What do you mean?” Nyneve was taken aback.

“Why am I here?” Melia repeated, her voice rising. “On land.”

“So we can be together,” Nyneve said without hesitation.

“Together,” Melia spate, rolling her eyes to patronize the word. “Yea, together. You are across the country.” She stood, fists clenched. Her mother was lying. “Why am I here?”

“Melia, please. Can we talk about this when I get back?”

Ignoring her mother’s request, Melia said, “Vaianu paid me a visit.”

The color drained from Nyneve’s face. Her beautiful green eyes widened in fear and her hand flew to cover her open mouth. “He…”

“Tell me what is going on,” Melia pleaded.

“Melia, this isn’t the time or place.”

“Mom! Tell me or I will go ask him.” Melia waited. When her mother didn’t respond, she strode to the door.

“Melia!” Nyneve called with tears in her eyes. “It happened so long ago.”

Melia turned. Her blood cold, she walked back to the computer. “What happened?”

“Your father made the arrangements. I never agreed to any of it. I didn’t want that life for you. You weren’t—aren’t—like the rest of them. I needed to protect you!”

“Protect me from what?” Melia’s voice was barely a whisper.

“An arrangement,” Nyneve said, her voice breaking. “Just like mine.”

“An arranged marriage?” Melia didn’t want to believe it. Her mother nodded. “To whom?”

“Vaianu.”

Curiosity formed before anger. “Why?”

“It was your father’s idea. To unite merrows with adaros.” Nyneve began crying. “It was so long ago. I didn’t—I didn’t…” her words got lost in tears.

“Mom, you didn’t what?”

“I didn’t think he would find it valid,” she choked out.

“So that’s why you wanted me to live on land. To break the deal.”

“Yes. I’m so sorry, Melia. I can’t stand the thought of you being forced into a marriage. The only good thing mine brought me was my girls. And with Lana already gone—” she broke off, sobbing.

“Did Lana know?” Melia asked.

“I-I don’t think so. I never told her.”

Nothing seemed real. This wasn’t happening. Melia was going to wake up any second from this bad dream. She shook her head, breathing hard. “Why me?”

“You’ve always been so beautiful,” Nyneve barely whispered.

“Waisea, Vaianu’s father, envied us, all of us. He and your father became friends. They got to talking, and soon your father believed that adaros and merrows should be closer. When Waisea fell ill, his dying wish was to see his eldest son marry your father’s youngest daughter.”

“No! I’m not marrying Vaianu.”

“You won’t have to. If you stay on land.”

“No!” Melia shouted. “You should have told me! I-I can’t believe you kept this from me!” She paced the room, too angry to hear the front door open and close.

Peter walked back into the house. He instantly heard Melia’s raised voice. Fearing the worst, he ran through the halls. He had never been on this side of the house. Heart racing, he followed Melia’s voice until he saw her in Edward’s office. She was yelling at a computer, and wasn’t speaking English.

“Sinau asuie til ego! Sinau fecit ego tror sinau opus ego. Se  tama oli e verun! Sinau non angen ego,” she said.

A voice came from the computer, and it dawned on Peter that Melia was talking to someone. Once she spoke, he recognized Nyneve’s voice.

“Ego ville fortalle ego lopulta. Ego meddual ego oli auxilli ego,” she said.

“Auxilli ego? Pa mittere ego vive e asui? Kun dichan Peter, Matrem?”

Peter jumped at the sound of his name. He desperately wanted to know what was being said. “Miten est eam formosus pro eum?” An angry tear rolled down Melia’s cheek. She wiped it away, noticing Peter. They locked eyes, and Melia wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him and feel his strong embrace. On the verge of screaming, Melia slammed the power button down on the computer, holding it until the screen went blank.

Peter apprehensively stepped forward. Melia buried her face in her hands, taking deep breaths. Peter gently rested his hand on her arm. His skin was warm. It sent tingles through Melia’s body, making her shiver. Her emotions suddenly switched, and she threw herself at Peter, tangling her arms around his body. And then her mouth found his in a fury of need. Peter held her tight and kissed her back. When they broke apart, both were breathless.

“What is going on?” he whispered.

Melia blinked back tears. “A deal was made.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “You need to explain more, please.”

Melia nodded. She took Peter’s hand and led him into the living room. She sat on the couch, close to Peter and swallowed hard. “Before my father died, he made a deal with someone named Waisea. Do you remember how I told you my mom’s marriage was arranged to unite races in the ocean?”

“Yea, I remember.”

“Ok, good. Waisea isn’t a merrow; he’s an adaro. He was good friends with my father. They made a deal that Waisea’s oldest son would marry my father’s youngest daughter.” She shyly looked at Peter.

He cocked his head, taking it in. “You?”

“Yes.” As she spoke the word, a chill ran through her. The deal was real. Vaianu expected her to marry him.

“But it’s not going to happen, right?” Peter asked, panic blooming in his heart.

“Vaianu thinks it will.”

“Vaianu, he’s the ‘friend’ you saw yesterday,” Peter speculated. Melia nodded. “And today, I’m assuming.”

“Yes. He came to tell me he wants to follow through with the arrangement, though he wasn’t that clear.”

“Tell him no. You’re not gonna marry that guy.”

“I’m not. Peter, I don’t want to.” She sniffled and held back tears. “But that means I can’t go into the ocean again.”

Shock stabbed at Peter’s heart. “Why?”

“A deal’s a deal. There are spoken words, promises, and arrangements. They are taken seriously by ocean dwellers. If I go back, it will be expected.”

“What are you going to do?” Peter asked, unable to control the words as they spilled from his mouth. He held onto Melia as if his life depended on it.

“I don’t know.” She shook her head, eyes filling with tears. “Stay here. I don’t want to marry him. I don’t want to be forced to be with someone I don’t even like. And I don’t want to leave you.”

He kissed her forehead. “I don’t want you to either.”

“I wish I had known.”

“Would you have been able to change anything?”

“Maybe. Maybe I could have told Vaianu that I would rather die than marry him. Maybe I could have gone to Actassi and asked for protection. But then again, the arrangement had been made. He would have found some way to take me.”

“I won’t let anyone take you. They’ll have to go through me first.”

“I don’t want anyone to take me.”

Peter pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. “No one will. I won’t let them.”

Melia wiggled around until she was straddling him. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Losing you would hurt me more than anything,” he whispered.

Emotion swelled inside Melia. “They can’t be out of the water for long. On land, we’re pretty safe,” she assured him and pressed her lips to his. The world melted away. All Melia wanted was Peter. She felt safe with him. She felt needed, comforted, wanted, and loved. And no one was going to take that away from her.

Ever.

-Chapter 14-

“Where’s Melia?” Amanda asked Peter several hours later.

“She’ll be here later,” Peter responded, draining his second beer. “She had something to do.”

“Oh. You look sad and lonely without her,” Amanda teased, expecting Peter to protest and laugh. He shrugged, as if admitting it to be true. “Where is she?”

“At her friend’s house,” Peter replied shortly, expecting Amanda to know he meant Jamie’s house. He half smiled and wandered away to find Connor. Even though he knew Melia would be joining him within an hour, he couldn’t help but miss her. Knowing about the arranged marriage didn’t sit well in his stomach. The thought of not being with her made Peter sick on its own; the thought of not being with her because she was forced to be with someone else was worse.

Peter never thought about marriage. It was too far in the future. But he had thought about the next year—his first at Berkeley—and imagined Melia with him. Though she didn’t have plans for college, which made sense now that he knew who she really was, he assumed they would see each other frequently. He pictured her staying in his dorm room, kissing her goodbye before he left for class.

He shook his head. It was too soon to be thinking like that. Yes, he intended on having a long term relationship with Melia that he couldn’t fathom an ending to. Now just wasn’t the time to be nostalgic. How could he help get Melia out of the deal? The realization that there was nothing he could do was crushing. He was defenseless against anything in the ocean.

“Pete!” Connor shouted. Peter jerked out of his dark reverie.

“Yea?”

“You alright? I’ve said your name like five times.”

He shook his head. “Uh, yea, I’m fine.”

“If you say so.” Connor handed him a Jack and Coke. “Shit,” he swore, looking behind Peter. “I’ll make them leave, if you want. I swear I didn’t invite them.”

Peter turned to see Janet and Brandon bickering as they walked up the driveway. Brandon tried to put his arm around Janet and she shoved him away, saying something Peter couldn’t hear.

“It’s ok,” Peter assured Connor. “I’ll be fine.” He gulped down his drink.

“Just let me know,” Connor said, not sounding convinced. Peter set down his empty cup. “You sure you’re alright there, buddy?” Connor pressed.

“Fine,” Peter said too quickly. He walked away to the kitchen to refill his drink. Connor followed.

“Did you get into a fight with Melia?” he inquired.

Peter shook his head and took a shot before pouring the Jack into his cup.

“Then why are you trying to get drunk so fast?”

“I’m not. Peter sighed. “My parents,” he only half lied. “They hate Melia for some reason.”

“Have they seen her?” Connor joked. “Seriously, though. Why?”

“Because she’s my girlfriend. Anything associated with me is bad, remember? I came home late Thursday and my mom freaked out about me having sex with Melia.”

“Deny it. If they haven’t caught you, then you can’t be guilty.”

“I don’t even care anymore.” He took another drink. “This year’s almost over. Then I’m out of there for good.”

Connor looked at Peter empathetically. He was about to say something when Nate called him out of the room. For the next hour, Peter wandered around trying to avoid Janet. As he stumbled his way to the kitchen to get yet another refill on his drink, he paused by the sliding glass doors that led to the back deck. Was that just a shadow? He could have sworn he saw a dark pair of eyes gleaming in the porch light.

Peter set his empty cup down, the music and laughter fading as his curiosity increased. He slid the heavy door open and stepped onto the dewy wood. A gust of wind caused the neighbor’s chime to clang about loudly. Peter squinted as if that would improve his sight. The dirt around the deck had been disturbed and drips of water trailed away.

Or towards. Peter couldn’t make up his mind. Unsteadily, he climbed over the railing to further investigate. Strange footprints stamped the surrounding earth. Peter crouched down and put his hand over it. Who—or what—ever left these prints was small, like a child. But the feet were wide and didn’t look human-made.

A twig snapped. Peter sprang up, hitting his head on the deck. He staggered back, not noticing the round figure lumbering forward.

“Pete!” Connor yelled, leaning out the doorway. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I…I thought I saw something,” Peter mumbled, rubbing his head. He sighed and slowly made his way back inside.

*

Melia started her car, her hands still shaking. Recanting the information to Jamie upset her more than she expected. Yes, it was a bad situation to be in, but it could be worse. Or at least that’s what she tried to convince herself.

They had decided, after much debate, that Vaianu wouldn’t wait for Melia forever. Once he realized she was land-bound he would give up and move on, allowing Melia to safely visit the ocean she loved so much. He would find another merrow, come up with some mastermind plan that would never pan out and live as outcasts, taking their anger out on any humans that dare take on the ocean alone. Not even Vaianu would risk being discovered.

She had stayed at Jamie’s longer than she’d planned and now had to rush home to change and meet Peter at Connor’s party. Her heart swelled at the thought of him and she smiled to herself, suddenly anxious to see him again.

Not liking the empty house, Melia ran to her room. Wolfy followed close behind, keeping a watchful eye on his owner. Since it was so nice out today, Melia left the balcony doors open so Gwen could enjoy the warm breeze. She put her hand on the doorknob, ready to pull it closed when she saw her.

“Nerina,” she whispered. Wolfy pushed through the doors and wagged his tail, letting out a friendly bark. “Nerina!” she repeated, turning and sprinting through the house to the beach. The pale figure of a naked young woman struggled to her feet. Melia rushed to her side, putting an arm around her faltering friend, wanting to get her away from the water.

She helped her inside; Nerina collapsed instantly. Melia took a deep breath, pulling the shredded fibers of her composure together. Like other Oceanids, Nerina was beautiful. Her body, once supple like Melia’s, was thin. Her skin stretched over her bones, pale and thin. Her cheeks where hollow and devoid of color and a deep cut bled on her right bicep.

Melia dropped beside her, throwing her arms around her friend. “What happened?” she asked, speaking in English, forgetting Nerina didn’t speak anything but Mermish. Melia shook her head and repeated her question, speaking in the language that Nerina would understand.

“I’ve been swimming for so long,” Nerina spoke, her voice hoarse. “I’m so glad you’re ok, Melia. I was so worried.”

“Worried? About me? Why?”

Nerina looked at Melia incredulously. “He said he was coming for you.”

“Who?”

“Vaianu.”

“The arrangement,” Melia breathed. Nerina nodded.

“I wanted to warn you. He’s already caused so much trouble.”

“Trouble, what trouble?”

“You’ve been gone too long,” Nerina said with a smile. “The whole ocean is in turmoil.”

“What?!” Nerina nodded. Melia wanted to press her for details but her friend looked so weak. “When was the last time you ate?” she asked gently, feeling sickened by Nerina’s thin frame. “I can get you something.”

“I would like that,” Nerina told her. Melia stood and opened the refrigerator. Her cooking skills were very limited, but she was able to make a decent turkey sandwich. Nerina eyed the bread and poked at it.

“It’s dry,” she said, wrinkling her nose. Melia laughed, remembering her first experiences with human food. She quickly rummaged around and cut up some fruit. Nerina ate hastily. “I feel so much better.” She smiled at Melia. “Thank you.” Nerina looked around the large kitchen with fear in her eyes. “How can you stand it?” she asked and then looked embarrassed.

Melia shrugged. “I hated it at first. Then I got used to it. Now I like it.” She filled two glasses with apple juice and sat next to Nerina. Wolfy, who had been waiting patiently, shyly walked over and nudged Nerina. “That’s Wolfy,” Melia explained. “He’s a dog.”

“Melia, I know what a dog is,” Nerina said in a tone that reminded Melia too much of Lana. She pet him for a minute before getting up, enchanted by the lights and buttons on the microwave. She opened it, got startled by the light and moved on to the freezer. “It’s so cold!” she exclaimed, sticking her head inside.

Melia knew that Nerina had been inside a human’s house at least twice. Nerina loved seducing and luring good looking, young men to the water. Occasionally, she would accompany them back to their own bedrooms. Most of the time, however, her man of choice resided on a boat or a small house near the water, and she never stayed long enough to fully explore any human inventions.

She pushed a button and ice shot out. Nerina shrieked and jumped back; Melia laughed. Nerina was an excellent example of an Oceanid. She was beautiful, with long, light brown hair. Her skin was a shade paler than Melia’s but, like all Oceanids, she had the same sparkling green eyes. She loved music, singing, men, and brushing her hair. She was intrigued by humans but preferred the water. She was sensible, never thought more than what was necessary and was easily entertained.

Unlike a merrow, Nerina wasn’t a fast swimmer. She tired quickly in the water and wouldn’t fare well with a kappa. Unknowingly selfish, Oceanids like instant gratification and being happy. Melia watched as Nerina skipped around the kitchen, opening cabinets and turning on lights. When she accidentally turned on the garbage disposal, she screamed, covered her ears and dropped to the floor. Again laughing, Melia turned it off.

“Nerina,” she said, serious. “I need to know what is going on in the ocean.”

Nerina’s face fell. “Right. It’s…it’s bad, Melia.” She shook her head. “Everyone panicked. I heard what was happening and escaped. I needed to find you, to make sure it wasn’t true.”

“To make sure what wasn’t true?”

“That Vaianu made you his bride. I didn’t believe him. You would never agree to marry him.”

“He wants me to. I-I spoke with him yesterday.”

Nerina’s green eyes widened when she realized how close she came to him. “What did he say?”

“He told me about the arrangement.” Melia closed her eyes. “My father and Waisea made the arrangement shortly before my father died. I didn’t know about it until Vaianu told me.”

“Oh, Melia, I’m so sorry. What are you going to do?”

As Melia told Nerina the conclusion she had come to earlier, she saw the tiredness grow in the Oceanid’s eyes. She led the way to her room. Nerina sank down on the bed, stating it was the most comfortable one she’d been on. Melia bandaged the cut on Nerina’s arm, brushed out and towel-dried her hair, and then braided it into two thick braids. She pulled the sheet over Nerina and herself. Nerina’s eyes were already closed, leaving Melia to suspect she was already asleep. Wolfy, drawn to the girls’ supernatural aura, settled at the foot of the bed.

“Who’s the boy in the pictures?” Nerina whispered.

“Peter,” Melia whispered back.

“Do you love him?”

“Very much.”

Nerina took Melia’s hand. “Then we have to break this deal.”

“We do,” Melia agreed. She waited until Nerina was asleep to call Peter. She snuck into the bathroom and closed the door. Peter answered on the first ring, but all Melia could hear was music and loud voices. She hung up and texted Peter instead, saying, “Can’t come, another friend showed up. Don’t worry; she is an Oceanid. I love you.” She waited a minute for a response, and when none came, she climbed back into bed.

When Melia’s phone rang around two thirty in the morning, Nerina screamed and fell out of bed. Melia assured her it was ok and answered when she saw it was Peter.

“Lorem?” she answered in Mermish, having recently spoke it.

“Melia?” a voice that wasn’t Peter’s spoke through the phone.

“Yea?” she said, speaking in English again.

“Hey, it’s Connor. Can you, uh, come get Peter? He’s had way too much to drink and is kinda freaking out.”

“Is he ok?” she asked, sitting straight up.

“Yea, he’s fine. He won’t shut up about you. He’s not making sense. I think he needs you right now.”

“I’ll be right there. Tell him I’m coming.”

“Sure will. See ya.”

“Bye.” Melia hung up and looked at Nerina. “I have to go.” She swung her legs out of bed. “I’ll be back soon.”

“No! I don’t want to stay here, alone!” Nerina pleaded.

Though Melia had yet to know all the details, she knew Nerina had been through a lot to find her. And staying alone in a house that’s along the shore probably wasn’t the safest thing to do right now.

“Ok, but you have to put on clothes,” Melia told her.

Nerina’s face lit up. “Where are we going?”

“I have to get Peter. He’s at a party.”

Nerina excitedly gasped. “A party! I saw a human party once. I took two men back with me that night.” She smiled fondly at the memory.

Melia shook her head and suppressed a giggle. “You’re not taking anyone home with you tonight.”

Nerina looked slightly disappointed. “You’re right. We have important things to do.”

“We do. Follow me; I’ll get you a dress.”

Nerina insisted that both girls wear green dresses to match their eyes. She put on a pair of tall stilettos, saying she had seen human women wear them before. She took one step and fell. Both girls burst into laughter. She adorned herself with jewelry and instructed Melia to sit still while she braided a small section of her hair. Then she shook out her braids, her golden hair falling in waves down her back, and fashioned the same miniature French braid in her hair.

Melia grabbed the keys to her R8 without realizing that only two people could fit in it. She dropped her keys in her purse and hesitated, pressing her lips together. Leaving Nerina to drool over the cars (she had never touched one before), she ran back into the house to get the keys to the Range Rover. She buckled Nerina into the front seat, telling her to leave the seatbelt on even though it was constricting.

Nerina loved music. She bounced in her seat with excitement when Melia plugged in her IPod, cranking it to Like a Prayer.  Melia sang along. Somehow, despite everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, Melia smiled a genuine smile. There was something about Nerina that made her remember everything she loved about being who she really was. She just swam across two oceans to find an old friend. She had to be exhausted, but she was bright eyed and excited, dancing in the car to Madonna.

Nerina asked Melia to replay the song. Melia’s ability to imitate humans came from her Oceanid side, and by the third time Nerina heard the song, she knew all the lyrics (though she didn’t know what they meant).  The party was still going strong when the girls walked in. They received collective stares. Melia held tightly to Nerina’s hand, feeling particularly protective of her childhood friend.

“This is amazing!” Nerina said loudly over the music. “Can we stay a while?”

“Let me find Peter first,” Melia replied, not caring if anyone heard her speaking Mermish. Nerina squealed with excitement and ran her hands seductively over her hair, eyeing Brandon Hartman. Unable to resist her call, Brandon broke away from the little group he was standing with and strutted over to Melia and Nerina. He said something that was lost in the music. He waved, signaling them to follow. Melia obliged only because she hoped he would know where Peter was.

“Hey, Melia,” he slurred. “You look pretty.”

“Thanks,” Melia replied flatly, an accent apparent. “Have you seen Peter?”

“Yea.” He eyed Nerina up and down. She batted her eyelashes and smiled coyly. “Who is this?”

“Nerina. She’s my-my cousin.”

“Well, hello Nerina. I’m Brandon.”

“Lorem,” Nerina breathed.

Melia tugged her along. “She doesn’t speak English, sorry.”

“Oh,” Brandon chuckled. “That doesn’t matter. Do you want a drink?” he asked Nerina slowly, holding up his cup to show what he was talking about. Nerina nodded.

“Facere non trwydded tama aelwyd,” Melia instructed. Nerina agreed and trotted off with Brandon. Melia made her way through another crowd, looking for a familiar face. Connor’s cousin Jason waved hello. The girl his arm was around sized Melia up and down, glaring.

“Melia!” someone called. Melia whirled around to see Amanda. “Thank God. Peter is wigging out.”

“Where is he?”

“Upstairs. I’ll show you.”

“Thanks. What’s he doing?”

“Ranting about you and marriage and sea monsters. He says he didn’t smoke anything but he’s not making any sense.”

“Oh. Yes. None of that is real.”

Amanda looked at her sideways. “Well, of course not. But lemme tell you,” she tripped on the stairs, “that boy is crazy about you.”

Melia’s heart swelled. “Good.”

“Oh, you should know. Connor didn’t want to tell you because he thought you’d get mad at Pete, but he got in a fight.”

“Peter did?”

“Yea. I guess some guys from another school—you wouldn’t know them—were saying something about you. Not bad things, but something along the lines to what they wanted to do to you, which I guess is bad but not like bad in a trash talking way.”

“And?”

“Oh, Peter got mad and punched one of them.” She turned to face Melia. “Don’t worry, Pete’s fine. His knuckles are kinda bloody, though.”

“How do people from other schools know me?”

“Melia, you are Edward VanBurren’s daughter. Everyone knows you,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh.”

Amanda only shrugged and opened Connor’s bedroom door. Connor and Nate were trying to calm Peter down without success. He was yelling about wanting to finish the fight. Connor repeated again and again that the guys were already gone. Peter softened once he saw Melia. Nate moved out of the way and let Peter go to her. He picked her up, twirled her around and kissed her.

Melia held him tight. He wobbled a bit, his breath smelled of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot. “You have had too much,” she told him, when they broke apart.

“Are you ok?” he asked her.

“Fine. Tired, but fine. Come home with me?”

“Yes.” Peter took her hand and tripped over his own feet. Connor caught him, and Nate rolled his eyes.

“I am so glad you are here,” Nate told Melia. It was obvious he was drunk too. “You have no idea how annoying he’s been.” He put his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Go home, do your girl and get some rest.”

“You’re a pig, Nate,” Amanda said as she crossed her arms and leaned against the dresser.

“Sorry I called you so late,” Connor said as he helped Peter down the stairs. “I’d let him stay but Janet is here somewhere. I didn’t want Pete to get himself in any trouble.”

“It’s no problem.” Melia looked around for Nerina. Peter put his arm around Melia and nuzzled her neck. His lips on her skin felt good and Melia had to force herself not to enjoy it. She needed to get Peter in the car and find Nerina.

“Where’s your car?” Connor asked when they got outside.

“I took that one,” Melia said, pointing to the silver Range Rover.

“Really? When did you get that?”

“For my birthday.” It felt like a lie. Merrows didn’t keep track of dates or celebrate birthdays. Melia didn’t know when her real day of birth was. Since she knew she was born sometime in the fall and Halloween was her favorite human holiday, it was decided that October thirty-first would also be her ‘birthday’.

“That’s an awesome present.”

“Yea, I guess.” She fished the keys from her pocket. “It’s big. I don’t like driving it. But my dog doesn’t fit in my other car.” When Connor looked confused, Peter drunkenly explained Wolfy’s gargantuan size. Melia reached in Peter’s pocket to get his keys; Peter thought she was trying to get something else.

He pressed his mouth to hers; one hand went around her waist, drawing her in while the other felt her up. It felt so good. The desperation in Peter’s kiss. The way he pressed her body to his. As if he needed her. As if he couldn’t stand not having her for any longer. Her arms flew around him and she shut everything around her out.

That is until she heard Connor laugh and start to walk away. Regretfully, she pulled back. “Connor!” she shouted. He half turned, confused. She tossed him the keys. “Do you think you could bring Peter’s car to my house tomorrow? My cousin’s visiting and we have a lot planned.”

“Sure,” Connor eagerly agreed. “I’ve always wanted to go inside your house, you know. I’m jealous Peter gets to.”

Thinking it was the polite thing to do, Melia smiled sweetly. She would never understand why humans were fascinated with large, ostentatious houses. “Do you know how to get there?”

“Of course. See you tomorrow then.”

“Actually,” Melia started. Peter kissed her again. She allowed herself to enjoy it before pushing him away. “My cousin came with me. She’s inside.”

“Want me to find her and tell her you’re ready?”

“She doesn’t speak English.”

“Interesting. What does she look like?”

“Kinda like me but with lighter hair and skin.” She looked more like Lana in all actuality. Not all Oceanids look alike, but they all have the exact same startling green eyes. She could easily pass as a relative. “Her name is Nerina. She has on a green dress too.”

“Uh, I’ll do my best.”

Peter kissed her neck, his teeth nipping her skin. Melia shivered. She knew she had important topics to discuss. Her life hung precariously over the ocean and she needed to plan her next move carefully. But she didn’t have to do anything right now.

“Can you tell her something?” she asked, tilting her head away from Peter. Connor nodded. “Tell her ‘Melia est alo e puer.’ She’ll know what it means. I’ll come in and find her in, uh, a few minutes.” Melia gave her attention back to Peter.

“There are rooms upstairs,” Connor suggested. Peter waved him away, kissing Melia with more passion. He pushed the straps of her dress off her shoulders, kissing her bare skin. Melia dropped her purse on the ground. She unbuckled Peter’s belt and unzipped his pants. Peter picked her up and pressed her against the SUV. He bit her neck again and Melia wrapped her legs around him. He leaned hard against her, his need obvious.

Then his arms weakened. Melia’s skin painfully stuck to the Range Rover’s exterior as she slid down it. Peter let her go completely, turned, and threw up. Melia closed her eyes and covered her nose with her hand. Peter managed to get far enough away from her, but vomit splattered all over his feet. Melia wanted to walk away from the sight and the smell. She remembered how awful she felt when she got sick. Once Peter was done retching, she gently took his hand and led him to the dewy front yard.

He lay down in the grass. The dark sky was spinning, the ground seemed to roll like the ocean waves. He felt like crap. But Melia was here, next to him, and that’s all that mattered. She kissed his forehead and ran her fingers through his hair, even wiping the vomit from his face. He closed his eyes and reached for her, finding comfort in her touch.

“You’re right,” he mumbled. “I did drink too much.”

“It’s ok. I’ll take care of you,” Melia soothed. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She had never been around someone who had drunk so much they got sick, though she had heard about it and seen it in movies. Maybe she could call Jamie and ask if there are any remedies for this. Her purse was yards away by the car and it was late anyway. Instead, she continued running her fingers though Peter’s hair. “Want me to take you home now?”

“Not home.”

“My house.”

“Yea. Give me a minute,” Peter said, his words running together as he spoke. Several minutes later, he feebly got up and staggered into the front seat. Once Melia assured him that she would be right back, she went into the house to find Nerina.

She was easy to find- sitting on the couch with a boy on each side. Connor smiled at whatever Nerina was saying, acting like he understood her somehow. Brandon leaned close and offered to teach her simple English phrases. Able to sense Melia’s aura, Nerina looked up when she walked into the room. Nerina batted her eyelashes, kissed each boy on the lips and got up, striding over to Melia.

“Done already?” she asked Melia. “I’m either sorry or jealous.”

“Peter is sick. He drank too much,” Melia explained. “I don’t know what to do for that. I’ve never had a human get sick before.”

“He needs to eat and drink water,” Nerina told her. “A lot of the men I’ve been with have been drinking. I cannot tell you why that works, but it makes them better. And I don’t know what they eat.”

“Thanks,” Melia said, grateful for a way of making Peter better. She caught Connor and Brandon starring at her.

“You speak it too?” Connor asked. Melia nodded.

“That is hot,” Brandon said, mostly to himself. Melia subconsciously reached for the shell around her neck. Nerina wore one too, but hers was blue instead of pink.

“What are they saying?” Nerina whispered to Melia.

“They like us,” she whispered back, then realized she could be shouting in Mermish and no one would know what she was saying. “I’ll introduce you to more boys later, ok? I want to get Peter home.” Expecting her to protest, Melia was pleased when Nerina agreed. She took her hand again and began to weave her way through people.

Someone yanked Melia’s hair. She dropped Nerina’s hand and whirled around, heart racing.

“I should have known the slut was with you,” Janet sneered, her drink sloshing out of her cup. “The second I saw her stupid, little shell necklace.” She reached out, her fingers closing on Lana’s shell.

Melia punched her.

It happened so fast. The hair pulling, the insult. Melia tried to let go of the anger she felt for Janet when she dumped the rotten fish water on her. She didn’t like being an angry person. In the split second Janet’s fingers made contact with Lana’s shell, something snapped.

Melia remembered Janet making fun of Jamie. She had seen some of it first hand and had heard much more.

“That,” she said, stepping over Janet, who had crumpled to the ground, “is for Jamie. Don’t make me get even with everything you’ve done to me.”

She grabbed Nerina’s hand and marched out the door right as a cheer burst through the house. The pain in her hand wasn’t apparent until she gripped the steering wheel. Ignoring it, she started the SUV and drove home.

Peter showered and ate the turkey sandwich that was made for Nerina. He drank all three glasses of water Melia set out for him and instantly regretted it when he had to get out of bed to pee three times. He vaguely remembered Melia introducing Nerina and hearing Melia tell him that she hit Janet. He remembered kissing her again, then dragging her into the closet to take things further. Exhausted, he listened to Melia when she suggested they go to sleep. Nerina was in the west side of the bed, nearest the ocean. Peter climbed in next, with Melia on his left. He held her against him and fell asleep in just minutes.

Melia woke up to Wolfy barking at the doorbell. She began to get up when she remembered it was Sunday, meaning Charles and Rebecca, the housekeepers, were here. They could deal with whoever was at the door. She put her head back down on Peter’s bare chest. Both he and Nerina were still fast asleep. She was listening to Peter’s slow, human heartbeat when they came into her room.

“Holy shit!” one exclaimed. Melia shot up to see Connor and Nate staring wide eyed at them. Melia nudged Peter, but he only groaned and rolled over, nearly on top of Nerina. It woke her up, and she looked startled at the boys before remembering Connor from last night.

“Keys,” Connor said, holding up Peter’s keys to his Mustang.

Melia ran her hands through her hair. “Thanks.” She got out of bed, dressed only in a loose fitting, white tank top and purple underwear. Nerina, who wasn’t used to wearing clothes, had removed her dress and was completely naked. Nate’s jaw dropped. He looked at Melia, then at Nerina several times, then enviously at Peter. Melia didn’t understand their odd behavior.

“Lorem,” Nerina cooed, flashing a sexy smile. She barely covered herself up with the sheet.

“Oh,” Melia said out loud. Peter was in bed with two girls. It dawned on her what his friends were thinking. Not feeling like she needed to explain anything, she took the keys from Connor. “Thanks again. I don’t think he’s ready to get up yet.” She glanced at her clock; it was only eight thirty. “What are you two doing up so early?”

“I, uh, never went to sleep,” Nate told her, unable to keep his eyes from flitting from Melia to Nerina.

“I get up early when I drink,” Connor laughed. “It doesn’t make sense, I know.”

“Oh, well thanks again. Hopefully I can get him up and home before his parents look for him.” She looked back at Peter.

“I’m sure he’s gonna need his rest after…last night,” Nate said. Connor elbowed him in the ribs. “I heard you punched Janet. I’m sad I missed it.”

“She had it coming,” Melia shrugged and felt utterly human. She turned to Nerina, who was busy batting her eyelashes and seductively biting her lip. Connor and Nate were too distracting. She still needed to have a serious conversation with her Oceanid friend.

“We’ll, uh, let you get back to, uh, whatever you were doing.” Connor grabbed Nate’s arm.

Nate nodded. “Tell Pete I’m eternally jealous.”

Melia nodded, glad they were leaving. “See you tomorrow at school.”

“Yea, see ya.”

Once they were gone, Melia closed her door. She sank down on her bed. Peter’s skin was hot, so she pulled the comforter off him.

“They came for me, didn’t they?” Nerina joked.

“Oh, of course.” Melia smiled. She didn’t want to talk about Vaianu or the arrangement. She wanted to go back to sleep and wake up in a different world. Well, the same world, just one without adaros or unwelcome marriage arrangements. She lay down and wrapped her arms around Peter. “Nerina, what happened?”

“He’s drunk. He will be ok, I’ve seen lots of men drunk.”

“No,” she laughed. “I mean, in the ocean. You said you escaped.”

“Yes,” Nerina’s voice was sullen. “They attacked us.”

“Who?” Melia’s heart raced.

“There were so many of them. Adaros, selkies, kappas, bunyips…and merrows, Melia. A lot of merrows.”

“Rebels.”

“Rebels?”

“Merrows against humans, who favor the old ways.”

“Yes, they do. They told us that we had to listen to them. That we had to join them in their fight against humans. At first it made sense, the way they talked. They reminded us of how things used to be, the good things, like not having to hide and how we used to have more room to freely roam. They reminded us about oil spills, human war, pollution…things none of us can justify. But then, then that’s when they started sounding crazy. They said we needed to eliminate any human that comes into our territory.”

Nerina took a shaky breath. “Go on,” Melia urged.

“We told them no, of course we wouldn’t join them. That’s when the first Oceanid died. I didn’t know him, but I’ve seen him around. They said they would take us hostage if we wouldn’t agree. I hid. I feel like such a coward. Instead of fighting, I hid. But that’s how I overheard the adaros talking. They said that Vaianu had a secret weapon. I thought it was an object until I heard them say your name. That’s when I knew I had to come find you.”

“I don’t understand why I’m so important to him,” Melia said.

“H-he said with you by his side everyone will listen. The merrows of the Pacific. The Oceanids of the Atlantic. He thinks you will be able to persuade them to do anything.”

“But I can’t!” Melia stammered. “And I won’t. Doesn’t he realize I would never agree to this?”

“I’m sure, but with the arrangement he’s probably assuming you will have to go along, as his wife. And…” Nerina hesitated. “He said you will finish what your father started.”

Melia’s heart thundered. “What?”

Nerina nodded. “That’s what he said. I don’t know what he meant by that, though.”

“Nerina…” Melia began, at a loss for words. She felt like she was getting pulled down to a dark abyss where, no matter how hard she swam, there was no escape. “You know how my father died, right?” Nerina nodded. “What if that’s what he meant? Does he think I’m like him?”

“But you’re not, Melia. Not at all. And even if Vaianu thinks that, he’s wrong.”

“But if he didn’t think that, then why would he have gone after you? I feel like it’s all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault. But this is personal now. I want to help you stop it.”

“Of course, but what do we do?”

“Three others escaped with me. They went to find Actassi. We don’t think he knows what is going on.”

Melia nodded in agreement. “That could be why they started in the Atlantic. He-he doesn’t go there that often.” She felt guilty about that for some reason. “Did Vaianu get to the merrows?”

“No. Well, at least not when I left.” She closed her eyes. “I remember the raid like yesterday. But I must have been swimming for…I don’t know…weeks?”

Melia thought about how long it would take her to swim to the Atlantic. It would take a full Oceanid twice as long. She leaned across Peter and hugged Nerina. In an instant, everything changed. Vaianu’s reasons for wanting to marry Melia went from incredibly selfish to lethal. She dreaded having to tell Peter.

Her phone rang. Melia picked it up quickly, not wanting to wake Peter.

“So I guess you’re not coming to the animal shelter today with me,” Jamie spoke through the phone.

“Oh my goodness, Jamie! I’m so sorry!” Melia accidentally said in Mermish. “Sorry,” she repeated, in English this time. “I forgot.”

“It’s ok,” Jamie laughed. “I figured you had too much to drink again. I didn’t even expect you to answer. I was all prepared to leave you a voicemail.”

“Jamie,” Melia said, seriously. “When you’re done, can you come over? Something happened and we need to talk.”

“Something else? I can come over now.”

“No, it’s ok. Hurry?”

“I promise. Are you ok?”

“I guess. There’s more to the arrangement than we thought.” Melia closed her eyes. “I don’t know how I didn’t piece it together. I don’t know what to do, Jamie.”

“I’m coming over,” Jamie stated.

“Don’t change your plans for me.”

“You’re my best friend, Melia. This is big. I’ll be right there.”

“Really,” Melia insisted, though she would feel better with Jamie there. “Peter’s still asleep. It would be better to tell you both at the same time.”

“He doesn’t know?”

“No, he drank too much last night. I can’t wake him up,” she said, shaking Peter’s shoulder.

“Let him sleep it off,” Jamie suggested. “I’ll be over in a few hours, then.”

“Ok. Thanks Jamie.” She hung up, turned on the TV for Nerina, explained quickly how it worked and got in the shower. She couldn’t stop shivering. Melia now understood the reasoning behind Vaianu’s persistence. The deal went further than just uniting underwater races. Her father and Waisea no doubt came up with the plan. She upped the temperature of the water and sat down. She had to end it. Somehow, someway. She wasn’t going to let Vaianu kill anyone else, merrow, Oceanid, or human. She just needed a plan.

Peter was still fast asleep when Melia got out of the shower. Nerina had her face inches away from the TV, fascinated. Melia gave her another dress to put on and led her into the kitchen, where she introduced her to Charles. They ate their breakfast of fruit salad silently. Nerina still looked curiously about the kitchen, and Melia had a lot on her mind.

Lana’s death. Jamie’s visions. The gwyrrd. The kappas. Rèalta. Vaianu. The uprising. Where was Actassi? Why hadn’t he done anything to stop this? Melia was afraid to look at the ocean. Vaianu said he’d be back. Was he going to try to drag her into the water? She let Nerina braid her hair after they ate, then busied herself, showing her different electronic devices until Jamie came over.

At eleven, Peter finally woke up. His head hurt, he felt sick, and was incredibly thirsty. He was alone in Melia’s bed, dressed only in his boxers. He tried to recall last night’s events as he shakily walked to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. A pale purple bruise sat on his face. When did he get a black eye?

He had just taken off his boxers when the door slowly opened. Melia stepped inside, quickly closing it behind her.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Pretty crappy,” Peter responded.

Melia frowned and strode over. “That wasn’t there last night,” she said, gently touching the bruise. “It must have formed when you were sleeping.”

“Any idea how I got it?”

“Oh, yes. You got in a fight.”

“I did?” Peter closed his eyes. “I don’t remember anything from last night.”

“Nothing?” Melia asked, setting her hands on his firm chest. Peter shook his head. “Take a shower. Then, we need to talk,” she instructed.

“Did I do something to upset you last night?”

“No,” she said quickly. “Not at all. You don’t remember meeting Nerina, do you?”

“Nope.”

“Oh, she’s an Oceanid. Connor and Nate think you had a threesome with me and her last night, too, by the way.”

Peter blinked. “Why?”

“I asked Connor to bring your keys over. Nerina slept in bed with us last night. They saw us all together. They assumed.”

“Oh,” Peter laughed. “Who did I get in a fight with?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t there yet.” She kissed him. “But Amanda said you were defending me. So thanks, I think.”

“And you’re welcome, I think.” Peter grinned.

“Do you want me to bring you food?”

Peter wasn’t sure if his queasy stomach could handle anything, though he was hungry. “Anything greasy,” he decided.

“Ok. I’ll see what we have.” She left the bathroom and passed on Peter’s request to Charles.

Peter couldn’t find his clothes. Remembering what Melia said about the closet, he went and looked in there but came up empty handed. The wonderful smell of food distracted him, and, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, he followed the scent to a plate placed on the dresser. A full English breakfast had been served.

Suddenly famished, Peter took the food to the bed and started eating. He was halfway through his meal when the bedroom door opened. Melia, Jamie, and a girl he presumed to be Nerina came in. Melia didn’t think anything of Peter being barely covered in a towel. Nerina licked her lips and Jamie flushed.

“I can’t find my clothes,” he told Melia.

“I put them in the laundry room.” Melia sat next to him, stealing a piece of sausage off the plate and tossing it to Wolfy. “I don’t know if they’ve been washed yet.”

Peter shrugged. “It’s better than nothing.”

Melia wrinkled her nose. “No, I guess you don’t remember puking then, either. It’s all over your pants.”

“Oh,” Peter said and drank the rest of his milk. “Thanks.”

“Do you have clothes in your car?”

“Yea.”

“I’ll get them.” Melia stood. “You should start keeping stuff here. You end up needing clothes a lot,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll be right back.”

Nerina took Melia’s spot next to Peter. She leaned close to him, looking into his eyes.

“Ego olla koskaan llygad tama koule anvan,” she said.

Peter looked at Jamie for a translation.

“She doesn’t speak a word of English,” Jamie explained, not looking at Peter.  She was relieved when Melia came back only a few minutes later. Peter set the plate aside and stood, careful to hold the towel in place. When he emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed, Melia ushered him to the bed, telling him to sit next to Jamie. Nerina, who wouldn’t be able to understand her speaking English, played with Melia’s iPad, enthralled in the bright colors.

“Ok,” Melia began nervously. “There are things about the ocean that I purposely didn’t tell you.”

“Like what?” Jamie asked.

“Darklings.”

“You mentioned them before.” Jamie tilted her head. “What exactly are darklings?”

“Darklings,” Melia explained, looking behind her at the open window, feeling more and more paranoid. “Are bad. They would be the ‘sea monsters’ in your fairytales.”

“Myths,” Jamie automatically corrected. “Sorry, go on.”

“Darklings do not like humans. They don’t really like merrows much for that matter. But we are smarter and stronger, and darklings draw attention. So we keep them in line, hidden, off the radar so to speak. But there’s a fine line between merrow and darkling. There are things…in between.”

“What does that mean?” Jamie inquired.

“I think,” Peter answered. “She means that there are bad things that are smart enough to come up with some sort of evil plan.”

“Yes. That is exactly what I mean.” Melia paced in front of the bed, tugging at her hair. “So you both know about the arrangement. Well, I found out something else. Something that makes it…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “It goes from bad to worse, as you humans say.”

“What happened?” Peter asked, feeling nauseous all over again.

“I need to explain some things first. You know that Vaianu isn’t a merrow, right? He’s an adaro.”

“Adaro” Jamie repeated, the word foreign.

“Yes. They live in more tropical waters, in between the Solomon Islands and Hawaii.” Melia ran a hand through her damp hair. “More importantly, you need to know that they absolutely hate humans.” She paused, taking a breath to steady herself.

“Why?” Peter asked.

Melia stood and walked to the window. Maybe she should invest in some curtains? She had never wanted to block the view of the ocean from her window. Now she wanted to block the view of her window from the ocean. “Some things…” she hesitated. “Some things that live in the ocean don’t like humans coming into their territory. They think of it as humans have land and they have the water. For the last three hundred years, merrows have had sole control over the ocean. Before that…the-the in between things I told you about. They would kill humans freely.”

“And those adaro guys are ‘in between things’,” Peter suggested.

“Yes.”

“What did they do?” he asked, his voice a harsh whisper.

“Sink boats, mainly. Lure humans into the water to drown them. Steal. Ruin fishing nets and gear. They feel that fish belong to them and they’re not gonna share.”

Peter felt a little dizzy. “And when the merrows came into rule?”

“They put an end to it. Merrows aren’t, uh, humans’ number one fans either. But killing humans attracted attention so they put a stop to it.” She sat down again, quickly adding, “And it’s wrong, of course.”

“So why would you be friends with someone like that?”

“Under Actassi’s rule, harming a human resulted in death. Adaros weren’t a threat anymore.”

“And anything that’s not a merrow probably doesn’t like that rule, right?”

“Right. But, like I said before, merrows are smarter and stronger. No one would challenge us. Plus, we outnumbered anyone else.”

“What do you mean ‘would’”? Peter asked apprehensively.

Melia bit her lip and shook her head. “Ok, I need to confess something.” She frowned. “You know my father is dead. Well, I need to tell you how he died.” She turned away from her friends, scared they would hate her after learning the truth. “My father hated humans. I remember him talking about it when I was little. But, of course, I never thought much of it. Anyway, my father died in an explosion. He blew up a fishing boat, killing a lot of humans.” Melia closed her eyes, remembering that day. “I don’t know how I could have been so stupid. I don’t know why I didn’t see the connection before. If Nerina hadn’t escaped, I…I don’t know.” She turned back to her friends.

“Melia,” Peter spoke softly. “What are you getting at?”

“Vaianu wants to fulfill the arrangement so he can finish what my father started. Our fathers started, really. He wants me by his side because he thinks I will be able to get merrows and Oceanids to join his cause. That’s why my father made the deal. He was a murderer and he wanted me to carry out his vendetta.”

A heavy silence hung in the air. Finally, Jamie spoke.

“I think you’d make a horrible serial killer.”

Melia laughed softly, “Thanks.”

Jamie smiled in return. “So does that change anything? I thought we decided to wait it out, since Vaianu won’t wait for you forever.”

“I can’t just do nothing.”

Peter jumped up. “Melia,” he started.

She held up her hand. “Peter, Nerina barely made it. She said that Vaianu took the Oceanids hostage. They killed someone. And Vaianu’s not going to stop at that.”

Peter put his fingers through hers. “It’s dangerous, Melia. You said it yourself: Vaianu wants you. He will do anything to take you. You’re not going into the water.”

“Peter,” she cried, standing. She tightened her grip on his hand. “What choice do I have? I need to talk to him. I need to at least try.”

“I agree with Peter,” Jamie chimed in. “It’s like walking into a trap.”

Melia motioned to Nerina. “I can’t sit here and let people I know get killed. Could you?”

Jamie and Peter fell silent. Nerina put the iPad down and edged over. “What have you decided?” she asked Melia in Mermish.

Melia sighed. “Nothing yet,” she replied, speaking the same language. “They don’t want me going after Vaianu.”

“Neither do I.” Nerina pressed her lips together. “It’s risky, but we have to, don’t we?”

“Yes,” Melia said passionately. She knew Peter and Jamie were wondering what she was saying by the looks they gave her. She turned to them. “Nerina doesn’t want me to go after Vaianu either, but she agrees that it’s the only choice I have.”

Nerina stood. “What about Actassi? I’m sure you could find him faster than the others can,” she suggested.

“What did she say?” Peter asked.

Melia translated, “She said I could find Actassi. I could track him faster than the Oceanids can.”

“If others are looking for him, then maybe you should wait,” Peter insisted.

Melia shook her head. “Oceanids aren’t strong swimmers. And they can’t sense auras like I can.”

“Auras?” Peter raised an eyebrow.

“Energy fields,” Jamie explained. “Every living thing has one.” She turned to Melia. “Why can you sense them?” Irrelevant question, and she regretted asking it once the words slipped past her lips.

“It’s a merrow thing,” Melia told her. She gasped, suddenly remembering something Vaianu said. Everyone startled, waiting for her to expatiate. “I am so stupid! It’s something Vaianu said, about me being half merrow and half Oceanid. He said that I have all the qualities of both worlds and that I’d make a great ruler. How did I not see it?” She put her head in her hands and recapped what she had just said to Nerina in Mermish.

Peter put his arms around her, not caring that they weren’t alone. “It’ll be ok. I don’t know how, but it will. We will figure this out together.”

Melia leaned into his embrace. “Thanks, Peter. Ego elya sinua.”

“What does that mean?”

“I love you.”

“Oh. Ego elya sinua, too.”

-Chapter 15-

“Promise me,” Nyneve pressed. “Promise me you won’t go into the water.”

“I won’t, Mom,” Melia lied. She stared intently at the floor. “I’m not marrying him. I don’t want to. And the only way to avoid it is to stay on land.” She met her mother’s eyes. “You were right. I need to just stay away.”

Nyneve hugged her daughter. “I am so, so sorry.”

“It’s ok, Mom. I forgive you.”

Nyneve choked back a sob and released Melia. She apologized some more, rambled about how it really was all for the best and excused herself to shower and rest after the long plane ride. Edward put an arm around Melia’s shoulders.

“That was very big of you,” he told her.

Melia nodded, returning the half-hug. “She didn’t mean to hurt me. You know how she is. Things that make sense to her don’t to us.”

Edward agreed. “We both love you very much, Melia. I don’t want to see you hurt, either.”

“Did you know?”

“No.” Edward sighed. “I had no idea.”

“Are you mad?” Melia faced him. “Mad that she lied to you? To us?”

“I don’t know,” Edward admitted. “I don’t really think of it as a lie. I don’t tell her when the stocks are down or when a business deal doesn’t go my way. And I don’t consider that lying. It’s more like I don’t share it with her because she doesn’t need to know. I don’t want her to have to shoulder the burden of it. I think she thought she was doing the same.”

“Maybe.” Melia wrapped her arms around herself. Her mother and Edward had flown home as soon as they could.

“All you have to do is stay out of the water for a while,” Edward told her as if it was as easy as avoiding carbs for a month. “It won’t be fun, but you can make it. It will be worth it in the end, won’t it?”

“I suppose,” Melia said. Not being able to go in the ocean was horrifying. The ocean to a merrow was essential. Physically, Melia didn’t need it to survive. Mentally…she couldn’t think about it. After a while the call would get so strong she would feel like she was under the spell again.

“And you have Peter. You seem to have grown very close to him.”

“Yes.” Melia was unable to keep the happiness out of her voice. “Thanks for coming, you guys didn’t have to.”

“Melia, we might not be related, but you are my daughter. I was just as worried as your mother.”

Melia forced a smile and hugged Edward goodnight, stating she was exhausted. She went back to her room where Peter and Jamie were hiding Nerina.

“How did it go?” Jamie asked.

“I feel so bad for lying,” Melia sighed, sinking onto her bed. Gwen jumped into her lap, instantly purring when Melia stroked her fur. “But they can’t know. My mom will not go with it. And the guilt will drive her crazy.”

“Maybe you should tell her,” Peter urged. He didn’t want Melia to follow through with the plan. It terrified him to think of her going into the dark water.

“Peter,” Melia whispered. “I have to do this.”

“Can’t you wait until morning?”

“No. Vaianu said he’d be back today. The sun is almost set. I’m sure he’ll be here once it gets dark.”

“That’s what I’m worried about. The dark. It’s hard to see. He could sneak up on you…” he couldn’t finish his sentence.

“I can see in the dark just as well as in the light,” Melia informed him.

“You can?”

She nodded. “I guess I didn’t tell you.”

“You have night vision?”

“Yes. Nerina too. Anything that lives in the ocean does.”

“That is pretty freaking cool, Melia.” Peter grinned, then shook his head. “Still. I don’t want you alone.”

“I’ll come back. I promise.”

Nerina asked, “How is your mom? I wish I could see her.”

“You can when it’s over,” Melia promised. “But she can’t know the truth. She can’t handle it.”

“When it’s over,” Nerina repeated. “I can’t wait.”

“Me neither,” Melia agreed.

Peter turned to Jamie and whispered, “What do you think they’re saying?”

“I have no idea,” she whispered back. “I hope they’re not talking about us, though,” she tried to joke.

“Peter,” Melia began. “You should go before your parents—” she cut off, jumped up and went to the window. Her stomach churned nervously as she peered over the dark water.

“What is it?” Nerina asked, her hands trembling.

“He’s here,” Melia spoke in Mermish. The petrified look she gave let Peter and Jamie know what she said. Nerina wrapped her arms around Melia.

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

Melia returned the hug. “Nerina, it’ll be ok.”

“Promise?”

“No.”

Nerina shook her head. “Yes. You’re supposed to say yes.”

“I don’t want to lie.”

“Ok,” Peter cleared his throat. “English, please.”

Melia backed out of the hug, flying instead into Peter’s arms. She kissed him. “I love you. No matter, what, ok?” Before he could object, she moved on to Jamie. “You are the best friend anyone could have. I love you, Jamie. Thank you for everything.”

“Stop it, Melia,” Jamie said angrily. “Stop acting like this is goodbye.”

“What if it is?”

Jamie grabbed Melia’s wrist. “Then I’m not letting you go.”

“Me neither,” Peter said, taking Melia’s other hand. “I can’t lose you.”

“Guys,” Melia said softly. “You can’t keep me safe forever.”

“Yes I can,” Peter insisted. “I’ll lock you in my closet and feed you at least once a day.” He smiled weakly. He pulled Melia close, not intending on letting her go.

“Peter, please.” Melia looked into his beautiful blue eyes. Peter’s heart raced. His forehead was wrinkled with worry and he looked as close to tears as Melia had ever seen him. Jamie and Nerina were already crying. “I won’t go in the water,” she compromised. “Ok? I’ll make him come onto land.”

“Promise?” Jamie asked.

“Yes,” Melia said and meant it. “But I have to go now. He’s waiting.”

Nerina’s face hardened. “I’m coming with.”

“Me too,” Jamie agreed, and then gasped in shock. She looked at Nerina. “I-I don’t know what you said, but I felt it.”

“Felt what?” Peter asked, feeling left out.

“We’re going with,” Jamie flatly said, still shaken by mentally hearing Nerina.

“Fine,” Melia agreed, knowing there was no point in arguing. “But you’re staying behind the fence.”

“Good enough,” Peter remarked. Melia went downstairs first. Her parents were in their room. Melia could hear the TV. She dashed down the stairs, signaling her friends to follow. Peter, Jamie and Nerina crouched down behind a fern. They weren’t completely concealed, but it kept them from obvious sight. Melia slowly walked down the hill to the shore.

“Vaianu!” she called. “Come here if you want to talk to me. Come here!” she shouted.

“I wish I knew what she was saying,” Peter whispered to Jamie.

“Me too.” She knelt down, out of sight. Peter followed suit. They waited until a shadow emerged from the water. It definitely wasn’t a merrow. She blinked, thinking her eyes were playing a trick on her. Perplexed, she turned to Peter to make sure he was seeing the same thing.

Looking like a science project gone wrong, the thing walked like a man. Something protruded from his head, arms and legs. It took a minute for Jamie to figure out they were fins. It jogged—unsteadily—to Melia and embraced her. Peter stiffened. Vaianu disgusted him. His head was shaped more like a shark. He had gills along his neck. His eyes were beady, dark and evil. Peter flicked his eyes to Nerina, trying to read her stoic expression.

“Melia,” Vaianu boomed. “I trust you know about the arrangement.”

“Yes,” Melia told him, taking a step back. “I do.”

“Then you know you are mine.”

“I do not belong to you,” she said strongly.

“Melia, of course not,” Vaianu spoke softly.

“Drop the pretense,” Melia spat.

“What?”

“Drop it, Vaianu. Your tricks aren’t going to work on me. I know everything.”

Vaianu stiffened. “H-how?”

“That doesn’t matter. You’re not going to get away with this. I’m going to get Actassi. Your plan will never work.”

Vaianu laughed. “Actassi. He’s dead.”

Melia’s heart fell. “What?”

“He’s been dead, pearl. It’s been overdue. Killing him was too easy. He’d grown soft in his old age. Too trusting. It almost wasn’t fun, it was so easy. My plan that you say will never work, it’s already in motion.”

“No! You’re lying!”

“Oh, how I wish I was. The tide’s changed quite a bit since you’ve been out of the ocean.” He laughed at his pun. “But that’s what happens in war. Merrows die.”

“War?” Melia’s heart hammered in her ears. Her hands shook. Physical feelings seemed to melt away. She couldn’t feel the sand under her feet or the cool, salty breeze on her skin.

“Yes, war. It was your father’s idea.”

Melia took another step back. “That doesn’t make it mine,” she said, her voice shaky. Things were worse than she could have imagined. Vaianu’s dark eyes danced in the fading light.

“Maybe not,” Vaianu agreed, moving closer to Melia. “But you’re in this whether you like it or not.”

“No! I refuse to be with you, ever!”

“I figured you say that. How many more do you want me to kill?”

“What? Why are you asking me?”

“It’s a simple question. How many more Oceanids and merrows do I have to kill until I gain control? None, if you come with me.”

Melia took a ragged breath and inched away. This wasn’t happening, this wasn’t real. Vaianu’s words held no truth. “No,” she repeated. “I’m not. I’m not going with you.”

He shrugged. “Fine. Their blood is on your hands then.”

“Even if I did marry you, they wouldn’t follow you.”

“Oh, little pearl, you are wrong.” He leaned forward. “Merrows need a leader. You would be perfect. They would object at first, yes, I’ve planned for that. We’ve planned for that, I should say, for many years. Your father, my father, all the others…for centuries the ocean worked this way. It will again.”

“No!” Melia shouted. Horror flooded her veins. She wanted to get away. The male violence in Vaianu’s eyes terrified her. She turned to run. Vaianu grabbed her shoulder, knocking her down. Melia screamed, frantically fighting him off. He smacked her hard across the face, grabbed her ankles and dragged her towards the water.

He only made it a few feet when Peter knocked him down. “Run!” he shouted to Melia, his fist making contact with Vaianu’s face. Melia, who knew that adaros’ strength was greater than humans’, struggled up to help Peter.

Vaianu rammed his head into Peter’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. He shoved Melia back into the sand and hoisted Peter up, prepared to drown him. Melia was back on her feet in seconds. She filled her hands with sand, jumped on Vaianu’s back and pressed the sand into his gills.

Sputtering, Vaianu lost his grip on Peter. As soon as he was able, Peter punched Vaianu again, grabbed Melia’s hand and pulled her to safety. Nerina and Jamie were waiting by the gate. Jamie slammed it shut once Peter and Melia made it through, fear racing through her body. The four of them ran inside, Melia leading the way into the basement.

She collapsed into Peter’s arms as soon as they were safely tucked away inside the theater room. He held her tight, still breathing heavily from the fight.

“Are you hurt?” he asked her.

“No.” Her hands shook. She didn’t let go of Peter.

“Is it true?” Nerina asked.

“Yes,” Melia answered in English, nodding so Nerina would understand. “Actassi is dead.”

Melia, Peter, Nerina, and Jamie sat, speechless. Jamie felt disconnected from her body. Nerina started to weep. Peter clung onto Melia, terror causing him to take quick, shallow breaths. Tears stung Melia’s eyes, but now wasn’t the time to cry.

“Ok,” she said, taking a deep breath. She felt like she was going to throw up. The room spun. “Ok,” she repeated. Her voice echoed in her ears and her vision went fuzzy. Her knees weakened and she slumped against Peter. He caught her with ease, scooping her up and carrying her to a large armchair.

“Melia,” he uttered, concern heavy in his voice.

“I’m ok,” she told him. “I’m just…just…I don’t know what to do.”

“We’ll figure it out,” he soothed. “I won’t let him hurt you.” Peter clutched her, feeling like he was lying. He had no idea what was going on, let alone what to do. “Can you tell us what happened?”

“Vaianu said he started a war. He killed Actassi. He said that he will keep killing merrows and Oceanids, and I’m sure others, until he can coerce them into being under his rule.” She closed her eyes. “And he said that if I agree, I can stop the deaths.”

“How?” Jamie asked, feeling that it didn’t make sense.

“He said that the Oceanids and merrows would listen to me because they like having a leader. And it’s true.” She opened her eyes to look at Jamie. “Merrows need someone to follow.”

“That can’t be true, Melia,” Jamie insisted. “Don’t believe his lies. He would say anything to get you to be his.”

Something scratched at the door; everyone jumped and Nerina screamed. Wolfy yipped and Peter nervously laughed. Jamie let him in, feeling a bit safer with the big dog with them.

“Can they get inside?” she asked.

“Yes, I guess so,” Melia answered. “But they can’t stay out of the water for long. Being on land is like when you hold your breath underwater. Well, sort of.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” Jamie said, meaning her house. “It’s too close to the water.”

“I can’t leave my mom and Edward.”

“Then I’ll stay,” Peter told them.

“Your parents, Peter,” Melia reminded him. “I bet they are already mad you’re not home.”

“Screw them! This is more important.”

Melia nodded. She closed her eyes, thinking. “Jamie,” she said suddenly. “You should do the spell again.”

“No. It would drive you insane again.”

“Spell?” Peter asked.

“I’ll explain later,” Melia told him. She looked at Jamie. “You can’t do it here, not with my mom and Nerina. But at home. It will keep you safe.”

“Melia, no. How will that help you?”

“It will keep me from worrying about you.”

Nerina wiped her eyes. “What are we going to do, Melia?” she asked. “Actassi was our only hope.”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

They all fell silent. Finally, Peter stood.

“We can’t mope around like this,” he said.

Jamie agreed. “He’s right. We have to do something.”

“What?” Melia asked, her voice so soft it was barely audible.

“I don’t know,” Jamie answered. “But not this.”

Melia nodded and stood. She told Nerina what they decided. She agreed and followed Melia upstairs. Melia spoke with her parents while her friends waited upstairs. She needed to convince them she was ok and that they could return to New York.

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Melia told her friends. “They will fly back. Lucky prom is this weekend or I don’t think Edward would have agreed.”

“What does prom have to do with it?” Peter asked.

“If we’re still alive to go,” Melia explained, “they want to see us. So they’re coming back Friday morning.”

“Right. If we’re still alive.”

“You two go to school tomorrow, it’s the safest place I can think of. I’ll stay with Nerina and watch out for Vaianu.”

“Melia,” Peter protested. “That’s probably not the best idea.”

“I won’t go out back. And as soon as my parents leave I’ll go somewhere, away from the water, ok?”

Jamie’s phone vibrated from inside her purse that lay haphazardly on the bedroom floor. She dug around for it, pulled it out and answered.

“Hey, Jeff. Oh, nothing much. I’m just at Melia’s. Um, I can’t right now. I’m sorry. Raincheck? Yea, sounds great. See you at school tomorrow.”

“What did he want?” Melia asked when Jamie hung up.

“To go out for coffee.”

“You should go.”

“Yea, after everything that happened.”

“I think he’s going to ask you to prom.”

“Melia, that’s not important anymore.”

“I still want to go,” Melia admitted. “If I can, that is.”

“Exactly.” Jamie pressed her lips together.

“I need to talk to Nerina anyway. We will stay in the house,” she looked over her shoulder, “and not even in my room, ok? Go out with Jeff. Peter, go home for dinner. Try to smooth things over with your parents.”

“No!” Peter and Jamie shouted in unison.

“Yes!” Melia insisted. “I’ll lock the door and turn the alarm on. We will stay away from windows. If Vaianu is stupid enough to try to come in, he can get shot by the police when I tell them someone is breaking into our house. Besides, he really can’t stay out of the water long enough to hurt me on land.”

Neither Peter nor Jamie looked convinced. Eventually, Peter agreed.

“I should go home. I have to deal with my parents’ wrath one way or another.” He kissed Melia. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t,” she promised. She watched them run to their cars, making sure her friends weren’t ambushed on the way. Though she missed them instantly, a sense of relief washed over her when she realized they were out of harm’s way. The further from the ocean, the better.

*

The mundane surrounding felt surreal as Jamie stepped from her car. Meeting for coffee seemed silly when she had just learned that a war was raging under the sea. Her best friend’s life was in danger and she was going on a date. Well, kind of. Jeff eagerly waved to her as she opened the door to the little café.

She internally grumbled at his choice of coffeehouses. He said it was his new favorite place to hang out and relax. There would definitely be no relaxing for Jamie as she tried to ignore the ghost that roamed the place.

“Hey Jamie!”

“Hi, Jeff.” She sat next to him.

“Do you want anything?”

“Um, I’m ok.” Jamie hadn’t eaten in a while, and she was indeed hungry, but her stomach gurgled from nerves.

“You sure? I’m hungry. We could spilt something at least?”

“I am sorta hungry,” she admitted, and after some more coaxing, she let Jeff buy her dinner. She nibbled at the vegetable pot pie.

“Are you ok?” Jeff asked.

“Yea, I’m fine,” she lied.

“Ok, if you insist.” Jeff smiled, his eyes settling level with hers. As they chatted about typical things, Jamie had to work hard to keep up with the conversation. Jeff was in a good mood, making Jamie feel bad about her less than chipper attitude.

“Jamie,” Jeff said, suddenly shy. “I know it’s really late to be asking, but I chickened out before.” He picked at the label on his soda bottle. “You don’t have a date to prom, do you?”

“No,” Jamie said, feeling devoid of emotion.

“Neither do I. And, I was thinking, we could go together, if you wanted to.”

She forced a smile. She did want to go with Jeff. She had hoped he would ask and had been waiting for weeks. But it seemed so utterly pointless now. “I’d love to.”

“Great! I hope it’s not too late for you to get a dress,” he said apologetically.

“Melia made me get one back when she got hers,” Jamie told him.

“Oh, good! Where do you want to go for dinner? My friends are going to that Chinese place in town. They can easily add two to the reservations.”

“Ok,” Jamie agreed.

“Unless you want to go with Melia.”

Jamie laughed. “With Melia, yes. But with all of Peter’s friends, no.”

“Good,” Jeff chuckled. “It’ll be a fun night.”

“It will,” Jamie agreed. And it would be, that is, if she made it to Friday night.

*

Peter made it home just in time to join his family for church. He was hung over, sore, anxious, worried, and nervous. He wanted nothing more than to take Melia inland, find a nice hotel and sleep, with her safely nestled in his arms. The fear of something horrible happening to Melia was the only thing that kept him awake during the rambling sermon. He stuck around long enough for his mother to brag about him getting into Berkeley and casually throw the VanBurren name around to her church friends. Peter declined going out for dinner with his family. Since he came to church with no fuss, his parents didn’t object when he told them he wanted to eat with Melia’s family.

All he had to do before he could see Melia again was dash inside and get clothes. Remembering her words, Peter intended on shoving a bag full of stuff to keep at her house. He left his keys in the car, only meaning to be inside for a minute. Peter ran upstairs with his shoes on. He kicked off his sandals and uncomfortable church clothes, exchanging them for athletic pants and sneakers.

A bang came from the kitchen. “Hello?” he called, expecting his mother to answer. No one did. Dismissing the noise, he took off his shirt and put on a Chargers tee with the sleeves cut off. Something large clattered to the floor. “Mocha?”

Wait, the little dog hadn’t barked when he opened the door. He always barked. Retrieving a baseball bat from his closet, Peter slowly descended the stairs. He found Mocha hiding under the coffee table in the living room, shaking in fear. Silently, Peter stepped into the kitchen. Something thrashed amongst dirty dishes in the sink. A wine glass fell, colliding with a plate and shattering. Cautiously, Peter moved closer.

“What the…?” he said aloud when he saw a large fish flopping around. He reached out to turn the water on when something grabbed him.

-Chapter 16-

Melia’s nerves doubled when Peter’s phone went to voicemail. He had texted her when he got out of church, saying he was going to stop at home and then come over. That was an hour ago.

“What if they got him?” she whimpered, pressing redial.

“They couldn’t have,” Nerina insisted. “Vaianu can’t be out of water long enough to make it to Peter’s. You know that.”

“Then why isn’t he answering?”

“Maybe he got distracted.”

“No, he would have called me.” She frantically called him again. “Something happened, Nerina. Something bad.” The phone slipped from her fingers and she pulled at her hair. “I have to find—” she stopped speaking when she got a text message. “It’s from Peter!” she cried and read aloud. “Hey, baby. Can’t make it tonight.”

“See!” Nerina said. “He’s fine.”

“Peter didn’t write this,” Melia told her.

“You said it’s from him.”

“No. Peter knows not to call me ‘baby’.” Melia’s hands shook. “Someone has his phone.” Melia started to hyperventilate.

Nerina grabbed her shoulders. “Melia! We will find him!”

“How?!” The world was closing in around Melia. Peter was missing. Someone was impersonating him. “Vaianu. If he did this, I’ll kill him.”

“I don’t think it was him,” Nerina rationalized. “I don’t know how to use a phone. I don’t think he does either.”

It brought little comfort to Melia’s heart. “Maybe.” She nodded. “Let’s go. I can’t waste time.” Melia ransacked her closet to find a large purse. She retrieved the dagger she had used to kill the gwyrrd and stuck it inside. Then she texted her mom to say she was going to Peter’s, knowing there was no way she could pull off a calm demeanor while speaking at the moment.

She revved the engine of the R8, pressing the pedal down too fast, making the tires squeal as she tore out of the driveway. She sped to Peter’s. Fear gripped her heart when she saw his car parked in the driveway. Nerina raced after her inside the Anderson house.

“No!” she cried. “Nerina, do you feel it?”

“No,” Nerina said, shaking her head. “What is it?”

“Something was here. It feels like a merrow, but that-that can’t be.” Melia closed her eyes. A strange scent drove her to the kitchen. A dead fish lay in the sink. She picked it up, horrified, and looked at Nerina.

“Ceasg,” they said in unison, both voices full of fear.

Melia dropped the salmon. “What would a ceasg be doing here, and what would they want with Peter?” Her body felt numb. Her limbs threatened to stop working. She hadn’t realized she had fallen until Nerina urged her up.

“Melia, get it together! We will save him. But not if you’re panicking like this.”

Melia nodded, tears streaming down her face. “You’re right.”

“You really love him, don’t you?” Nerina asked as she helped Melia stand.

“More than anything.”

“Then let’s go. Think: where would a ceasg reside?”

“I don’t know. Scotland!” Melia was nearly hysterical. “Not here, not here.”

Nerina pulled Melia out the door. “Ceasgs aren’t malicious by nature. Peter could be ok.”

“Ok, he could be ok. Right.” She sat in the car, her hands numbly gripping the steering wheel. “Peter,” she said, looking up at the stars. “Where are you?”

Then it suddenly came to her. “I know a place. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try.” It was past the cavernous rocks where the kappa attacked. Melia avoided it due to the large Dungeness crab population; Melia distasted crabs the same way many humans distasted spiders. Steep, sharp rocks jutted out into the ocean. It was ominous, even in the daylight. It was a place humans avoided, a place perfect for hiding.

Melia narrowly avoided rear ending a pickup truck in her hurry. She parked along the side of the road, getting out before turning the car off. Hastily, she got back in and killed the ignition. She dropped the keys into her bag. Taking Nerina’s hand, she picked her way through jumbled brush and overgrown weeds. Melia stepped into a spider web. Spazzing slightly, she tore the sticky fibers from her face but continued on, praying she was heading in the right direction. The girls had about half a mile to trek before the landscape gave way to the rocky cliffs that hung over the ocean.

Melia’s hands began to sweat with anticipation. Her heart beat so fast she thought it might explode, and though it was far from a cold night, Melia’s body shivered. Silently, she took the dagger out and set her purse on the ground. Melia could sense an aura. It felt so familiar, but she knew it wasn’t possible. Not on land.

Careful to be quiet, the girls picked their way down the hill. Firelight flickered off the walls of a narrow cavern a good twenty feet below. Knowing Peter’s life hung precariously, Melia scrupulously climbed down the cliff. Nerina intently watched Melia’s every move, imitating her perfectly as she made it down the rocky edge. They paused outside the cavern, listening to the voices echo.

“He still has one wish left,” a gruff female voice jeered.

“I told you, I can’t do that!” another pleaded. “I promise. I can’t! Let me go!”

“Hah! You really think we’d let you go? After all that you know? Even after you grant the final wish, you’re nothing but bait.”

“If I’m going to die in the end, what’s the point? Kill me now.”

Metal scraped against rock. “Why would I kill you and end the pain?”

Melia nervously edged closer. Firelight danced from the cave opening. A shadowy figure thrust a blade into the flames. After a few seconds passed, someone screamed.

“Then I will find a way to end it myself,” the second voice cried. Melia placed the accent: it was the ceasg.

“Tsk tsk. And tell me, Mordag, how you will do that? The last time I checked, your hands were tied behind your back.”

“I can’t do it!” Mordag screamed. “I’ll give it back! It’ll be the first broken contract in the history of ceasgs.”

The gruff female let out a husky laugh. “Vaianu doesn’t want it back. And do you think he’s that dumb? Maybe he can’t use magic to make Melia love him, but he can make himself something Melia loves. We’re not done with you yet.”

Melia heard the scuffling and the distinct sound of someone getting slapped.

“Stay here,” Melia whispered to Nerina, placing the dagger in her hand. Without thinking twice, Melia burst into the cave. Like Oceanids, ceasgs were beautiful. Mordag was anything but. She was frail; her bones popped out over paper thin skin. Her white dress was stained with dirt and blood, and she was covered with scratches and bruises.

A large female adaro stood in front of her. Opposite them, bound and gagged, was Peter. His eyes bulged when he saw Melia. He shook his head, trying to tell her ‘no, don’t come in here’. Melia nodded and slowly took a step closer. Her eyes were fixed on Peter. She didn’t look where she was stepping. Leaves crunched under her feet.

“Celosa,” Melia hissed, recognizing the adaro. Celosa spun around, her terror turning into delight. “Well, looky here. Melia, my darling. I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“Celosa,” Melia said in a level tone. “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for him,” the adaro said as if it was obvious. Melia sensed a disturbance in her aura. Other than the obvious, something wasn’t right. “It’s not true is it?” Celosa asked.

“Is what true?”

“That you love him?” she spat, disgusted, reeling away from Peter. “I didn’t believe him. Not you. Not Melia,” she said quickly, rocking back and forth. “You are too perfect to love a human.”

“Of course I don’t love him,” Melia tried to say with indifference. Melia could sense that Celosa was already coming unhinged. “Me, love a human? He’s close-minded, boring, selfish and-and…terrestrial.”

“Oh, good!” Celosa began rocking back and forth even faster. “I knew it wasn’t true. Not you, not my Melia. You are too perfect. I always liked you, you know. Always looked up to you. So pretty, so perfect. I wanted to be you. And now I will be. I will be, I will be.”

“Ok, Celosa, you can be me. Why don’t you let me take this disgusting human from your sight so you can get on with being me.”

“Can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Insurance. Vaianu’s gonna win, one way or another.”

“No, he’s not. I’m never going to agree.”

Celosa laughed. “Hence the ceasg. You’re pretty, Melia. But slow. You will agree and you will love him.”

Celosa meant to frighten Melia, and she did. The words terrified Melia right down to her very core. Her eyes flicked to Peter on their own accord. Something wasn’t right. If Vaianu could have used a wish to make her love him, he would have. She had to force her body to stay calm when she realized that was what the ceasg couldn’t do: create love.

“Celosa, you don’t want to be involved in this,” Melia tried to reason.

Celosa kicked Peter. “Yes I do. I helped start this war. You don’t get it, Melia. You wouldn’t. You grew up in the perfect family. Everyone loved you and your pretty sister. You could do no harm. You don’t know what it’s like.” Melia winced as Celosa kicked Peter again. “I looked up to you. I liked you. I wanted to be you. For years, you didn’t even know my name.” She kicked Peter once more.

“Celosa!” Melia screamed.

Celosa spun to face Melia. “Does it hurt you to see me do this?” she asked and kicked Peter again.

“Yes!” Melia cried. “It does, ok. Please, stop!”

“Then you admit to having feelings for a human.” She knelt next to Peter, taking a handful of hair with one hand, and picking up a rock with the other. She raised it. Before she could smash the rock against Peter’s skull, Melia lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. Reconnoitering, Celosa slammed the rock into Melia’s temple.

Melia shrieked in pain, losing her grip on Celosa’s throat. The ceasg sprang forward, hands closing around Peter’s wrists. Peter jerked away the best he could but the ceasg persisted. Instead of trying to injure him, she tore at the ropes that tied his hands behind his back. She was disobeying an order, causing blisters to painfully form on her hands. She screamed in pain but managed to loosen the ropes enough for Peter to slip free. He untied his legs and ripped the gag from his mouth.

“His soul,” the ceasg whispered in English to Peter, “is in the egg.” She recoiled in pain, the blisters popping and oozing. Forcing himself up despite the pain, Peter grabbed Celosa and pulled her off of Melia. He grasped Melia’s hand and helped her up, worried about her head injury. Celosa yanked a burning log from the fire, holding it in front of her as a weapon. Peter’s arm wrapped protectively around Melia, pulling her away from the crazed adaro. They backed into the cavern wall. They were trapped.

“He’s gonna be happy that I brought him both of you.” Celosa jabbed the burning log forward, causing little embers to dangerously fly around.

“Who are you talking about?” Melia asked, her confidence faltering.

“Me,” a gruff voice bellowed. Celosa squealed with delight. She dropped the log and jumped, moving out of the cavern’s small opening. Standing in the shadows was Vaianu.

Nerina! Melia thought, panic bubbling inside of her. If Vaianu found her, she was dead for sure. She reached for Peter’s hand, trying to keep the tremble out of hers. She hadn’t heard Nerina scream. Maybe she was alive and got away. Maybe she was running through the woods right now, making an escape. Or maybe Vaianu got to her first. Maybe he killed her before she had a chance to realize what was going on. No, Melia had to stop. She needed to pull it together.

“I see you’ve made your choice,” Vaianu said, speaking in English so Peter could understand. “I’m disappointed Melia. We would have been great together.”

“Vaianu, stop. This-this has gone too far. You don’t have to do this!”

“Funny, that’s what your sister said.” Vaianu lumbered inside the cave.

Melia felt her heart flutter. “What?”

“Oh, Lana. That girl never could mind her own business. Even you can’t refute that.” He reached down and stroked Celosa’s fins. She leaned into him, looking like a love sick school girl.

“No! You!” Melia shouted. “You killed my sister!” She struggled against Peter. “She did nothing wrong! She was innocent!” Melia sobbed. “No! Why?! Why her and not me?” She broke away from Peter and jumped at Vaianu. Celosa dove in front of him, taking the blunt of Melia’s wrath.

Peter watched, frozen in horror, as Melia smashed Celosa’s head into the rocks multiple times before Vaianu shoved her off. Snapping out of his fog of fear, he rushed over and pulled Melia up. He pushed her behind him, wanting to protect her.

Vaianu laughed, stepping over Celosa, who coughed up blood. “You are more like your father than you think,” he told Melia.

“I am nothing like my father,” Melia retorted, bearing her teeth. “You. You are a disgusting, loathsome waste of life. And I swear, on Lana’s grave, that I will kill you!”

Vaianu laughed again. The fire flickered off something shining in his hand. Melia had been too preoccupied with beating the life out of Celosa to notice the trident. “Kill me, sweetheart, after I kill your lover.” He raised the trident, faltered, and then yelled in pain.

The ceasg, standing on weak legs, pressed the smoldering log into Vaianu’s back. He smacked her out of the way. She clattered to the ground, cracking her head on a rock as she fell. With no hesitation, Vaianu drove the trident into her back. Mordag’s body went limp.

“Melia,” Vaianu said, limping forward, eyes narrowing at the pain caused by his charred flesh. “All you have to do is agree. Marry me and I won’t kill your lover.”

“No!” Peter shouted. “Don’t do it, Melia.”

Melia put her hand on Peter’s shoulder. “I don’t believe you won’t hurt him.”

“I won’t. He’s not important to me. He’s just in the way of getting you. Once I have you…” An evil grin settled on his face. “He’s a stone, Melia. One tiny, insignificant rock at the bottom of my ocean. Let him come after you. And you can watch him sink.”

“I’ll kill myself,” Melia blurted. “I’d rather die than let you have me.”

“Be serious, Melia.” Vaianu rolled his eyes. “We both know that’s a lie.” He raised the trident. “You wouldn’t do that to your lover boy. And mostly, I know you won’t do it because it won’t solve anything.”

“It would keep you from getting what you want,” she spat.

Vaianu laughed. “You’re willing to die to keep me from getting what I want?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, I will kill you both!” He lunged forward. Peter wrapped his arms around Melia, prepared to take the lethal hit. But it never came. The trident clattered to the ground. Peter looked up, releasing Melia, and saw Vaianu drop to his knees. Standing behind him, holding a bloody dagger, was Nerina.

“Melia!” she cried, letting the weapon fall to the ground. She leapt over the fire. “Are you ok?”

“I think so,” Melia answered. She hugged her friend. “You saved us.” Distracted by Nerina, Melia didn’t notice Vaianu stagger to his feet. Peter did, and snatched up the trident, driving it into Vaianu’s chest.

“How is he still alive?” Peter asked, staring in disbelief.

“His soul,” Melia explained, her eyes settling on the dead ceasg. “It’s not in his body. He can’t die without it.”

“It’s in the egg,” Peter said, thinking it sounded ridiculous.

Melia gasped. “The egg!” Jamie’s visions. It was what Lana was looking for. “His soul, it’s in the egg. If we can find it, we can kill him.”

Before Peter had time to ask how in the hell they would do that, Vaianu rose to his feet, a harrowing scream escaping his lips. He dove for Melia. Peter lunged, knocking Vaianu back. He knew there was a steep and sudden drop off that would send them crashing into shallow, rock-riddled water. He didn’t intend on going over the edge with Vaianu. But he did.

Peter madly grasped at anything. For a split second he was airborne, falling, plummeting down to his death. Then his fingers laced through roots. It tore his skin, the exposed flesh stinging horribly as he hoisted himself back up. Melia screamed and almost tumbled off the edge herself as she looked for Peter. She reached out for him, pulling him back to safety.

He fell onto her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in as close as he could. Melia cried, and Peter scooted farther from the edge of the cliff. He cupped his hands around her face and kissed her. “It’s ok,” he breathed. “It’s over.”

Melia nodded, tears falling from her eyes. It’s over.

“Not to be the bearer of bad news,” Peter hesitantly stated, “but what are we going to do with her?”

Melia looked at Celosa’s unconscious body and then at Nerina. With a shrug, Nerina grabbed the adaro’s ankles. Melia took hold of her wrists. The girls hoisted her up and flung her body over the edge of the cliff.

“She’ll wake up eventually,” Melia explained.

Nerina knelt next to Mordag. “Should we sing the passing song?” she asked Melia.

“I think it’s too late,” Melia responded ruefully. “Peter, can you carry her?”

“The body?” he asked, taken aback. “Yea, I can.” But he didn’t want to.

“She didn’t deserve this. From what I heard. I want to give her to the sea.”

“Give her to the sea?” Peter questioned.

“Like a human funeral.”

“Oh, ok.” Awkwardly, Peter carried the body, very aware of the blood dripping onto his clothes. Afraid someone would see him hauling a dead person, he jumped at any sound, thinking it was a car passing by. They made it to the shore unnoticed. Nerina said something that sounded like beautiful poetry. As Melia requested, Peter set Mordag’s body down just above where the tide could reach. When Nerina was done speaking, she opened her arms to the sky above. And, as if it answered, a large wave washed upon them and carried Mordag’s body to her grave.

“Let’s go home,” Peter told Melia, taking her hand. Melia stopped. “What is it?”

“We need to find the egg.”

“Ok…” Peter shook his head. It was late and dark; he couldn’t see anything. “You need to explain that to me.”

Melia nodded. Taking a deep breath she said, “Mordag is—was—a ceasg. When caught, they can grant wishes.” She leaned against him, tired from everything they had just gone through. Nerina sat, and, seeming like a good idea, Peter sat too, urging Melia into his lap. “But it’s not that simple. The wishes don’t come without a cost. The cost is your soul. That’s what Mordag meant. Vaianu’s soul is hidden inside an egg. That’s what Lana was looking for. She-she must have known all along somehow.” Melia wanted to cry.

“So if we find the egg, we can destroy his soul?”

“Yes. I’m guessing it’s near; Vaianu would want to keep it near to guard it.”

“Could it be underwater?”

“I don’t think so,” Melia said, shaking her head.

“I can’t see anything, Melia,” Peter said apologetically.

“It’s ok, we can.” Melia rested her head for a minute, putting it on Peter’s shoulder. “Who brought you here?”

“The key thing.”

“Key-ask,” Melia sounded out for him. “And did you go to that cave right away?”

“No, there was a clearing in the woods.”

Melia was already on her feet. “Do you think you can show me?”

“I don’t know. It was dark then. I couldn’t see where I was going.” Peter swallowed. “I’ll do my best.” He got up and held a hand out to Melia.

“What are you thinking?” Nerina asked, stumbling in the rocky sand.

“I’m thinking,” Melia answered in Mermish. “That Vaianu wouldn’t keep the egg far away. Did he sneak in through the weeds or up the cliff?”

“Through the weeds. But on the other side of the cave than I was on.”

Melia nodded, the wheels in her head spinning. “We need to find it,” she said simply.

“Even if I could lend an extra pair of eyes and see in the dark,” Peter began, his face grim, “There is a lot of ground to cover. It could be anywhere.”

“You’re right,” Melia agreed and translated for Nerina. She bit her lip, looking around the ominous beach. “Jamie!” she exclaimed, the idea popping into her head.

“Jamie?” Peter said dubiously.

“Yes! She can do a spell!”

“A what?”

“A spell. I have a spell book.” Madly, Melia dumped the contents of the bag Nerina had managed to hold onto. She grabbed her phone and dialed Jamie’s number. “Argh!” she cried. “It’s not working.”

Peter took the phone from her. “You have no service,” he explained, seeing the lack of bars. “I never get service this close to the water.”

Melia nodded, quickly recapped everything to Nerina, who was completely clueless about cell phones, grabbed Peter’s hand and ran away from the shore.

“Jamie!” Melia shouted, once her best friend picked up the phone. “I’m so sorry to interrupt your date with Jeff, but I have an emergency.” She spat out what had happened. “Ok, thanks, Jamie.” She hung up and smiled. “She’s on her way.”

“Jamie’s a witch?” Peter stammered.

“Not really,” Melia hastily explained. “She could be, if she practiced.”

“Anyone can be a witch?”

“Not really,” she said again, nervously looking at the rocky studded water. “Jamie is very in tune with the elements; it comes naturally for her.”

“When this is over, you’re going to explain this all to me,” Peter said, his blue eyes dazed.

Melia smiled at him. “When this is over. I promise.” The three slowly walked back to the water. Melia glanced at Vaianu’s body; strewn unnaturally on the rocks, blood dripping down his face.

“This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever done,” Peter said, feeling more than a little hollow. “Keeping watch over a dead body that can’t really die because its soul is trapped in an egg while waiting for a possible witch to come and help us find it.”

Melia laughed slightly. “Yea, it’s not your typical night.” They sat back in the sand, not speaking until Jamie called. Peter stayed along the water with Nerina while Melia raced to greet her friend. Jamie took the contents out of her large bag, carefully laying the ancient book on the ground. Melia gave Nerina the flashlight to hold. The Oceanid looked at it in wonder, turning it around, shining the light in her face.

“Shine it here,” Melia instructed. She flipped through the pages. “There!” she said in Mermish. She shook her head and in English spoke, “This is the spell, Jamie. It says…it says to cast a circle.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” Jamie admitted, feeling a black ball of guilt drop in her stomach.

“You can try,” Melia coaxed. “I think you can.” She stood. “Come on, let’s get started.”

Following Melia’s translation, Jamie drew a pentagram in the sand. She put a candle inside a tall jar and lit it. She had seen the egg in her visions, so she knew exactly what to look for. She closed her eyes, repeating the incantation over and over. The flame grew, higher and higher, until it reached the top of the jar, the yellow light dancing in the wind. A tiny ember crackled off. Instead of floating on the breeze and sizzling out, it hovered, slowly growing brighter and brighter.

“Jamie,” Melia whispered.

“Wow,” Jamie couldn’t help but say when she saw the little ember. “Ok, um, show us the egg. Please.” The ember whisked away. The four scrambled to follow it. They scaled back up the cliff, past the cave and into the weedy trees. They tripped over fallen logs and jagged rocks. Finally, Melia caught the scent of something.

“Seaweed,” she said, her voice quiet. The ember hovered above it, warmly glowing in the dark night.

“Thank you,” Jamie spoke, her voice unsure. The ember burned brighter and then extinguished. With no light, Peter and Jamie were blind. Melia gently pushed past them, her hands touching the plant. Hidden in a blanket of seaweed was Peter’s phone and the egg. Melia picked it up. It resembled an ostrich egg in its size and texture. Vaianu’s soul slithered around inside, an iridescent blue shining through the thin shell.

Melia led the way back to the cave landing.  “What you did can never be undone,” she spoke. “But you will never kill again.” She stepped to the edge of the cliff and raised the egg above her head. Her eyes widened in terror and the egg slipped through her fingers. The translucent light hovered above the wet rocks, its beauty reflected off the slick surface.

“Now,” Peter said, taking Melia’s hand. “It really is over.”

“No.” Melia let out a shaking breath. “Vaianu. He’s gone.”

-Chapter  17-

“What do you mean, he’s gone?”

“I mean his body isn’t there!” Melia told Peter, motioning to the drop off.

“We need to go!” Nerina shouted. Though she was speaking Mermish, it wasn’t hard for Peter and Jamie to discern her message. They raced to the road. Jamie threw her bag in the back seat and opened the passenger side door for Nerina. Peter jumped into the R8, taking the keys from Melia. He stomped on the gas, not letting up until they were in sight of The Ridge.

“Are we in danger?” Jamie asked as soon as they closed the door to Melia’s room.

“Not yet,” Melia said, staring uneasily out her large windows. “Now that Vaianu’s soul is gone, it will take him time to heal. And he won’t be as reckless.”

“We have time then,” Peter assured himself. “Until he will attack again.”

“Yes,” Melia agreed. With a sigh, she sunk down on her bed. “Jamie, you were amazing. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

“I’m tired,” Melia announced. She shook her head and rested it in her hands. “You guys can go home and sleep. I promise you that you are safe for a few days at least.”

“You should come over,” Peter offered. “Both of you.”

“I’m not leaving my mother,” Melia told him. “You can stay.”

“I will.” His eyes met Melia’s. He wasn’t going to let that creep of a creature hurt her. Jamie stayed a while longer; her heart wouldn’t stop racing. Tired, everyone quickly showered and got ready for bed. Nerina settled comfortably in the guest room across the hall from Melia’s room. Peter wrapped his arms around Melia, pulling the blankets close. He didn’t plan on letting her go until morning.

“Peter?” Melia whispered, feeling horribly guilty he had been kidnapped at her expense.

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

Peter kissed her neck. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“I know. I’m so glad I have you. And I’m sorry you got mixed up in this mess.”

“I’m not. Melia…I would get mixed up in a million more messes if it meant being with you.”

Melia twisted around in Peter’s arms. “That’s wrong, Peter. I-I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. You deserve someone like you. Someone human. I’m not right for you.”

“You are perfect for me.”

“No, I’m not! I’m half merrow and half Oceanid. I belong in the water. This-this world isn’t mine! I’m intruding and lying and pretending to be someone I’m not. What kind of future do we have? I’ll always miss the ocean. I’ll always have to lie. And what about a family, Peter? I don’t even know if I can give that to you. I’m not what you want. You might think so, but I’m not.”

The seriousness in her voice scared Peter. “Are you breaking up with me?” The words spilled from his mouth against his will.

“Yes. No. I-I don’t know.”

“Is that what you want?”

“No. I don’t want to go a second without you. I love you, Peter. I love you so much that I think it would be better if you never saw me again.”

Peter’s heart pounded. “I don’t want to ever be without you, either. Melia, I can make up my own mind. If I want to be around danger, I think that’s my choice, right?”

“I guess so.”

“And I fully know who you are, what you are and what that means. And I accept it. Everything. I love you, the whole you.”

“But—” Melia objected.

“—Listen,” Peter interrupted. “I choose you. I love you. If you don’t want to be with me because you don’t love me, then don’t. But if you’re trying to protect me, leaving me would do the most damage.”

Melia closed her eyes. She was so tired and wanted this day to end. She wanted to wake up happy. She wanted to feel the sun on her face and hear the crash of the waves on the shore. “Ok,” she agreed. She held tightly to Peter, listening to his heartbeat. With Peter, she had love. She had hope. She had a promise of a better tomorrow. Those were things Vaianu would never have.

*

“So the ceasg wasn’t really bad then, right?” Jamie asked carefully.

“Not really. I don’t think she agreed with what Vaianu was doing.”

“But overall, you’d group them with the ‘in between things’?”

“Yes, because they have powerful wish-granting magic that costs you your soul.” Melia put a spoonful of macaroni and cheese into her mouth, hoping Nerina would give in and try it. “I promise it’s good,” she said with a sigh. Teaching Nerina how to be human was exhausting. Melia wondered if she had been as much trouble. Nerina was even more easily distracted than Melia was. Giving up, Melia stayed home from school the last two days to keep watch over her friend.

After dinner, the girls went up to Melia’s room, flipping through channels. Nerina sat close to the TV, reaching out to touch the screen every now and them. Jamie stopped on a talk show; today’s rerun featuring paternity tests.

“Is that normal for humans?” Melia asked, tipping her head curiously.

“To not know who the father is?” Jamie asked. When Melia nodded, she said, “I wouldn’t say ‘normal’ but it’s not unheard of.” The host had the DNA results in his hand. He paused dramatically before revealing who the father was (in this case, it was the mother’s best friend’s boyfriend). The cameras followed the crying girl backstage.

“I totally called it,” Jamie said, shaking her head. Then the screen went blank. A second later, “BREAKING NEWS” replaced what they had been watching.

“Good afternoon,” the reporter spoke. “I’m Marissa Barkly with WES, interrupting your programming with a Special Report. San Morado Police say there may be a killer on the loose, as they found a body in the rocky waters of the public beach. Details on how the victim was slain have not yet been released. Police urge San Morado residents to be extra vigilant and cautious and to report any suspicious activity immediately. We will return now to regular programming. Tune in tonight to hear the full report. I’m Marissa Barkly, WES News, California.”

Melia and Jamie turned to face one another. Nerina pounced on the bed, asking what happened. Melia quickly explained.

“Vaianu,” Nerina hissed. Jamie shook her head.

“Jamie,” Melia said sternly. “Don’t be naive. The beach. The ocean. Vaianu…”

“But it can’t be him. If he didn’t end up bleeding to death, then he’s at least seriously injured.”

Melia shook her head. “In the Marines, you have a leader.”

“Yea, he’s called a General.”

“Well, if the General is killed in war, the others don’t just stop, do they?”

Fear enclosed Jamie’s heart. “No.”

“Killing Vaianu isn’t going to stop this, Jamie. Someone else will rise into his position. I-I don’t know how it will stop. But I have to do something.”

Jamie’s brow furrowed; the problem ran deeper than one crazy adaro. Melia was right. Taking down Vaianu wouldn’t set things right. She didn’t understand the underwater politics. She barely understood human politics. But she knew enough to know that even if she wanted to, there was no way she could make a difference in a war. Could Melia?

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.” She combed her hair to the side of her head, roughly raking her fingers through it. “What-what if Vaianu was right about me?”

“He’s not,” Jamie countered quickly.

“Not about me being a great leader of a human-hating army, but about me being a great leader in general.”

“I would follow you,” Jamie admitted honestly without realizing the implications of what she stated.

“How much would you be willing to risk to save complete strangers?”

“I don’t know, Melia. I don’t like where you’re taking this. I don’t want to be the downer here, but Melia, you can’t change the world. You are just one person.”

“Maybe. Maybe I can’t change it. Not on my own. But maybe I can influence others to take a stand and fight. Vaianu is just one person—well, adaro—and look what he started.” Her sparkling green eyes shimmered with hope. Jamie didn’t move, the awe of Melia’s speech was obvious on her face. “But I’m just one person,” Melia added, turning back to the TV.

Peter came over right after school. He intended on helping Melia get caught up on her homework; however, he didn’t understand the chemistry. Even though she missed two days, Melia quickly read through the chapter and explained it to him, buzzing through formulas and solving the extra credit. At nine o’clock, he got in bed next to Melia, turning on the TV. Marissa Barkly was back, talking about the murder.

Peter abruptly changed the channel. He stayed with Melia until she was nearly asleep. He crept out of the room, and, taking comfort in the fact that Wolfy was laying in bed with her, checked on Nerina across the hall, set the alarm, and drove home. Melia shot up as soon as she heard Peter’s Mustang leave the driveway. She stripped out of her pajamas, put on a black bikini top and tiptoed to her R8, retrieving the dagger from under the passenger seat and racing back into the house.

It was wrong and Melia knew it. She would be mad if someone did it to her. But crushing up one of the little white pills and mixing it in Nerina’s juice was a way to keep her friend safe.  Without another thought, Melia  dashed out of the house, ran to the shore, and dove into the water, transforming and darting under the waves.

By human time, it was three in the morning. Thanks to a playful hammerhead shark, Melia was able to hitch a ride and conserve her energy. Nerves prickled her skin as familiar auras she hadn’t felt in ages mixed with hers. She let the dagger fall from her hand, hoping she wouldn’t need it. Pausing behind a reef, Melia honed in on their energies. There had to be at least fifty merrows. She knew she could blend in unnoticed; her aura would mesh in with the others until they singled her out. Her mind raced with the best way to make her presence known.

A temporary camp had been set up under the protection of a sunken fishing boat. It was less than ideal and was an easy target. Melia knew the merrows wouldn’t stay here unless they had no other choice. Several male merrows circled the sunken ship, patrolling the water. Noticing the weapons in their hands, Melia sunk further behind the coral. She watched jellyfish dance through the water, overcome with nostalgia, and didn’t feel the pair of eyes that drove into her until he was just a few feet away.

“Melia!” he exclaimed.

She jumped, catching her hair in the reef. “Dillan!”

“I knew it was you!” the young merrow told her excitedly. “I saw you swimming with the shark. Don’t tell my mom I snuck out.”

Melia laughed. “I won’t.” She carefully disentangled herself from the coral. Dillan had grown since the last time she had seen him. His scales were beginning to get their color—a deep red—reminding Melia of just how much time had passed. All merrows are born with pale ivory scales that take on color as they age, peaking around age sixteen. They darken with age; Actassi’s scales were—well, had been— jet black.

“Dad!” Dillan shouted, startling all the merrows on duty. “She’s alive! Melia’s alive!” There was an outburst of chaos and Melia was swarmed, welcomed, and embraced. Every single merrow was awake; they formed a circle around Melia and bombarded her with questions. Melia told them everything, starting with finding the dead human in the woods.

“We thought you were dead,” Aeron told her. “Vaianu spread word that he had killed you.”

“He didn’t even come close,” Melia exaggerated. “I am so sorry about all of this.”

“Melia,” Colwyn, another merrow, said to her. He seemed to have risen to the role of leader, and as he spoke, all other merrows agreed. “Not one of us knew the intentions of the deal. No one could have guessed the turpitude plans he had made. Everything happened so fast; we had no time to prepare.”

“His army,” Melia said harshly. “How many?”

Colwyn warily locked gazes with Melia. “We outnumber them, three to one, but they have weapons. Vaianu has commanded his swordfish to attack. The merrows on his side have these things.” He frowned, not knowing the word. “They are small, but if you hit them, they explode.”

“Bombs,” Melia explained. “How did they get bombs?!”

“I don’t know. And they have threats. Many threats. To expose us. To kill humans, which he is already doing. The darklings already roam freely, and though they don’t want part of a war, we all know who they will side with.”

“The ones who will let them stay free.”

“Yes.”

Melia examined the small group of merrows. “Where is everyone else?”

“We thought it was safest to scatter. One of us from every group meets every moon phase to stay connected. It sorrows me to have to tell you, but the Oceanids have not fared well in this war. I’ve been trying to rally the others without success.”

“I…I know.” Melia hardened her expression. “What is your plan?”

“We-we just want to survive,” Colwyn shamefully admitted. “We don’t want a blood bath.”

“Surely you’re not thinking about joining him?”

“No, never,” he assured her. “Vaianu knows it’s only a matter of time for his intimidation tactics to work. As much as he hates humans, we don’t think he’s going to risk exposure yet.”

Melia’s mind raced. Vaianu was partially right. The merrows needed a leader; they needed someone to take orders from. And as much as Melia didn’t want to admit it, he was right about Actassi growing too trusting. Never assuming a riot would arise in his water, Actassi left his citizens vulnerable and clueless.

“I have an idea,” a female voice spoke from behind Melia. She twirled around to find the source. She didn’t recognize this merrow. Judging by her accent and pale complexion, Melia guessed she must have once resided in the Atlantic Ocean. “My name is Briggetta. I am from the Atlantic and I want to first tell you I am sorry about the Oceanids.”

“Thank you, Briggetta. I am Melia, my mother is from the Atlantic. What is your idea?” Several merrows grumbled in distaste. Melia held up a hand and urged Briggetta to go on.

“Vaianu doesn’t have much control over his followers. All they want is blood, and I know that an army without structure is no army at all. There is a merrow named Alf from my ocean. He and Vaianu have been arguing about which one will rule. If we eliminate Vaianu and Alf, I think the rebels will fall apart, or at least weaken enough for us to attack.”

Melia thought it over. Since she had nothing else to go with, she nodded. “And how can we kill them?”

Colwyn said, “That’s what we’ve been trying to tell her. No one knows where Vaianu hides. We know he keeps himself heavily guarded. There is no way we can get to him.”

“Oh, but there is,” Melia schemed. “I can agree to the arrangement.”

-Chapter 18-

Melia was too anxious and excited to feel the effects of pulling an underwater all-nighter. She hadn’t returned to her human home until late afternoon. Peter and Jamie visited after school that Wednesday, still curious and nervous about what was happening under the sea. Jamie left after dinner, taking Nerina out for ice cream, leaving Melia alone with Peter. As the sun set, tiredness crashed down on her. Yawning, she rested her head on Peter’s shoulder.

“We don’t have to go to prom,” he told her, hugging her tightly.

She looked up at him. “I want to go.”

“Me too. But I wouldn’t be upset if you didn’t want to. A lot has happened.”

“It has. Does it make me a bad person for wanting to go?”

“Not at all,” Peter assured her. “You deserve a night of fun.”

“I do.” She moved so she could listen to his heartbeat. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Edward left me a message saying we can take any of the cars to prom. I guess that’s important.”

“Seriously?”

“Yea. Why is it important?”

“I don’t really know. It’s just something people do. And you drive away from a wedding in a nice car or a limo.”

“Is it for luck?”

“Maybe.”

“Oh. It seems silly.”

“It is, I guess.” Peter shrugged. “Want to take the Gallardo?”

“It doesn’t matter to me. If you want to, then yes.”

“Awesome,” Peter said, excited to brag to his friends. Melia said she was really tired and walked Peter to the door before the sun was fully gone for the night. Something seemed off. It was another weird feeling he got; something he couldn’t explain. He had a hard time falling asleep that night, waking frequently after having nightmares about kappas, adaros, and drowning.  He was so tired in the morning he considered ditching school and going to Melia’s.

It was a good thing he didn’t. He had just stepped away from his friends to find Jamie and tell her about the bad feeling he got last night. They both saw her at the same time, walking down the hall and looking as beautiful as ever. Her perfect curls bounced with every step she took in spotless, white heels. The pale yellow headband matched her short dress. Gleaming pearls hung around her neck, on her wrists, and dangled off her ears.

“Melia,” Peter exclaimed. It had been a while since he had seen her all dressed up; it still took his breath away.

“Hey guys,” Melia said in her calm, smooth voice.

“What are you doing here?” Jamie asked.

“Uh, today is Thursday. It’s a school day. And this is school.”

“Yea,” Jamie continued. “I meant that I’m surprised to see you. Where’s Nerina?”

“At my house.” She opened her locker. “Charles is with her. I missed school so I asked him to stay with her.”

“You missed school?” Peter and Jamie asked in unison.

“Yea,” Melia agreed, flashing a perfect smile. She neatly stacked her books in her arms, extending her hand for Peter to hold. “I hope we’re doing a lab today.”

“I don’t,” Peter groaned. “Remember who I still have as a lab partner. Though she’s left me alone since you punched her.”

“I forgot! Do you think she’s going to say anything?” Melia asked, though, amidst her war planning, Janet didn’t even register on the importance radar.

“No,” Peter assured her. “Not to a parent or teacher, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Ok good. ‘Cuz I’ll just hit her again,” Melia said with complete indifference. Peter cast a sideways glance at Jamie, who looked just as concerned about Melia’s sudden violent streak.

Melia carried on as if everything was perfectly normal the rest of the day. She listened to Amanda ramble on and on about dinner, pictures, prom, and the party afterwards, asking enthused questions, seemingly eager for the dance.

Wanting to spend every second she could with the humans she loved, Melia asked Peter and Jamie to have dinner with her, Nerina, and Charles that night. It was obvious something was wrong the second they walked through the door.

“Thank God!” Charles exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?” Peter asked, adrenaline surging through his veins.

“There’s-there’s horses.” He turned behind him, looking at something through the windows in the leisure room. “In the pool. Nerina’s been trying to tell me something but I have no idea what she’s saying!”

“Kelpies.” The word slipped from Melia’s lips with grace. “How many?” She dropped her bag and kicked off her heels.

“Three.”

“Stay here,” Melia directed, sprinting out of the house. “Cordelia!” she called, heart pounding. The kelpie’s blue eyes surfaced. Taking on the appearance of a Quarter Horse, Cordelia merrily splashed around the pool. “What are you doing, girl?” Melia asked, jumping in and throwing her arms around her favorite pet. Cordelia nuzzled her absent owner. Rèalta was being petted by Nerina, but now ignored her and nosed his way into Melia arms. She scratched his ears before inspecting the third kelpie. Slowly, Melia held her hand out to the white kelpie. It sniffed her apprehensively, showing its fangs.

“Put those away,” she scolded. “Horses don’t have teeth like that.” Cordelia nudged him out of the way, eager to have her neck rubbed. “I don’t know what you guys are doing here, but I sure am glad to see you.” She swam around with the kelpies for a while before promising them she’d be back.

“What are they doing here?” Peter asked, grabbing Melia’s arm as soon as she stepped into the house.

Melia shook her head. “I don’t know. Visiting, I suppose. There’s no one to keep them from coming out of the water.”

The words hung heavy in the air. If the kelpies could freely walk amongst humans, anything could.

“Ok,” Charles cleared his throat. “What is going on?”

“They aren’t horses,” Melia calmly explained. “They are kelpies, and they’re not friendly to humans, so, uh, stay away.”

“I can do that.”

“Actually, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure,” Charles agreed, nervously looking at the pool.

“Can you go to the store and get as much ground beef as possible?”

“Yes. Why?”

“For the kelpies to eat.”

“They eat meat!?”

“Yes,” Melia said, keeping the laughter out of her voice. “They look like horses, but really, they are not.”

Charles nodded, still rooted in the spot. He blinked several times to release himself from the dazed fog he was in.

“Where’s Wolfy?” Melia felt a flicker of concern.

“At the park. He wouldn’t stop barking.”

“Good thinking. Thanks, Charles.”

“Sure. Uh, what do you want for dinner?”

“Don’t worry about making anything. You can bring home something.”

“Ok. What do you want?”

“That stuff with the eggs and vegetables and rice.”

“Fried rice?”

Melia nodded. “Yea. Thanks, again.”

“Uh, no problem.” After another lingering stare at the kelpies, Charles left.

“Melia,” Jamie started. “What are you going to do with them?” She didn’t want Melia venturing out into the ocean.

“They can stay here for a while,” she said rather calmly. “Until we can take them back.”

“You’re not going anytime soon, though, right?” Jamie’s brown eyes filled with worry.

“Of course not.” Melia smiled at her best friend. “Want to meet them?”

Peter shuffled his feet. “Didn’t you just say they don’t like humans?”

“I did, but they shouldn’t hurt you with Nerina and me here.”

“If you’re sure,” Peter didn’t sound convinced. “Maybe later.”

“Ok.” Melia shrugged and went up to her room. Jamie caught Peter’s gaze and slightly shook her head in question. Peter pressed his lips together and nodded once, agreeing with her on her unspoken thought. She sat on the bed, startled when something hard was under the covers. It was only a notebook, and the page was filled with words she didn’t recognize.

“What language is this?” she asked Melia.

“Mermish,” Melia responded.

“You have written words?” Jamie wondered what tools merrows used to write with.

“Not really. I write what it sounds like using your human alphabet. It doesn’t make sense to Nerina, since she doesn’t know any sort of human language.”

“Oh, interesting.” She inspected Melia’s beautiful handwriting. “What does it say?”

Melia stiffened and turned around. “I translated a song into Mermish.”

“Hmm,” Jamie said. The words were randomly written over the page with little order. ‘Novus lleuad’ was sprawled in the middle in bolded letters. Maybe it was the name of the song. Thinking it would be cool to learn Mermish one day, Jamie silently muttered a few of the words. Nerina, who had just trailed into the room, shot her a concerned glance.

“Do you remember,” Melia said suddenly, wanting to distract Jamie from the notes. “When you told me that people expect sex after prom?”

“Uh, yea.” Jamie tossed the notebook back on the bed.

“Do you think Jeff expects it?”

Jamie’s cheeks automatically turned bright red. Ears burning, she glimpsed at Peter. “I-I don’t know. I really don’t t-think so,” she stammered.

“Do you expect it?”

“No!”

“I expect it,” Melia stated, looking at Peter.

Peter shrugged. “Meh. I’ll see what I can do.” Melia glared at him before laughing. He put his hands around her waist and kissed her. Knowing that acting intimate with Peter made Jamie uncomfortable, she pulled away. “So, Jamie, what are you doing after the prom?”

“I’m not sure. Jeff wants me to go to Rosemary’s house. They’re watching movies and hanging out the next day.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to go?”

“I don’t feel like I fit in very well,” she admitted, staring at the ground.

“Why?” Peter asked, surprising everyone.

“I-I just don’t like crowds.” Jamie’s face flushed again.

Melia said, “We are going to Belmont Park, right?”

“Yea,” Peter answered. “Are we coming here or going to Connor’s? I’d rather come here,” he said, raising his eyebrows, causing Melia to giggle.

“Melia!” a female voice called from the hall. “Are you home, darling?”

“Yes, Mom.” Melia rose and strode to her door, waving Nerina to hide in the closet. “What are you doing home early?”

“We were able to catch an earlier flight,” Nyneve said. She smiled warmly. “Hello Peter and Jamie. Are you two excited for the dance?”

“I am,” Jamie told her, and, for the first time, felt a flutter of excitement for Saturday night. “It should be fun.”

“Is Edward home?” Melia asked.

“Of course. He wouldn’t miss your first dance!”

“Oh, well I better tell him about the kelpies in the pool.”

Nyneve’s mouth fell open. “Why are there kelpies in the pool?”

Melia worked on keeping her face calm. The lie seemed so foolproof in her head. Now that she was about to say it out loud, she had her doubts. “Vaianu sent them. He thought it would help persuade me. Obviously, it didn’t, since I didn’t take them back into the water. They can stay in the pool for a while. To prove a point.”

Nyneve blinked. “Well, I suppose. For a while.” She shook her head and let it go. Melia mentally sighed, relieved her mother was more concerned with keeping her out of the ocean than keeping the kelpies in it.

*

“Now I really am excited,” Jamie told Melia Saturday afternoon. They were at a fancy salon, getting their nails, hair, and makeup done for the dance.

“Me too,” Melia said with a smile, not allowing herself to think about what needed to be done. She was determined to have fun tonight. And she hoped to still be alive tomorrow. Once the girls were primped and pretty, they returned to Melia’s to get dressed. Nyneve took a million pictures, gushing and tearful the entire time.

Edward answered the door, ushering Peter inside. He told Peter to wait in the foyer so he could get Melia. Nyneve raced down the stairs first, camera in hand, wanting to capture every moment.  Peter’s heart fluttered when Melia gracefully descended the stairs, looking so beautiful it was as if she stepped out of the pages of a fairytale.

“You look like a Greek Goddess,” he told her, taking hold of her hands.

“Thanks.” Melia leaned in, careful not to mess up her makeup, for a kiss. “You look very handsome.”

Peter shrugged off the compliment. Nyneve made Peter take the corsage off Melia’s wrist twice, wanting a good action shot. She ushered them outside to pose for pictures in the garden. Jamie waited upstairs for Jeff. Peter had arrived early and she opted to stay out of the way and avoid feeling like a third wheel. She was glaring at her reflection, trying to be happy with the way it looked. Her hair curled perfectly, her makeup was incredible and her dress was flattering. She couldn’t particularly pick out one thing she didn’t like, but rather wasn’t happy with her whole image.

“Oh well,” she said to Gwen. “I’m sure Jeff will at least be surprised to see my hair out of my face.” She crouched down and called the cat over. Gwen ignored her, jumping up on the nightstand. Her tail twitched in anticipation, knocking something to the ground. A small glass bottle rolled to a stop in the middle of the floor. Curiously, Jamie picked it up.

There was a message inside, and with much difficulty, Jamie extracted it. “Novus lleuad dan en luola,” she read aloud. “Novus lleuad. I wish I knew what that meant,” she told the cat. It was a pretty phrase; it sounded old and magical. Jamie crammed the crinkled paper back in the bottle, raising her eyebrows. “I will never fully understand her,” she sighed. She paced around the large upstairs, eager for Jeff to arrive and a little nervous about the kelpies in the swimming pool. Melia assured her that they wouldn’t get out or transform into kelpie form, but how the hell would she explain horses in a pool to Jeff?

Nyneve filled up her memory card taking pictures of Melia. She ventured inside to exchange it for another, needing to enlist Jamie’s help.

“Melia’s been teaching me some words in Mermish,” Jamie blurted without really realizing what she was saying. She clicked the memory card in place.

“Oh, that’s lovely! It’s a beautiful language but can be tricky to learn.”

“Yes. There are a few words I just can’t remember and it’s bugging me.”

“What words, dear?”

“Novus lleuad.”

“New moon,” Nyneve informed her. “That’s an important one to remember. I’m sure Melia explained the importance of moon phases.”

“Yep. She has.” Jamie lied and handed the camera back to Mrs. VanBurren. “Thanks for reminding me. I remembered it as soon as you said it.” She smiled broadly and accompanied Nyneve back outside so she could resume her picture taking. Melia’s head flicked to the street, having heard the car before her human friends.

“He’s coming!” she said excitedly to Jamie. Jamie smiled, feeling a bit of nerves well up inside her.

“Are you sure I look ok?” Jamie asked Melia, suddenly self-conscious about her appearance.

“Yes! I promise. You look amazing, Jamie!”

“You do,” Peter agreed, giving Jamie a half smile.

Jamie blushed. “Thanks.” She moved close to Melia, resisting the urge to hide behind her as Jeff parked his car. He got out, carrying a little box.

“Hi,” he said to everyone. “Wow, Jamie…you look beautiful!”

Jamie’s cheeks reddened even more. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Melia beaming. “Thanks,” she told Jeff. Nyneve took a boatload of pictures of Jeff and Jamie, saying that she knew Jamie’s mother would definitely want to see this moment on film since she missed it by having to work. Melia had to remind her mother several times that they would see her again in only a short hour and a half and that they had to leave for dinner.

“I wish we could all eat together,” she told Jamie, hugging her bye.

“Me too. I’ll see you at the Grand March soon, though. Have fun! Try not to spill anything on your dress,” Jamie joked and then worried she jinxed herself.

“You too.”

Peter opened the door for Melia, nervously starting the engine of the Gallardo. It roared to life, a wonderful sound to his ears. Connor and Nate ogled enviously, trying to convince Peter to let them take it for a ride. The girls gushed over Melia, telling her how beautiful she looked and how much they loved her dress. Soon enough, everyone lined up in the hall outside of the school gym for the Grand March.

“Peter,” Melia whispered. “I don’t know what a ‘grand march’ is. Why are we marching?”

Peter laughed. “We’re not really marching. We just walk around so our parents can take pictures and you girls can show off your dresses. It’s lame, really.”

“Oh, that makes more sense now.”

They were bombarded with more flashing cameras after the March. Peter was a bit surprised his parents showed up. Adam and Ava wanted pictures with him and Melia. His heart hammered when his mother approached Nyneve. His mother could come off as decent if she wanted to. And, she could make a scene if she wanted to. He watched Nyneve greet her, introduce Edward VanBurren, as if no one knew who he was, and make small talk. His nerves subsided when Jamie’s mother joined their group. After another round of pictures, Peter and Melia were able to finally escape to the prom.

The theme of this year’s prom was ‘under the sea’, something that was too close for comfort for Melia, Jamie, and Peter. Nonetheless, they got past the cheesy fish decorations and had a blast, dancing and laughing. Time flew by; Melia stepped away from Peter every few songs to find Jamie, making sure she was having fun with Jeff.

Melia preferred dancing to the fast songs, but when the DJ played the first slow song that night, she quickly returned to Peter, encasing him in her arms.

“You are so beautiful,” he told her again.

“I’m glad you think so,” she said with a smile. “This is fun. I’m glad I got to experience this with you, Peter.”

The comment didn’t sit well with Peter. For a moment, he had forgotten the truth. He was having such a wonderful time, the fact of who Melia really was and what was at stake wasn’t salient. “Me too,” he agreed, feeling an unwelcome stab of abhorrence in the pit of his stomach. He pressed his lips to Melia’s and twirled her around the dance floor.

Jamie excused herself to go to the bathroom during the first slow song. She couldn’t cop out of the second; Jeff took her hand and led her to the dance floor. She didn’t want to meet his eyes with his face so close. He was cute and nice and funny and sweet. And she was terrified.

Melia smiled encouragingly from across the room. Jamie put her hands around Jeff’s neck and moved awkwardly to the music. As soon as the song ended, Melia let go of Peter and grabbed Jamie’s hand.

“You need to dance with me!” she shouted above the music. Giving in, Jamie followed Melia to the middle of the dance floor. Three songs later, she was hot and ready for a break. Her feet hurt and she wanted to take off the heels she had on. How Melia wore shoes like that every day was beyond Jamie. Jeff accompanied her outside, agreeing that the night air was refreshing. There was only a small courtyard where students were allowed to go, but it was enough to get away from all the people and the noise.

“It’s a nice night,” Jeff commented, looking at the stars above them. “Very clear.”

“Yea, it is.” Jamie gazed upward. “Where’s the moon?”

“There isn’t one. Tonight is the new moon.”

A jolt went through Melia’s body. “Novus lleuad,” she said slowly, mentally trying to connect the dots.

“What?”

“The new moon. Tonight. Yep.” Why would moon phases be important to merrows? Because of the way the moon affected the tide? Was that how they told time? Melia had never once explained the importance to Jamie. She racked her brain, finally recalling that during a new moon, it was ideal to cast spells for banishing, starting new ventures or new beginnings.

“There’s less than an hour left,” Jeff said, sitting on a bench. “Want to stay here for a few minutes and go back in?”

“Yea, that sounds good.” Jamie chewed the inside of her lip. Why had Melia written ‘new moon’ in her notebook? Whose handwriting was on that message in the bottle? Did it mean something? It couldn’t since tonight was the new moon. And Melia was inside, safely away from the formidable ocean. She was spending the night with Peter and was going to San Diego in the morning. She was safe.

Jeff stood and extended a hand to Jamie. They slowly walked around the courtyard, talking about random, non-important things before they went back inside. He asked Jamie to dance and this time she willingly agreed. Two songs later, Peter cut in.

“Have you seen Melia?” he asked. Jamie shook her head. “She said she was going to find you.”

“I haven’t seen her in awhile,” Jamie said, letting go of Jeff, directing her attention to Peter. “You haven’t either?”

“No.”

“Shit,” Jamie swore. Peter put his hand on her arm to lead her away from the music so they could talk. It was a harmless gesture. Nevertheless, Jamie caught the flash of jealousy in Jeff’s eyes; it was disturbingly satisfying. “Let me go look for her in the bathroom,” Jamie said and sped away. She knew Melia wasn’t in there. How could she have been so naive?

“She’s not in there, but I think I have an idea where she went,” she told Peter, who followed her out into the lobby of the banquet hall. Connor and Courtney strode out.

“Did you find her?” Connor asked.

“Uh, not quite,” Peter mumbled, looking at Jamie.

She didn’t say anything, waiting for Connor to go away. Knowing she couldn’t waste anymore time, since every second put Melia farther away and further into danger, she said, “Her friends, Finn and Gill are in town. She’s outside talking to them.”

“Yep. I forgot about them. We should say hi as well,” Peter said quickly. “Actually,” he directed to Connor. “I, uh, really want to be alone with Melia. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Connor joked about Peter getting laid but he didn’t care. He needed to get to Melia, to save her. He didn’t know why she would go to Vaianu; it hurt that she so easily left. Jamie rushed to say bye to Jeff, trying to come up with an excuse as she paced over. Peter snuck out the back to avoid getting caught by the chaperones and impatiently waited in the car.

“Sorry,” Jamie apologized when she ducked into the car. “It wasn’t as easy as I thought. Jeff kept asking questions.”

“It’s alright.” Peter backed out of the parking spot. “What did you tell him?”

“That Melia got food poisoning from dinner.”

“Good thinking.” He peeled out of the parking lot and suddenly slammed on the brakes. “Where are we going? And she couldn’t have gotten far, right? I mean she’s on foot.”

“Most likely. I don’t know. I don’t understand why she’d meet him.”

“Are you sure that’s where she is?”

“I found a note inside a glass bottle. It said ‘novus lleuad’ along with something else in Mermish. I know that ‘novus lleuad’ means new moon. And tonight is the new moon.”

“I’m not following.”

“Nyneve told me that moon phases are important to merrows. In spell casting, the new moon is a good time to cast a spell to create a new beginning. I don’t know if it’s the same with merrows but…”

“But it fits enough to think Melia might agree to the deal. Why would she do that?”

“The recent deaths.” Jamie hit her head against the seat. “I should have known! Melia isn’t the type of person—merrow—to just sit here and do nothing. She acted like she was all fine and dandy and I wanted so much for her to be happy again I ignored how weird it was! God, I am such an awful friend!”

“No, you’re not. If anyone’s awful, it’s me. I ignored it too. Well, not really. I knew it was weird and did nothing. I didn’t want to ask her about it because I wanted her to be happy too.”

“She knew we would have stopped her. That has to be why she left without saying anything.”

“I would have stopped her,” Peter said definitely. He hit the steering wheel. “What is she thinking? What is she going to do?”

“I don’t know. Agreeing to the arrangement doesn’t make sense.”

“No, it doesn’t. And I honestly don’t think she would do it.” He turned to Jamie, barely able to see her in the dark. “So what now? What do we do?”

“We find her. We help. And then drag her ass to Indiana, far away from any ocean.”

Peter shook his head. “Lake Michigan.”

“You’re right. Kansas, then.” Jamie exhaled. “Any idea where to start looking?”

“Maybe. It’s a long shot, I suppose, but it’s the only place I can think of.”

“Good enough. Let’s go.”

-Chapter 19-

Melia sprinted along the shore, razor sharp rocks cutting into her bare feet. She didn’t stop or acknowledge the pain. She didn’t have time. She wasn’t going to risk their lives for nothing. She hiked her dress up above her knees, frivolously wishing she had changed into something more battle-friendly. Panting, she stopped, counting the rocks that jutted out of the dark, choppy water.

“Vaianu!” she screamed, once her breathing returned to normal. “Vaianu!” She waited, nerves on end. His large figure lumbered out of the water.

“Melia,” he cooed. “Changed your mind, did you? If I would have known all along that killing humans was the way to your heart…”

“Give it a rest. I’m not going willingly. There are conditions.” She worked to keep her eyes on his. She couldn’t feel their presence yet, which meant the merrows were still fighting off Vaianu’s army. She needed to draw this out for a bit longer.

“Conditions? After you tried to kill me? No.”

“You won’t be able to do this forever. Someone will stop you. It’s only a matter of time before everyone bands together.”

“I’ll kill them first.”

“And then what?”

“I will rule.”

“Who? If you kill all who oppose you, who will be left to be ruled?”

Vaianu faltered, not thinking that far ahead. “Then they will have to learn to not oppose me.” He stepped closer to Melia, causing her to move further from the water. “I would have thought you’d learn by now, Pearl. Celosa died trying to be with me. You are a lucky merrow.”

“That’s not all that I am. And she was crazy, that’s not saying much, Vaianu.”

Vaianu laughed and moved closer. Fearful goosebumps broke out over Melia’s skin.

“Oh, how you are wrong.” He held up his hands. “But this-this is more than I asked for. You truly are stunning tonight, Melia. They will follow you based on your beauty alone.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I? Tell me, Melia, what do your beloved humans like? Who do they follow? What’s important to them?”

Vaianu was making a point. Melia hated it, and she hated that he had done research on humans. Acting on their own accord, her eyes scanned the water. “Vaianu,” she breathed, her heart once again racing. “Please. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

“Of course it doesn’t have to be this way. I want it to be this way. It’s the way it used to be, the way it should be.”

“You can’t kill every single human.”

“Oh, I know that. But I can kill everyone that comes into my water. They have no right to be there.”

She inched to the right, moving closer to the water. “My conditions,” she desperately pleaded. “Let’s talk about the conditions.”

“If you insist,” Vaianu mocked. “What are they?”

“There are certain humans that are not to be harmed.”

“Little Pearl,” Vaianu put his arm around Melia, directing her away from the water. “All they have to do is stay rightfully on land. Good enough? Do you agree?”

“Yes,” Melia forced herself to say. “You have to promise not to harm my mother, her husband, Peter, or Jamie.”

“Cross my heart,” he leered. “Melia,” he snarled. “Will you be my wife and partner?”

Melia closed her eyes. “Yes.”

Vaianu grabbed her around the waist. “This is our wedding night. We should celebrate.”

Energy vibrated under the water. One by one, Melia began to sense their auras. “The water!” she said quickly, knowing she was safe in the ocean. Too quickly, causing Vaianu to glare dubiously down at Melia.

“No. On land. Since you love it so much.”

“T-the water. You like the water.”

“And since when do you want to please me?”

“I-I…” Melia knew she was trapped. Her best bet was making it to the water where the army of merrows and oceanids were waiting . She jerked out of his hold and leapt forward. She was fast, but not fast enough. Vaianu knocked her to the ground.

“You think I’m stupid? You think I didn’t know you were lying?” He knelt overtop of her, pinning her arms. “Is that where they are? Your stupid humans? Are they hiding in the water?”

“No! Vaianu, they’re human—they-they can’t be in the water.” Melia thrashed against him, but her efforts were no match against his weight.

“Yes they can! With tanks and weapons and cages. Ready to catch us and kill us and eat us!” Melia screamed as he snatched her wrists and twisted her arms above her head. “Or put us on display. Have you ever thought about that? Don’t you think your humans have wondered what the rewards of finding us would be? I used a wish to gain knowledge about humans. I know how they work, I know what drives them. We need to separate completely from them before it’s too late.” He hit her hard on the head, momentarily stunning her. Using the stillness to his advantage, he hoisted Melia up over his shoulder. “I will go into the water, Pearl. Just not with you.”

He lumbered farther from the water, throwing Melia down in rocky sand. She landed hard, scraping her exposed skin on tiny rocks. She felt a presence behind her and she scrambled to get up. Stepping on the hem of her long dress, Melia fell. That’s when she noticed the circle drawn in the sand around her. And smelled the oil.

“Now!” Vaianu shouted. Mako appeared from the shadows. He clicked a lighter and dropped it, its flame hitting the oil and setting the circle on fire. Melia screamed.

She was stuck, trapped, surrounded by fire. She clambered to the middle of the circle. Heat radiated out, painfully warming the glass beads on her dress. She turned, feeling flames from all sides. Oil popped, splattering on her skin.

She screamed in pain, terrified. Huge flames danced around her, sputtering and sending more oil flying. The heat burned her lungs. She coughed, each breath painful. The flames blinded her. Even when Melia closed her eyes, she could see the dancing flickers of deadly fire.

This was it. This was how she was going to die.

*

“Do you smell that?” Jamie asked Peter as they raced through the weeds. “Something’s on fire.”

“No,” Peter shouted behind him, not slowing down. “Hurry up!”

“I’m trying,” Jamie promised. “It’s hard running through this in heels and a dress.”

Peter finally slowed, realizing Jamie was right. It was no use running ahead; he might need her somehow. He helped her through a patch of thorny bushes.

“We’re almost there,” he said. “I can hear the ocean.” He grabbed Jamie’s hand, dragging her forward. They skidded to a stop at the top of the cliff. Yellow light illuminated the shore. Jamie thought it was a bonfire at first; her heart sunk over not finding Melia. Then she heard the scream.

“Melia’s inside the fire!” she cried.

Peter’s eyes widened in fear. “MEL—” he yelled. Jamie clamped her hand over his mouth.

“No!” She pointed. “There’s something else there. We can’t help her if we’re dead.”

Peter only nodded. They were too high up to jump. Besides, he knew the water was riddled with rocks. Their only option was to scale down the cliff, which would be painstakingly slow. They would never get to her in time.

Their hooves hammered along the shore. Three kelpies thundered through the shallow water. Vaianu dove out of the way just in time, disappearing under the surface of the ocean. Rèalta leapt upon Mako, his hooves slamming his body to the ground. With a harrowing growl, Rèalta sank his fangs into the adaro’s neck. Cordelia slid to a stop, sending sand flying onto the fire. The flames bobbed as the sand covered the oil. Melia’s head jerked up. Covering her nose with one hand, she tossed a fistful of sand onto the circle.  It thinned the fire. She picked up more sand, throwing it, moving manically, until she was able to escape. Clinging to Cordelia, she made her way to the ocean.

She took a deep breath; the cool, salty water soothed her dry lungs. It was chaos under the water. Kappas gnawed at a dead merrow. Two Oceanids struggled to dismember a rusalka. Sharks fought swordfish and blood clouded the water.

Energy pulsated through Melia’s body. She madly looked around, unsure of what to do first. She darted forward and aided the Oceanids. She picked up a sharp piece of coral. With a snarl, she raised her arm. The water whooshed around her as she drove the coral into the rusalka’s back. The creature screamed, her gray, wrinkly skin drawing back from her yellow fangs.  She reeled in pain, yanking forward out of the Oceanid’s hold so she could whip around and attack Melia.

Her white, pupiless eyes latched onto Melia, a hungry growl escaping her pulled back lips. She lunged forward, her hands closing around Melia’s throat. The rusalka’s razor sharp claws dug into Melia’s delicate skin, threatening to puncture through.

A muscular Oceanid pulled her off. Melia picked up the coral and sunk it into the rusalka’s neck. Blood stained the salty water.

“Melia!” Colwym shouted. “We’ve got him!” Seeing that the Oceanids had control of the rusalka, Melia followed Colwym’s voice several yards out. Beaten and bloody, Vaianu’s limp body was being held by two merrows. “You’ve earned it,” she said, pressing a small, metal spear into Melia’s hands. “If anyone gets to do it, it’s you.”

Melia closed her fingers around the weapon. “Never again,” she threatened, raising her hand. “Let this be a lesson to any who rebel,” she clamored. The spear sliced through Vaianu’s heart. Before they had time to relish the fact that their enemy was dead, more Rusalki lurched upon them. Razor sharp teeth sunk into Melia’s flesh.  With a swish of her tail, she spun on her opponent, driving the spear into its chest. She swam to Aeron’s side, tearing another Rusalka away. The darkling’s leathery hands gripped Melia’s face, pressing its claws into her skin. Remembering a self defense move taught in Tae Bo, Melia stuck her hand in between the Rusalki’s arms and used her palm to break the thing’s nose. It shrieked in pain and let Melia go. Briggetta grabbed its head and twisted, breaking its neck.

A kappa grabbed Melia by the base of her tail, yanking her away from the battle. Unable to move her tail, Melia was unable to swim away. Her hands dragged along the ocean floor, trying to grasp onto anything to pull herself out of the kappa’s hold. She felt Cordelia’s presence before she saw her. A finned hoof cracked the kappa’s shell.  Small, strong hands let go of Melia. She swam away, somersaulting in the water just in time to see her beloved kelpie’s fangs pierce the kappa’s skin.

The sight of a dead merrow sent tremors through her heart. Shaking her head, Melia knew she had to push on. Before she could rush to anyone’s side, a swordfish shot through the water at her. Melia flipped her tail madly, knowing she couldn’t get out of the way in time. She closed her eyes, dreading the pain she would feel when the hard bone popped through her skin.

When the needle never made contact, she opened her eyes to see a great white shark. She let out a breath of relief, knowing the swordfish was no match for the shark. Thankful, she swam over to a merrow who was fighting off a darkling with a piece of driftwood. An adaro snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around Melia. She squirmed, the prom dress getting very much in the way. She ducked just in time for the merrow to swing the drift wood, hitting the adaro square in the face.

The rebels were retreating. Merrows and Oceanids went after them, killing what they could catch. Panting, Melia sunk to the ocean floor.

“We did it,” Briggetta told her. “Thanks to you, we have won.”

*

Rèalta was blissfully munching on Mako’s body. He—along with the remnants of the body—needed to be brought back to the safety of the ocean. Wanting to get away from the victorious merrows, Melia offered to call the kelpie back into the water.

“Rèalta!” she called, only sticking her head out of the water. The kelpie looked up with a mouthful of flesh, but didn’t move. “Rèalta!” she called again.

“Melia!” a voice shouted from high above. “Melia!” it said again.

“Peter!” she yelled back, desperately swimming to the shore. The soaking wet prom dress was heavy, and it took effort to go to his side.

“Melia!” He threw his arms around her. “You’re alive.”

“Of course I’m alive,” she said with a smile. Being with a human felt very odd to her after all that had just happened. She wanted to run back into the ocean, dive deep under the beautiful water and be with her fellow merrows and Oceanids.

“I-I thought you were dead.” Peter pulled her tighter in his embrace. Melia wanted to push him away and swim. Then he kissed her.

Fireworks.

She saw fireworks.

*

“And that was your plan all along?” Jamie asked. She, Peter, and Melia were in the safety of Melia’s room in The Ridge.

“Yea.”

“It’s pretty genius.”

“I can’t take all the credit,” Melia told her friend. “Briggetta had been scheming an attack for a while. They just needed someone to be the double agent, as you humans would say.”

“You are brave,” Jamie admired.

Melia shrugged. “I had to do it.”

Peter hugged her. “But it’s not over, not really, is it?”

“Not completely. The darklings are…” she shook her head. “Everywhere. There are still a few rebels left. And there is no one to rule the ocean except…”

“Except who?” Peter asked.

“Me.”

No one spoke. Jamie’s blood ran cold and Peter pulled Melia closer, as if that would keep her from leaving.

“Why you?” Jamie asked, hoping it didn’t seem like an insult.

“I don’t know,” Melia admitted. “They asked if I would stay. Maybe it’s because I represent merrows and Oceanids.”

“Do you want to do it?” Jamie was afraid of the answer.

“Not really,” Melia said. “I want everything to be right again. I don’t want that much responsibility, and I don’t want to leave land completely. An Ocean Ruler wouldn’t be able to come onto land. I’d miss you guys too much. I want Briggetta to do it. She’s smart, driven, and can delegate better than me.” Melia yawned. Her body ached and her mind was exhausted. “It will take time,” she assured her friends. “But for a while, the ocean won’t be the same.”

“What are you gonna do?” Jamie asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

“I don’t know,” Melia answered honestly. “I don’t want to be involved in anything. Is that horrible?” she asked, guilt settling on her pretty face.

“No,” Peter responded right away. “No one would want to be involved in something like that. Like you said, it’s a huge responsibility.”

“I just want it to be better. Now,” she added wistfully. And it would be. In time.  Melia didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Can we go to bed?”

“Of course,” Peter obliged, standing with her in his arms.

“Jamie,” Melia said sternly. “Go to Rosemary’s house. It’s not too late to have fun.”

Jamie opened her mouth to protest.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Melia said. “If I learned anything today, it’s that life is easy to take away. We shouldn’t waste what little time we have.”

“Melia, no way. After what happened, I think we should…um…we should…”

“Sit around and think about it?” Melia finished for her. “Why? It’s over, or as much as being over as it can be.” She smiled. “I promise, for real this time, we are safe.”

“Ok,” Jamie said. Watching movies and eating popcorn seemed silly after hearing the tale of how Melia convinced refugee merrows to band together and to fight a war against the rebels. Melia walked her outside, grabbing the keys to the Range Rover for Jamie to drive. “You really are the best friend anyone could have,” Jamie told her. She hugged Melia. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Jamie.” Melia watched the Range Rover disappear from view. She eagerly followed Peter upstairs. Though she was beyond tired, electricity buzzed through her body. She closed her bedroom door and smiled coyly.

“It’s a shame,” Peter whispered, sitting on the bed.

“What is?” Melia asked as she sat on his lap.

“That no one on land will know how truly brave and amazing you are.”

“You know. That’s enough for me.”

They settled comfortably under the covers. Melia rested her head on Peter’s bare chest, soothed by his slow, human heartbeat. She traced her fingers over it, distantly wondering why humans drew hearts in a shape that didn’t resemble what they really looked like.

“Melia,” Peter breathed. “Can I ask you a serious question?”

“Yes,” she replied, looking into his blue eyes.

“How come you never joined the swim team?”

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Read a chapter from Unbound, the first book in Emily Goodwin’s The Guardian Legacies series!

Unboud

©2010 Emily Goodwin

Chapter 1 My Life as (I thought) it Should Be

I was almost able to fully ignore the dead guy standing under the old oak tree as I cantered around the arena on Mystery, my white Arabian. Mystery spooked at the sudden appearance of the ghost, but passed him without a second glance once he remembered that standing is all the apparition ever does. I’ve named him Bob, and he randomly shows up under the shady protection of the trees. He’s just your average residual haunting; stuck in a repetitive pattern of appearing for a brief while before disappearing again, never noticing anything around him.

I’ve waved and smiled and said ‘hello’, but nothing has ever gained his attention. I’ve thought about throwing something at him (or through him, technically) just to see if he would blink a dead eye, but I’ve resisted the urge afraid it could somehow hurt his undead feelings. His nondescript jeans and tee shirt made it hard for me to gauge his time of death, but his dark, shaggy hair lead me to believe he died in the 1970’s. There was always a sadness in his eyes, as if he was desperately waiting for something that would never come. Ever.

“Have fun on your hot date tonight!” Leslie, my riding instructor, said to me as I walked into the barn in a joking manner as she traded her tall, leather riding boots for flip-flops.

“I wouldn’t really call it that,” I said as I shut Mystery’s stall door. I moved to the stall next to him which contained a pretty buckskin Quarter Horse mare named Neptune. Technically she belonged to my twin brother Harrison, but he lost interest a week after he got her so she was mine now. “See you tomorrow!”

“Bye, Anora!” Leslie waved and headed out the door to her truck. I was alone in the barn now, and the silence was peaceful. I ran a stiff bristled brush across Neptune’s short summer fur and sighed happily, a smile settling subconsciously on my face.

The laconism was broken by a low rumble of a car engine and the crunching of gravel. I gave Neptune a goodbye hug and quickly put my brushes away. I had just opened Mystery’s stall to say bye to him when Mike came into the barn.

“You ready yet?” he asked impatiently.

“Almost, and it’s nice to see you too,” I called over my shoulder.

Mike’s face twitched slightly. “Of course it’s nice to see you, Anora.” He stayed in the doorway. Horses and dirt weren’t really Mike’s thing. Dressed in a white polo shirt and khakis, he looked out of place in the stable. I slid the heavy, wooden stall door closed and joined Mike.

“Ok, I’m ready,” I said cheerfully.

“You’re not gonna change?” He eyed me up and down.

“No, what’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I looked down myself. My tan breeches were new and had miraculously stayed spotless, my tight black tank top showed off my slim figure and matched my tall, black boots and my long, dark hair, which had been in a French braid all day, now fell in loose waves around my face.

“People are gonna wonder.” He raised an eyebrow.

“Let them,” I said with a smile and walked past him towards the dark blue Mustang.

“At least you look good in them.” Mike slapped my butt and followed me outside. I opened the passenger door and got in; Mike did the same on the driver’s side and turned up his horrible rap music right away. A fan of classic rock and alternative myself, I couldn’t stand his choice in music.

Our conversation was sparse to say the least, and after Mike parallel parked on the street downtown, he got out and headed towards Greta’s Frozen Goodies, my favorite ice cream parlor, without waiting for me to get out of the car.

“Can’t you wait?” I asked, jogging to catch up.

“You take too long,” Mike said. He paused for a brief moment and extended his hand toward me. I took it, and we walked the rest of the way together. I ordered my usual cookie dough ice cream and took a seat outside on the sidewalk.

“What are you doing tonight?” Mike asked.

“Hanging out with Laney and Marie, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” Mike looked behind me, not wanting to meet my eyes.

“So you’re not coming over then?”

“No, Travis is having a party. You should come.”

“No thanks,” I said, disappointed that I wouldn’t be spending time with him tonight. Travis was one of Mike’s friends that I’d never met. He was a sophomore at Syracuse University and supposedly threw awesome parties. I wouldn’t know; I wasn’t a fan of crowds and had never (until now, of course) gotten invited to any parties.  We finished our ice cream and walked back to the car to head to my house. I hoped Mike would at least stay over for a while before going to this party.

Mike pulled in my driveway just as the sun was beginning to set. He put the Mustang in park but left the engine running; I guess he really wasn’t planning on staying. I unbuckled and turned to open my door. He leaned over suddenly and pushed me back into my seat.

“Aren’t you gonna give me a kiss goodbye?” he asked. I smiled and did want he asked. “I’ll call you later, like around ten, ok? If you change your mind, I’d really be happy.”

He leaned in for another kiss before I got out of the car. I waited until he backed out on the street so I could wave and then I walked around the back of the house to go in through the garage. My mom was a bit of a neat-freak, and she hated when I wore my barn boots into the house. When I saw that her car wasn’t in there,  I snuck inside without taking off my boots.

“Hunter! Come here my sweet boy!” I called in that baby-talk voice you use when talking to animals. Though Hunter, my oversized German Shepherd was definitely no baby. He bounded over to me, accidentally knocking me over in his excitement. “Did you miss me, sweetie? I missed you, of course.”

He rolled over for me to rub his belly. I layed on the floor petting him for a while then I quickly headed upstairs and changed out of my breeches and into my favorite pajamas pants and traded my black tank top for a clean, white tee shirt. I tossed my boots into the closet, shut the door and let Romeo out. Romeo was a dark sable ferret with a white mask on his face. He was very cute, or at least I thought so. Romeo jumped out of his cage, happy to be out, and hopped over to sniff Hunter. Hunter lowered his head and sniffed back, then gave Romeo a little lick on the head.

After getting the animals taken care of, I went downstairs to get something to drink. There was a half eaten sandwich and an empty cup on the breakfast table, evidence Harrison had been here. I sighed and picked up the dishes. My mom was always nagging at Harrison to clean up after himself. It’s not that my brother was purposely ignoring her; he was just too absent minded and easily distracted. I surveyed the rest of the large kitchen; the expansive granite counter tops were sparkling clean, the stainless steel fridge was shining, as were all the other metal appliances.  As I mentioned, my mom likes things to be neat and orderly. I hated cleaning up after Harrison, but I did it to save his ass from the wrath of Mom.

Speaking of whom, where was he? Suddenly, I realized how quiet it was. Where was everybody? The door was unlocked when I came home. I sighed and locked the door.

“Harry must have forgotten to lock the door again,” I said aloud to Hunter.  A smile broke across my face as I remembered Mike telling me that he thought it was weird that I talked to my animals like they were human. “Well, I don’t care. Besides, it beats talking to myself, right?” I smiled down at him as I rubbed his head.

I glanced at the clock; I had about twenty minutes before I could expect Laney and Marie to be here. I considered ordering the pizzas now, so they would get here as soon as the girls did, but for some reason I had a feeling like I should wait. I wished they would hurry up and get here already. I hated downtime like this, when there really wasn’t enough time to do something productive, but there was too much time to just sit around waiting. Plus, it was creepy to be alone in this big house.

Up the stairs and down the hall I went, turning on every light I could. Hunter trotted along close to me. I opened my bedroom door slowly so I wouldn’t hit Romeo. He was still running around in that manic way ferrets do. I liked my room. It was large and the walls were painted a light purple with white doors and trim. My dresser, desk, night stand and book shelf were also white, creating a soft, girly feel to the room.

My bed, which was fitted in the center of the wall opposite the door, had a pastel green comforter and matching pillows with little multicolored flowers all over them that coordinated well enough to motivate me to make my bed in the mornings. I had a big pink stuffed unicorn that I always slept with, and he sat in the middle of the pillows. Hunter had a big, fluffy, blue plaid bed on the floor next to my bed.  Pictures of Mystery, Neptune, Hunter and Romeo cluttered my dresser and desk, and several frames hung on the walls, which not only encased pictures of my animals, but pictures of my friends and family as well. The top perimeter of the wall behind my bed was lined with ribbons I had earned from years of showing horses. My book shelf was overflowing with a wide variety of books, the majority of which be
ing about horses, dogs and ferrets. My room wasn’t particularly mess, but I wouldn’t call it spotless either. Dog toys and treats were always scattered across the floor, which also housed the occasional pile of laundry, shoes or other normal stuff you would find in a bedroom.

Hunter heard the door open before I did. He jumped up from his nap and ran to the bedroom door. I saved my Sims game that I had been playing, turned off the computer and scooped up Romeo. I opened the door to let Hunter run downstairs to play guard dog before I put Romeo back in his cage and headed down myself.

“It’s about time!” I yelled as I ran downstairs.

No answer. Hunter was still barking, which was unusual since he usually quieted once he saw who was there, and he definitely knew Laney and Marie. My sock covered feet skidded to a stop on the slick tile in the kitchen. No one was in there. I knew I heard the door open, and even better, Hunter heard it too. “Ok, very funny. You can come out now.” I waited, expecting my friends or my brother to pop out from a corner somewhere. Hunter ran around the house, still barking. My cell phone went off, causing me to jump. It was Marie.

“Hello?”

“Hey. Sorry we’re running late. Laney got stuck watching Annabelle and had to wait for her mom to get home. We’ll be there in like twenty.”

“So, you guys aren’t here?” Stupid question, I know, but I had to ask.

“Um, no.  We just left. I know Laney drives fast, but not that fast. Have you been drinking?”

I mumbled a good bye and set the phone down. Unease crept over me. No one was in the house except for me. I closed my eyes. “Leave me alone! Please, not again,” I prayed. I took a deep breath to gain control. I felt the calm take over. My phone went off again, this time a text message from my brother.

Hey you Travis go?

Now, he had been drinking. Assuming he was asking if I was going to Travis’, I typed back: No, staying in tonight. Laney and Marie ar coming over.  A moment passed before I got a reply. Goo trav nogopd 4 yoi. Good God, Harry was drunk. I sighed as I typed: Where are you? Do you need a ride home? If there was a party, my brother was there. How my parents didn’t catch on, I’ll never know. Sometimes I think they do but just choose to ignore it. It took a while for him to respond, and from what I could decipher was that he was over at his best buddy Luke‘s house. A light bulb went off in my head as I remembered Luke saying his parents were going on an end-of-summer getaway. Ok, be safe. Love u bro.  I put my phone down and was alone again. I turned on the radio to a classic hard rock station to fill the emptiness and ordered the pizzas.

***

It was dark when I arrived at the barn. Shopping, lunch, more shopping, the movie and then dinner took longer than I had planned. I was glad to be busy all day though because Mike hadn’t called me yet. I figured he was hung over from partying last night, but it was late. I had that something-is-wrong feeling in the pit of my stomach. I purposely left my cell phone in the car so I wouldn’t be tempted to check it compulsively for missed calls. I had a lot to do horse-wise, anyway.

There weren’t too many people there this late except for Amanda Williams and know-it-all Ramona Carl, who I couldn’t stand. Amanda’s horse Allie was in a stall next to Mystery’s but I’d gotten to know Amanda only a little bit. She was probably the sweetest girl I’d ever met and was very quiet. Her medium length brown hair was almost always in her face as if she was trying to hide from everyone. She was putting the last of her grooming supplies away when I walked by.

“Hey, Anora,” she mumbled quietly.

“Hey, Amanda. How are you?”

“Oh, fine. Just finishing up.” She smiled and turned back to her grooming box. I grabbed my own box of brushes and went to Mystery’s stall. Ramona walked past me (towards the door thank God) just as I was finishing brushing Mystery. Ramona was a chubby blonde who was a few inches shorter than me. She always had her thick hair in a perfect French braid. I wouldn’t call her definitely unattractive, but there was nothing pretty about her. She was plain; pale hair, pale skin, and pale blue-gray eyes.

Ramona stopped, spun around to face me with her hands on her hips. Go away, I shouted in my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her take in a breath and open her mouth, preparing to lecture me on something I already knew. Just leave! I mentally screamed, turning my back to her. Her boots scuffed against the concrete aisle and the door slammed.

“Dodged that bullet,” I whispered to Mystery, relieved.

It was ten-thirty by the time I got done. I wished I brought Hunter with; the barn was full of sounds and had a creepy feeling when you were alone, which only got amplified at night. That, and I’m pretty sure the old barn around back where the hay was stored was haunted. I’m not certain because I avoid that place like the plague. I got the feeling someone was watching me as I darted out to my Prius. After the doors were locked—I pushed the button twice, just to be sure— I tapped the screen on my cell. A wave of disappointment washed over me when I saw that I had no missed calls.

My parents were in bed already when I got home twenty minutes later. I heard multiple voices coming from Harrison’s room as I headed towards mine. I opened the door to see who was over and got immediately choked by smoke.

“Close the door!” Harrison ordered. I stepped in and closed it.

“Holy crap, Harry, Mom and Dad are so gonna smell this!”

“Nah. They never do. Come have a seat with us, sista.”

I sat next to my twin as I joined the small group of people. Luke was the only one I recognized. He was six feet of pure muscle. His tight white tee shirt contrasted beautifully with his dark skin. He had intensely dark brown eyes, but currently they were all red and a little puffy. A large brown haired boy and sandy red head were playing some sort of football game on the PS3. Luke put his hand on my thigh. “What’s happening?” he asked me sleepily.

“Um, nothing.”

“You’re pretty.” He smiled, showing a row of beautiful white teeth.

Luke never really paid much attention to me before. I knew the types of girls Luke dated, and I sure wasn’t one of them. “Thanks.” I could feel my cheeks redden a bit, but hey, I doubt any one in here would notice. Harrison put his arm around my shoulders.

“She’s off limits. She’s my sister.”

Luke waved his hand in the air to show it was ok. “I know man, but you didn’t tell me your sister got hot!” He looked at me intently, and I felt my cheeks redden even more. Harrison scowled at him. Just then my cell rang. I jumped up when I saw it was Mike.

“See you guys later!” I called as I dashed into my room.

“Hey!” I sounded cheerful, too cheerful.

“Hey.” Mike’s voice was dull.

“Why didn’t you call me all day?”

“I dunno, I was busy.”

I felt a little crushed that he was able to brush it off that lightly. “Oh.” There was a long silence. Obviously that was all the explanation I was going to get out of Mike. “I went shopping today. I got lots of new stuff.”

“Really, want to model it for me?”

I smiled. “Of course, but you should know, Marie made me go to Victoria’s Secret.” I paused for dramatic effect.

“Oh yea?” Mike sounded suddenly more interested.

“Mh-hm. And she convinced me to buy something.”

“Remind me to thank Marie.”

I heard voices in the background. It sounded like girls. “Where are you?” The bad feeling suddenly came back. I heard the distinct sound of a door shutting. The female voices disappeared.

“Travis’.”

“Oh.”

“Yea, I never left. He wants to meet you, by the way. Listen, I got to go. You’ll model for me tomorrow, ok?” That sounded more like a statement than a question.

“If you want me to.” I hoped I sounded coy.

“You know I do.” Click. Not much of a good bye. I sighed and got ready for bed.

Hunter bumped against the door, causing it to rattle and whined. I’m a light sleeper, so that was enough to wake me up. I sat up and ran my hands over my sleepy face.

“You need to go out, Sweetie?”

I mentally kicked myself for not taking him out earlier. He whined again. I groaned but slowly got out of bed. I paused as I walked past Harrison’s room and peaked inside. He was still fully dressed and passed out on top of his bed. I snuck in and picked a blanket up off the floor and threw it over him. The house seemed oddly cold. No one else was in the room, leaving me to conclude that they were either in the guest room or gone. I cracked open the last door before the stairs. Empty.

Good, they’re gone. I hated seeing Harrison’s friends in the morning; I look like a mess. Whenever Luke stayed the night, I made sure to shower and put makeup on before heading down for breakfast.

I opened the backdoor and stepped onto the deck. Hunter trotted past me and onto the grass. He sniffed around, looking for a good spot. The wind picked up and I wrapped my arms tightly around me. The August air was still warm, but the breeze carried the promise of an early fall. I enjoyed fall; the cool weather was nice for riding and the multi-colored leaves were so pretty. My mind drifted to my favorite fall memories, all of them consisting of horses and friends. A low growl startled me out of my reverie.

“Hunter! What are you growling at?”

I scanned our small fenced in backyard but saw nothing of significance. Crap. That meant he was growling at something in the woods. The fence we had was one of those white cast iron ones that are made to look pretty rather than keep anything in-or out.

“Get in here!” I called.

He growled again. The porch light spilled out enough for me to see that the fur on his back was standing up. Wind rattled the trees, which were still heavy with green leaves. I heard branches breaking and undergrowth crunching. Something was in the woods. Hunter sprinted forward, fully in protection mode now. It was too dark to descry exactly what was out there. Please be a bunny.

“Hunter! Come here!”

He ignored me and started barking. Oh man, I didn’t want to go out and get him. But if something was really out there… I didn’t want him getting into a scuffle with a wild animal. It moved again, causing so much noise that I knew it had to be big.

“Definitely not a bunny.” I said to myself.

I moved to the edge of the deck. “Hunter, COME!”

Finally he turned to look at me. After another snarl at whatever was behind the fence, he ran over to me. I grabbed his collar and squinted, trying to focus my eyes to better try to see something. Hunter growled again. I looked down at my dog and was mighty glad he wasn’t growling at me.

He was huge for a German Shepherd. The breeder we got him from was baffled; both of his parents were award winning show dogs weighing not over eighty-five pounds. They actually apologized when Hunter topped one hundred pounds. He was mostly black, with the characteristic tan legs, chest, belly and chin. He had enough brown mixed in on his head, ears, and neck to give him a handsome, wild-dog look. His teeth were big. And sharp. Maybe it was just my opinion, but his fangs seemed longer than other dogs’. Hunter was a good, loyal, well behaved and friendly dog, but boy, could he look scary when he wanted to.

I woke up the next morning feeling very uncomfortable and completely drained. It was eight-thirty and Hunter was lying on top of me. I tried to sit up but realized I couldn’t move under his weight. “Hunter,” I called quietly. It was enough for him to hear, and he stood up and moved so he could lick my face. “Ok. Enough.” I gently pushed him off and sat up, wiping dog slobber off my face. I groaned; I really didn’t want to get out of bed but I had a riding lesson in an hour. I sleepily started down the hall.

“Anora!”

I swiveled around, looking for the source of the whisper. Harrison’s door was still closed. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, imagining invisible shields going up around my mind. It was the only way I knew to keep things like that out of my head. It was odd though, I could have sworn I’ve heard that voice before.

***

“How were the horses today?” Mom asked me during dinner that night.

“Really good. I had a lesson and then went out on the trails.”

“That‘s nice honey.”

“Yea, it was fun. Can you pass me the gravy?” I spooned some over my mashed potatoes and offered the bowl to Mike.

“Have you ventured to the stable to see Anora‘s horses, Mike?” Mom always sounded so formal when she talked. It’s like she never took a break from being Mrs. Serious Doctor.

“Yes.” He shoved a large forkful of potatoes into his mouth. Conversation closed, is how I took it. I wished he talked to my parents more; after all, they made an effort to be polite and talkative to him.

After dinner, Mike and I went upstairs to watch TV. I plopped down on my bed.

“Want to watch Buffy?” I asked enthusiastically.

“That show’s lame.” Mike sounded bored, as usual.

“I thought you said you’ve never even seen it.”

“Yea, exactly, because it’s lame.”

“Then how would you know I’ts lame if you haven’t seen it?”

“I said I don’t want to watch it, dammit.”

I leaned back on my pillows feeling a little hurt for some reason. I didn’t want to start a fight. Better change the subject then. “That’s ok, it was just an idea. What do you want to do then?”

“Travis is having people over again. We could go.”

“Mike, you know I have another riding lesson tomorrow morning. I can’t stay out late.” Though he wasn’t looking at me, I’m pretty sure I saw him roll his eyes. I didn’t want him to think I was the dork that I really was. “Well, I guess I could go, but just for a little bit. I know you don’t really get it, but riding is really important to me.” Mike smiled, and I loved it when he did. He had dark blonde hair and deep blue eyes, and he looked absolutely charming when he smiled. “Let me tell my dad where I’m going and change and we can take off. Promise we can be back here by like, nine-thirty?” He pulled me close and gave me a kiss.

“Promise.”

We didn’t talk much on the way to Travis’ apartment. I’d never been there before, but I knew it was near the University. The apartments over there ranged from really, really nice to very run down. Common among student housing, I was sure. Tired of the awkward silence, I decided to try my hand at starting a conversation.

“You know what I was thinking?”

“Hmm?”

“That I would love to run a rescue barn for off the track racehorses, like Penny and Dave.”

“Who?”

“Penny and Dave. The people who own the barn my horses are at. You’ve met them before.”

Mike was silent for a minute before saying, “That’s stupid. You would never make any money and plus, where would you get the land and the barn to do something like that? You aren’t thinking realistically.”

Ok, true, I hadn’t thought out every little financial aspect yet, but it wasn’t like I was trying to put the plan in motion. “It was just an idea,” I said quietly. I folded my hands in my lap and stared at them until we arrived at Travis’.

The apartment wasn’t really an apartment complex, like I’d imagined. It was a big old house split into several smaller houses, and it wasn’t one of the nicer ones, but it wasn’t a rundown crap-hole either, thank God. It was obvious that college students occupied the houses on the street. Music, laughter and loud conversations filled the warm night air, and beer bottles, red plastic cups and other kinds of food wrappers littered the tiny lawns and walkways. Mike took my hand led me onto the large covered porch. Several guys were sitting on aluminum lawn chairs drinking beer.

“Yo, Mike! What’s happening bro?” An overweight boy of about oh, twenty-three I’d say, got up to give Mike a hug that was really like a hand shake and a pat on the back. Mike greeted him back and, if I’m not mistaken, called him Big Pauly. “Who’s the babe?” Big Pauly eyed me up and down. I was regretting wearing a tight tank top and a short, and also tight, denim skirt now. “Send her this way.” He opened his arms like he expected me to hug him. Gross. I stayed rooted at Mike’s side. A very tall and skinny boy sat next him, and the contrast of his gangly-ness to Big Pauly’s oversized frame was comical.

“What’s up?” he said and tipped his head back. He didn’t sound fully conscious. Seriously? These are the kind of people he hung out with? Mike led me through the door and up a flight of stairs and entered without knocking into a nice sized living room. The room was as clean as you can expect for it to be when a twenty-something year old boy lived there. The brown leather couch didn’t match the blue plaid upholstered armchairs, and the sheer black curtains clashed even more. A large flat screen and several video game systems were all that decorated this room. Obviously no females lived here. Next to the living room was a tiny kitchen with an attached dining room, if you could even call it that. Behind that I could see an open bathroom door that was at the end of a hall right before the hall sharply turned and lead to presumably the bedrooms. Mike walked in front of me, calling for Travis, who appeared from hall.

“Hey, Mikey! Glad you stopped by. You’d never believe who’s-” he cut off abruptly, seeing me. “Well, well well. You must be the famous Anora.” He too, eyed me up and down. Next time I come here I’m wearing a parka. He nodded his head, as if he was silently letting me know I got his stamp of approval.  “Give me one second.” He said as he disappeared down the hall. I saw him grab his cell from his back pocket as he walked away.

“Want something to drink?” Mike asked as he opened the fridge. I peered in and saw beer, beer, and more beer, along with some fruity looking wine coolers. A few bottles of Coke were pushed up against the back. There wasn’t much food in there either. Well, at least they had the essentials, right? I held back the urge to roll my eyes and politely declined. Mike pulled out two beers.

“So, how you been treatin’ my boy Mikey, here?” Travis asked when he rejoined us.

“Um, I’d like to say good, I hope.” I looked at Mike for his input. He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me close.

“I think I’ll keep her around a bit longer,” he joked. We made our way over to the living room. Mike and I sat close together on the couch. Suddenly, a thought popped into my head. I turned to Mike.

“Hey, we’re going to Anthony’s for our birthday. We decided today and I just remembered to tell you.”

Travis looked confused. “Our birthday?”

That was a habit of mine. I forget how weird that sounds. “Yea, I have a twin.” Travis’ jaw dropped.

“Seriously? Damn Mikey. I’m jealous. Is she as hot as you?”

This isn’t the first time this has happened, so I decided to play along.

“Well, maybe, if blue-eyed blondes are your type.” I think I just made Travis’ night.

“You guys close?” It doesn’t take a genius to see where he was steering his train of thought.

“Oh yea, very,” I said in a voice that I hoped sounded sexy. I could see Mike trying not to laugh out of the corner of my eye. “We do everything together.” Travis leaned in closer. “Well, except that I don’t go to football practice or lift weights.” Confusion took over Travis’ face.

“Huh?”

Mike started laughing.  “Dude! Her twin’s her brother.”

Travis straightened up. “Not cool,” he said but then started laughing himself. We continued making small talk and the boys continued downing their beers for about a half hour. Someone knocked on the door. Travis yelled for them to come in, and three guys and two girls shuffled to join us in the now crowded living room. I especially  hate crowds when they are full of people I don’t know. I hate them even more when they are full of people I don’t know and who look at me like they are judging me, which is exactly what the two girls did.

A plain, skinny blonde approached me first. She had on a tight, pink skirt so short it made mine look modest. She had on an equally tight, white t-shirt that showed a few inches of her overly tanned (to the point of looking orange) stomach. She definitely was lacking in the chest department, and I felt ashamed of myself for taking satisfaction in that. She had wide set eyes that were such a startling shade of blue that it was obvious she was wearing colored contacts. Her dark roots showed that her hair color wasn’t natural either. She had an I-think-I’m-better-than-everyone look frozen on her face. She was one of those girls who lacked natural beauty but dressed so flashy and had so much confidence, she almost had you fooled. I immediately didn’t like her. Not only did she look so stereotypically bitchy, but a bad vibe came from her. Her sidekick, a modest looking red head, trailed behind.

“You must be Anora.” She was very chipper. I liked her even less. “I’m Alix. I have a few classes with your Mike. I’m sure he’s mentioned me.”

Not wanting to be rude for no reason, I smiled. “No, actually he hasn’t. But it’s nice to meet you.” She sat down next to me, close enough that her leg was touching mine. “I’ve never met anyone with the name Anora before,” she said matter of factly. I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a statement or a compliment.

“Yea, my parents wanted something different, I guess.” I didn’t really know what else to say. I looked over at the red head and smiled. She smiled back.

“Hi. I’m Kelsey.” She seemed more genuine, but still had that pathetic follower air to her.

“Nice to meet you too.”

The boys had all turned their attention to the Giants game, leaving us girls to talk. Gee, how fun.  I spent a while talking about my horses before Alix drilled me with more questions. I guess I could say she was just trying to be nice, but I got the feeling like she was trying to get some deep, dark secret out of me that she could use against me later. I couldn’t explain it, it was just one of those odd feelings I got. I tried looking like I was interested in the game. I really wanted to go home. Not only were materialistic and superficial two of my most hated personality traits, but being around such stereotypical people reminded me of just how atypical I really was.

It seemed like centuries later when the clock reached nine-thirty. I put my hand on Mike’s arm to get his attention.

“What’s up baby?” His breath reeked of alcohol.

“It’s time for me to go.”

Alix heard and chimed in. “Oh, you have a curfew? How cute!”

“No, I don’t have a curfew, but I do have a riding lesson tomorrow morning and I need to get some sleep.”

“What? It’s so freaking early! Sometimes I forget how young you high school kids are.”

What an idiot. She was a freshman in college, and was probably only a year older than me. Unless she got held back, which wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Mike ran his hand up and down my thigh.

“Just wait till the end of the game.”

“Fine,” I sighed; I really didn’t want to be here anymore.

It was nearing eleven o’clock when the game ended. Mike had several more beers in that short timeframe. Great, he was drunk. How was he supposed to drive me home? I made up an excuse to go outside and get some air. Luckily the porch had been deserted. I dug around in my purse for my phone and called Harrison.

“Hey sis.”

“Hey. What are you doing?”

“Playing Madden.”

“Can you, um, come get me? I’m stuck at Mike’s friend’s house and I really don’t want to be here. He was gonna take me home but he’s too drunk to drive and I don’t want to wait for him to sober up.”

“I don’t need an explanation to help you out, you know.”

“So you can come get me?”

“Yea, where are you?”

The directions I gave were less than certain, given I was in an unfamiliar part of town.

“Thanks so much Har. I love you.”

“Yea, yea. I’ll see you in a bit.”

I went back upstairs. Alix had snaked my spot next to Mike. I stood awkwardly in the doorway. Luckily he saw me and motioned for me to come over and sit on his lap. Alix had an unreadable expression on her face as I did so. Mike kissed my neck.

“I missed you.”

I smiled and blushed. “I was only gone for a minute.”

“What were you doing out there?”

“I called Harrison.” Mike looked...angry, hurt? I couldn’t tell. “That way he can get me and you can stay here with your friends.”

He smiled. “You’re so thoughtful.”

We sat there for a while, watching the highlights and recap of the game. Travis kept looking at Mike, trying to catch his gaze. When Mike finally did, Travis gave him a little nod. Mike shifted his weight, signally me to stand up. He got up too and led me down the hall into one of the bedrooms. He closed the door and gently pushed me down on the bed.

Before I knew what was happening, he was on me, kissing me feverishly. I was slightly taken by surprise, but I didn’t object. His hands slipped up the back of my tank top and started working on undoing the clasp of my bra. Keeping one hand occupied with my front, he started running the other up my leg. He slowly passed my knee, then my thigh and was under my skirt. My mind was muddled with what to do; I didn’t want to anything further. That should have been enough to stop me right there.

Luckily there was a sharp knock on the door. It was Alix, who waited all of three seconds to barge into the room. Mike was too drunk to act upset by our intruder. It was enough for me to get embarrassed about.

“Oh sorry!” She didn’t sound sorry at all. “Mike, your phone rang. I thought you would want to know.”

I stormed out, grabbed my purse and went to wait for Harrison on the porch. Mike followed, tripping as he tried to keep up with me.

“Babe!” he called. I didn’t turn around. “Come on, that was funny!”

“I didn’t think so.” Instead of admit to the embarrassment, I’d rather act mad. It was childish, I know.

“Come on.” He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “Let’s go back inside.” I saw Harrison’s car coming down the road. I turned to face Mike. I gave him a kiss-a really good kiss I might add- and hopped down the steps just as the sleek, black BMW slowed to a stop. I got in. Mike stood on the porch with a dumb expression on his face. Just as we were driving away, I saw Alix opening the door, looking smug. That bad feeling came back in my stomach.

“This isn’t a good place for you to be.” Harrison sounded concerned.

I laughed. “Oh, yea, Harry. Like you should talk.”

“Seriously, Annie. I know these people, and they definitely aren’t your kind of people.”

I was in a bad mood, and didn’t feel like being lectured. Still, it was always nice to have your brother watch out for you. And I had to admit Harrison was right; I surely didn’t fit in with Mike and his friends. Maybe on the outside, but if they really knew me…they’d all run away screaming or get the tomatoes and start throwing. We were silent for a few minutes.

“Thanks again for getting me. I really didn’t want to be there any longer.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Harrison shifted nervously. I could tell he wanted to say something.

“Spit it out.” He knew what I was talking about. Though we of course weren’t identical twins, there were many times when we finished each other’s sentences or somehow knew what the other was thinking. He cast a nervous glance my way.

“Ok, don’t take this the wrong way, but I just...” he trailed off, not sure on how to phrase what he wanted to say. “Why are you with a guy like Mike?”

I sighed. Honestly, I’ve wondered the same thing. “I don’t know.” I usually didn’t keep things from Harrison. Annoying brother or not, he was still one of my best friends. “I guess I feel special, for some reason, because he’s so popular and I’m so not, and well…I like his attention.” There, I admitted it. I was surprised at how relieved I felt saying out loud. I didn’t want to believe I was shallow enough to date someone for those reasons. I tried to think of a redeeming quality about Mike but came up empty handed. We rode the rest of the way home in silence.

Before we got out of the car, Harrison turned to me and said, “Being popular isn’t everything, you know. And you don’t need a douche like Mike to make you so. If people don’t like you, then the hell with them. You have your friends, and you have me.” He smiled. “Aren’t I popular enough for the both of us?”

I laughed. “Oh, you don’t have a big head at all.” We both headed upstairs.

“Listen, Annie. You’re my sister and I love you. I just don’t want to see you get hurt, ok?” I wanted to hug him, but I knew that would be pushing it. Hearing him say ‘I love you’ was enough of a prize for the night.