Everblue (15 page)

25

FIN

I woke up sick: sick to my stomach, sick of Natatoria, sick of waiting for Dad to come home, sick of Tatch’s complaining, and sick of the rules. And when I showed up for practice at the field, all I got was another laundry list of stupid stuff elder mers wanted me to do . . . like moving decorative rocks.

All I needed was one excuse and someone was losing an appendage.

26

ASH

 “Get up, Ashlyn,” Mom demanded from down the hall. “Hurry or we’ll be late for church.”

I pried my stubborn eyelids open and removed a wayward fake lash, but didn’t leave the sanctuary of my bed. Church was the last place I wanted to go. More than likely, Callahan would be there, along with other kids from my school. I didn’t want to face him yet, still dying of embarrassment from the flubbed up kiss.

Within minutes, Mom opened the door and picked up the dirty laundry off the floor. “Didn’t you hear me? You need to get ready.”

“I’m not going,” I said plainly.

“And why not?” Her tone told me she wasn’t in the mood for theatrics or sob stories.

“I have cramps,” I lied, knowing my period could get me out of anything since she had horrific cramps herself.

“Oh,” she said with a softer tone. “I didn’t realize. Did you start early?”

A flicker of dread flashed across my body. Did she keep track of my cycle? I wasn’t supposed to start until next weekend.

“Must have been all the stress,” I mumbled into my pillow, curling into a ball and moaning for affect.

“I’ll bring up the Midol,” she said quietly and closed the door.

I asked God for forgiveness for my deception, knowing He’d understand. If Dad had come to wake me instead, he’d have accepted my need for solitude, but chances were, he’d already left for the fire station.

Shortly after Mom brought the pills and a heating pad, the family got into the car and left. I exhaled at the sudden quiet. Three peaceful hours all to myself. What would I do first?

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep longer but couldn’t shake the anxiety. If Callahan noticed I wasn’t at church, he’d probably call. I wasn’t ready to talk to him yet.

I pulled on jeans and my team jacket, deciding a walk far away from my phone would calm my nerves. The cool breeze off the lake tickled the inside of my nose as I sloshed down the soupy path to the water. Memories of playing on the trail with Tatchi before we were old enough to take
The Sea Star
, our four-seater row boat, to Fannette Island, prompted a desire to visit our secret spot.

Inside the shed, the blue boat leaned against the wall closest to the door. I heaved it down the dock, then grabbed two paddles and looked at the life vests. A big hairy spider had made its home on the edges of the fabric, wigging me out. I shrugged and left the eight-legged beast alone. It wasn’t as if I didn’t know how to swim.

The paddles glided the boat across the calm deserted waters. Out in the bay, the clarity allowed me to see down into the eerie depths. I bit my lip thinking about the source of the splash the night before. Was Tessie the one making noise, distracting me from kissing Callahan? I giggled, before the embarrassment hit me again.
As if.

Fannette Island was closed to tourism this time of year due to the frigid weather. I made sure the coast was clear before I snuck over to “our” spot. Underneath the ponderosa pines and white firs, I scooped the dirt away from the line of rocks we’d arranged as kids. Somewhere under the sand, a plastic Folgers coffee-can slept with childhood treasures deep inside. We’d counted twenty steps from the spot to the water. Now, the steps were more like fifteen. The landscape had changed, but I still remembered where we’d hidden it.

The sandy loam made digging the earth easier and I finally hit something hard. With my fingers, I traced the edge of the circular object under the dirt and lifted the can from the ground. The outside wording had faded, but when I pried the duct tape free, the inside was dry as a bone.

For a moment, I just peered into the container, afraid to stir the contents. We were supposed to open this together before we left for college. Before she left without saying a word.
Oh, Tatchi.
My insides ached. I felt more like a thief than a discoverer.

Inside were the two friendship rings I’d made from a broken gold chain, a paperclip, and fake stones all hot glued together—a blue stone for me and a yellow one for her. Tangled in the loose chain was a necklace charm of a mermaid she’d given me for my birthday one year, something we liked to pretend when we swam in the bay. A picture of us with the inscription “best friends forever” written with liquid paper reminded me how we loved to play with Mom’s office supplies at Gran’s shop. I put my friendship ring on and held the picture to my chest.

Two envelopes with our names written in glitter pen caught my eye. I stopped before taking mine out and breaking the candle wax seal. A thread of guilt for opening it early wrapped around my heart.

Dear Ash,

You are my bestest friend in the whole world. Swimming, reading books, pretending to be rescued by handsome princes, and riding bikes with you is my favorite things ever. I hope live next door to each other when we grow up and have lots of babies who grow up and like to play together. When you read this, I want you to remember the time we took Fin’s underwear and put it up the flagpole. ha-ha. Or the time we tricked Fin into tasting the whipped cream pie and smashed it in his face. That was hilarious. Okay, I can’t think of anything else to say, so good-bye.

Love your BFF, Tatiana aka Tatchi aka Super Spy #2

Ps. If you aren’t Ash, you’re stealing. Rebury it or else.

I held the note to my chest, laughing and crying at the same time. We’d had such a fun childhood together—so many good memories. And now this. Silence.

I sat overlooking the water, flipping the mermaid charm in my fingers, contemplating a life without my best friend. As the wind blew through the trees, the aged wood protested—aching with me. Did something bad happen? Did her parents find out about her plans for college and move away? What if she never came home? Would I have to go to college alone? The thought killed me.

My butt fell asleep after sitting on the cold ground. I put everything away except the picture and reburied the can.

Dejected, I pushed off shore and began the slow process of rowing back. The urge to cry burned in my throat. This wasn’t fair. Who just picks up and leaves their things, abandons their business, and doesn’t tell anyone why for weeks? Was this the insanity of living with an alcoholic? I pulled out the picture and studied it—our happy faces, our innocent joy. How could we be
best friends forever
now?

A ski boat zoomed by, the curious onlookers prying into my business. I turned away but had to grab the sides as their stupid waves rocked the boat too hard. An oar slipped into the water. I went to grab it, dropping the picture, too.

“NO!” I cried and reached over the ledge to retrieve both items.

Another wave knocked the boat just right and I toppled over into the water. The icy current ravaged my skin like sharp needles, jabbing relentlessly into my body. Everything ached except one part of my thigh where it burned instead.

I tried to swim but my leg wouldn’t work. Something red colored the water around me. A huge tear in my pant leg revealed the source.
Lucky there aren’t any sharks.
I laughed at myself.

Horrified I was able to make jokes at a time like this, I turned around to reach for the boat. I slapped empty water.
Where was it?
Panic began to take over. And then I saw it. The wind had pushed the boat out of reach. With each passing second, it moved further away. I tried to paddle, but my muscles seized with the cold.

Forcing myself to calm down, I rolled over and floated on my back. But as I watched the blue sky above and felt the icy water below, reality sunk in. If I didn’t get out of the water soon, hypothermia would set in. I was about to drown.

“Help!” I screamed, hoping the people who’d just cruised by and caused the accident actually saw me fall in. “Help . . .”

Salty, hot tears burned my cheeks and slid down my face into the water.

This was it. The best swimmer on our swim team had met her match. I was going to join the underwater grave of mobsters in cement boots at the bottom of the lake. Cold seeped into my bones, numbing my hands and toes. Uncontrollable shivers overtook my strength. The desire to keep my eyes open became harder to fight.

My face submerged.

I opened my eyes one more time, my last breath bubbling out of my mouth. The light from the sun twinkled in the water as the darkness pulled me downward. My lungs burned for air, air impossible for me to swim to.

A bright light barreled toward me under the water. It couldn’t be good, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. It’s what everyone sees at the end.

“I’ve got you,”
I heard in my mind. The voice sounded faintly like Fin’s.

I smiled. Of course my last thoughts would be lying cradled in the warm and safe arms of my unending crush: Fin. What an amazing way to go.

27

FIN

I could have swam in circles of joy when Mr. Gumboot requested smooth rocks for his fence surrounding his algae garden. With pleasure, I insisted retrieving them and left Kiernan to help arrange the existing collection. With a quick flap of my fin, I secretly slipped back into Tahoe for a little extra curricular rock-hunting adventure. Sure, I was pushing the limits, but hey, Mr. Gumboot asked and my explicit instructions were to please the elder mers. And where else would I find smooth granite stones?

I returned to the lake with a grin and swam to the shoreline, careful to stay far enough underwater so no one would see me. Of course, Uncle Alaster and Colin were nowhere in sight either. Scanning the bottom, I laughed at the bountiful selection. How would I choose? Heck, it might take me all day to find the perfect stones.

Hours later, when I finally stopped procrastinating, I found some that were satisfactory. I lugged them back to the gate. That’s when I realized the opening through Tessie’s mouth wasn’t very large.

Annoyed, I returned to grab some smaller ones to take back with me when a scream from the surface grabbed my attention. One I’d know anywhere. Ashlyn’s scream. Without a thought, I dropped the stones and with a powerful flick of my tail, I shot through the lake like a cannon, only slowing to listen.

The voice came from somewhere in the bay. Without a care for who might see me, I raced underwater. I found her lifeless body, slipping under the waves.

In one swift motion, I cradled her fragile frame and burst onto the shore, phasing as soon as my skin found the sunlight. Holding her against my body, I turned up my internal heater to warm her blue-tinted skin.

“Ashlyn, open your eyes,” I said and rocked her, watching the water steam off her skin, but she wasn’t breathing. I pulled her tighter into me, giving her a gentle shake. “Come on. Wake up.”

She lay there, lifeless in my arms, the minutes ticking by, her life ebbing away. I panicked. The mer power behind my breath would save her, but our lips touching would seal me to her forever; our souls would intertwine. She’d want for me always and become immune to my powers to erase her memories.

“Ashlyn, please wake up.”

She wasn’t responding. Death’s fingers were wrapping around her soul. I couldn’t wait any longer for a miracle. I couldn’t let her die. A world without Ashlyn in it, even if she wasn’t mine, would be a travesty.

I pressed my lips onto hers and exhaled. The heat from my immortal kiss warmed her from the inside out, pinking up her skin. With the next breath, something inside broke free, flowing into her and making me care deeper than I’d ever cared for anyone. She had to live. Then she coughed, a tiny sweet cough that melted my fears. She’d survived. Barely.

I clutched her to my chest and patted her back, helping the water escape from her lungs. With a quick glance, I scanned the tree line for onlookers and didn’t see anyone. I was naked, holding a drenched-to-the-bone girl. Quite an awkward situation. I kneeled down, holding her against my body with one hand, and took out my shorts with the other. Thank goodness for Velcro.

Ashlyn began to shiver and lulled her head around on the crook of my arm.

“Shhh. . .” I whispered, tucking her back into my side once I was clothed. “You’re safe. Just stay with me. Fight.”

Her words garbled off her tongue, recalling the events prior to her falling into the water.

“I fell . . . fire . . . it’s burning.” She feebly reached down toward her leg and that’s when I saw the blood. Blood everywhere.

“Oh, no.”

I inspected the wound. A clean slice ran right across the side of her thigh. She needed medical attention quickly. Gently, I tore the rest of her pant leg off and tied it above the wound to stop the bleeding. I removed her sopping wet jacket and shrugged into it. I turned up my internal body heat to see if I could dry it out and put it back on her. I looked down. My choice of board shorts and ill-fitting girl’s swim team jacket looked—interesting.

I trudged up the hill to the Rangers station and braced for the reaction as I walked through the door. My entrance caught the tall, lanky, slightly-graying man on duty by surprise. He glanced at me, then at Ashlyn, and then at my wardrobe malfunction.

“Uh—” Theories to what really happened danced across his face—most of them dark.

“She’s hurt. We need to call nine-one-one.”

He kept staring at the water mixed with blood dripping on the floor, a deer in the head-lights.

I sighed.

“Forget you ever saw me and the next five minutes,” I spoke in my native tongue and waved my hand over his face.

The Ranger’s eyes went glassy as he sat down, the mer playing tricks with his mind. I rushed inside and found a first aid kit, a cot, and blankets. I put Ashlyn’s coat back on her, dressed her wound, and wrapped her up in the blanket, tight like a burrito. I knew I should take off the rest of her wet clothing, but I couldn’t do it, not wanting to violate her in any way or injure her leg further. She was shivering uncontrollably now, which was a good sign but difficult to watch.

I palmed through the Ranger’s things and found some pants and a shirt. Not my size, but I put them on anyway. On the radio, I called for help.

“We have a young woman, unconscious. At the Fannett Island Ranger Station. She fell into the lake. Please send an ambulance.”

“Yes, sir,” someone crackled on the other end of the line. “Right away.”

I went back to Ashlyn, smoothed her damp hair, and kissed her temple. “I’m sorry. I have to go. You’ll be okay. Help is on the way.”

“Fin?” Ashlyn’s eyes fluttered open. She took two deep breaths and stopped shivering for a moment.

Time froze. Everything inside me ached to kiss her for real, to finish what I’d started. My blood would heal her leg and we could run away somewhere and live together, under the waves in peace and solitude.

She managed a smile. “I knew you’d come.”

My throat hitched. Could she actually be awake? Should I screw everything and take her with me? Her voice was nothing but a whisper, but then her eyes rolled back and she started shivering again. She wasn’t lucid; she couldn’t be. And since I couldn’t erase anything further from her mind anyhow, I had to take off before she woke up again.

Each time I’d mind-wiped her in the past tortured me so deeply—to watch her fade underneath a blanket of confusion. She’d never remember this moment anyway, but her sweet voice and leaving her here was going to haunt me forever. I hoped since she didn’t know what had happened, she’d be unaffected.

The Ranger’s groan interrupted our moment. Dude was coming back around and I had to get out of there. The choice to leave her with the clueless Ranger took every bit of energy I had.

Just outside of the door I heard him say. “Oh, sweet Mary. Where’d you come from?” and then, to my relief, he called for the ambulance again, oblivious to the fact one was already en route.

I groaned and headed back to the lake.