Fated - A Mermaid's Curse 2 (5 page)

I see him talk to Bram outside, and they both swim away.

Eric then faces me. I still can’t move. The pain no longer feels as bad as the pain caused by what I just found out. He looks truly saddened. He moves toward me, picks me up, and swims up, carrying me as Lyra and Ikelia follow us. As we leave, I see no one in sight. We go above water near the rocks from where I first saw Blake, and there is a boat tied to it. As soon as my head is above water and I feel the air hit me, I start to cry even more.

Eric sends Lyra to the boat to grab his clothes and I instantly see her tail become legs. She pulls herself into the boat.

Eric, who I don’t even know, shows more compassion than my father and Bram showed. He embraces me. “I’m so sorry this is happening to you, sweetie, but I need you to be strong okay?”

I nod once.

Lyra comes back with his clothes. She is now wearing human clothes. He pulls away from me, leaving me with Ikelia. He transforms into human and puts his pants on. He then approaches me again. “I’m going to climb in the boat and Lyra is going to help me get you in there. When we are close to the city and you are ready, I want you to put the dress on and do what you need to do to make the switch.”

I nod. “Why do I need to wait until we are close?” I ask in between sobs. At this point, I’m even scared about whether the switch will actually work. I want to change as soon as possible to find out, and a small part of me, thinks that maybe he is wrong… that there is time to save him or her.

“
Let’s get you in the boat first,” he says.

Eric and Lyra pull me up as Ikelia holds my tail.

Once in the boat, Ikelia puts on her clothes and then sits next to me.

“
Arianna,” she says. “You are probably going to be in even more pain when you switch. I’m going to go ahead and call an ambulance to the pier. The less amount of blood you lose, the better your chances to live.

I take a deep breath in between sobs. “Okay.”

By the time we get to the pier, I already have the dress on.

“
It’s time,” Lyra says. “Are you ready?”

We can already see the ambulance from the distance.

My breathing quickens. I’m nervous and scared and I wish that Blake was here with me.

I close my eyes and say the words in another language that allow me to make the switch.

My tail starts to disappear, revealing my legs, and I lay down and curl up in pain. It’s so bad I can’t help but to scream.

Lyra holds my hand. “Everything will be okay,” she says.

The next pain is so intense I pass out.

***

When I wake up, I’m in the hospital. I recognize one of the nurses. She took care of Blake when he was here in the exact same hospital.

She is checking my vitals and when she turns around and notices that I’m awake, I can see the sadness in her eyes. I face the other way and I can feel the tears roll down my face.

The nurse goes back to checking my vitals without saying anything. It is as if she can feel that I don’t want to talk, but then, she breaks the silence.

She puts her hand over mine. “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

I still don’t look at her. I can’t stop the tears from coming.

“
Do you need anything?”

I shake my head.

“
Are you in pain?”

I am, but not the kind that she is asking about, so I don’t know how to answer her.

“
If you need more pain meds, just push this button, okay?”

I nod without looking at what she showed me.

As soon as she leaves the room, Lyra and Eric walk in.

Lyra approaches me and holds my hand.

I don’t say anything. I have no words.

It’s strange, looking at her with legs. I wonder what would have happened if I had gone to her or Eric for a deal instead of taking what Owen offered me. That thought quickly vanishes when she starts to talk.

“
The nurses remember you,” she says. “They told us about the months you spent here with him.”

I bite my bottom lip in an attempt to keep myself from crying even more, but I can’t help it.

“
You don’t have to go back,” says Eric.

I give him a puzzled look and so does Lyra. Then she takes a deep breath.

“
He’s right. I have other places I can go. They don’t even have to know you made it out of here alive. Just stay out off the island and with time, they will grieve for you and move on.

I consider it, but I don’t know if I should. All I want right now is Blake by my side but I don’t think he can handle hearing about what happened. I also don’t like the idea of my father thinking that I’m dead.

“
I don’t know what I want,” I tell her.

She nods. “Just think about it, okay? You don’t have to decide it right now.”

I nod.

“
We’re going to step out for a while. Get some rest, okay?”

I nod. She turns the light off, and I cry myself to sleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN

BLAKE

I wake up in the middle of the day and with a hangover of a lifetime. My phone’s alarm rings alerting me that I have an appointment with my doctor. It’s just a follow up on the physical therapy, but I don’t need it, besides, the hospital is just another reminder, so I decide to skip it all together. I get up from bed, take a sleeping pill and go back to bed.

The hospital calls shortly after my missed appointment. They leave a voicemail saying that I can make up my appointment late in the afternoon. It’s strange... Usually, getting a same day appointment is like pulling teeth, but I guess they maybe had some cancelations. I delete the voicemail and go back to sleep.

OWEN

I check on Blake to find him sleeping. I decide to run out to grab something to eat and I’m halfway to the deli by Blake’s apartment when I get a call from a number I don’t recognize. I make it a point to program every chick’s number on my phone so I know to avoid them. That is, when I give them my number at all.

I answer.

“
Hello?”

“
Is this Owen?”

“
Yes. Who’s this?”

“
Janet, from the hospital.”

“
Oh, yeah. How are you?”

‘
Which one is she?’
I think to myself. I play along as if I remember her and decide to hear what she has to say before her name and number gets added to the list.

“
Look, I’m sorry to be calling. I had to get your number from your brother’s file.”

“
Okay..
.
”
Great! Another stalker.

“
I know that this is none of my business, but there is a man here who asked me to call you. Can you come to the hospital and talk to him?”

“
Are you kidding me?”

“
He says it’s about your brother’s girlfriend.”

What the fuck?
“You’re gonna have to give me more information than that, sweetheart.”

“
He’s here now. I can put him on the phone.”

“
Sure!” I say in a sarcastic tone. For all I know it’s this nurse’s father or something. Freaking wonderful!

A few seconds later, a man is on the phone.

“
Yes, I’m Owen…. How do you know about that?” I listen in shock as the man, Eric, tells me who he is and that Arianna is at the hospital and he thinks that even though I royally screwed up, I need to go and see her and maybe talk her into staying. “No… I won’t tell my brother before I talk to her… Okay… I’ll be there soon.”

FUCK!

I pass the deli and rush to the hospital.

Eric greets me outside of Arianna’s room and even though it’s obvious he doesn’t like me, he is polite as he tells me everything that happened to her and gives me an update on how she is doing. He tells me he doesn’t trust her husband from her world or her father. He says there is too much anger involved and she shouldn’t be returning to that. I just listen. This guy is huge and he is clearly not happy with what I have done to her. The last thing I want is a scene right here.

“
Can I go see her?” I ask.

He hesitates but nods.

When I walk into her room, she’s sleeping. I walk over to the couch and sit there for hours. I know she is dreaming about my brother. She mumbles his name several times. I contemplate calling him, but I know Eric is still outside and something about him just tells me I need to stay out of his way. I’m already in trouble with too many people who use dark magic and I don’t need another.

When she starts to cry in her sleep, I approach the bed and call her name.

I know she’s scared when she sees me. Right away I try to calm her down.

“
Relax. He doesn’t know.”

She takes a deep breath.

She looks like hell. Like she’s been crying nonstop.

“
You should tell him,” I say.

She panics. She sakes her head, “No. I can’t. I can’t put him through this. He needs something good in his life instead of tragedy after tragedy.”

I nod. “It’s up to you whether you tell him or not, but you
are
his something good. You need to stay here.”

“
I don’t know if I can.”

“
Why the hell not?”

“
Because my father—”

I put my hand on hers. I feel bad for having to throw things at her like this, especially now, but she needs to hear it. “I’m going to stop you right there. None of those people deserve you. My brother does. Your dad and that guy kept you hostage long enough. You just have one life to live, sweetheart. Do you really want to waste it like that?”

She shakes her head.

“
You say that my brother doesn’t deserve to have tragedy after tragedy, but I damn well guarantee you that nothing is worse than what he is going through right now by thinking that you are dead.”

She starts to cry.
Shit.

I lower my voice. “I’m sorry. I know you’re going through a lot right now. Just please, stay.”

“
Okay,” she says.

I take a deep breath.

“
Good, and for the record, I think you should tell him. At least in a way, the bad news will be mixed with the good news of you being alive. Omissions are no different than lies. They will eat you up inside. Trust me, I know!”

She looks away.

“
You don’t have to and I won’t tell him. I’m just telling you what I think. Blake can handle a lot more than you give him credit for.”

“
I know he can. I just wish he didn’t have to.”

I sigh.

“
Can I please tell him you’re here? He needs to know you’re alive. If you want, I’ll make sure the nurses and doctors don’t tell him a thing about what happened.”

She nods and I smile at her.

She looks nervous, “Owen?”

I look at her and she hesitates.

“
Can you tell him? I don’t think I can, but you’re right. I can’t keep this from him. Please either tell him or have the doctors tell him, this way, if he doesn’t want to see me after he finds out, he won’t have to.”

I shake my head.

“
Why in the world would you think he that won’t want to see you?”

She looks away.

“
He loves you. I guarantee that won’t change. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything. I assume he still doesn’t know about you being a mermaid.”

She shakes her head. “I want to tell him, just not yet.”

I nod, feeling relieved. “I’ll go with what the doctor thinks that happened. I’m going to let your friends know. Get some rest, okay? Everything will be fine.”

She nods but she still looks terrified.

“
I’m glad you’re still around,” I say before I turn around to leave. She actually smiles a little when I say it.

Outside her room, her friend Lyra waits.

“
Where is Eric?” I ask.

“
He just got done talking to his son, the doctor. He’s outside waiting for me.”

“
So, he already knew she’d be staying?”

“
I knew she would,” she says. “She loves him.”

I nod. Now that I’m more relaxed, I take her in. I know what she is, and that makes me even more curious. I look her up and down, taking in her long legs. “So, what about you? I don’t think you can go back.”