Didn't Sea it Coming

by Andie M. Long

  Unfortunately, I wasn’t wrong. Tristan had brought Jax for fish and chips. The tight arsed bastard.

  “This is my favourite meal in the whole world.” He told Jax. “I hope you don’t mind us getting food from here, and then I thought we could walk down to the beach front while we ate. I have another surprise for you at the end of the night.”

  Jax blushed.

  “Oh my goodness, that came out wrong. A nice surprise, not me expecting anything that way.”

  Jax touched his arm. “To be honest, Tristan, fish and chips would be lovely. I adore them and don’t allow myself to have them too often. Got to watch the waistline when you’re as petite as me.”

  “Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I have to be very careful not to partake of too many waffles at the business premises.”

  “Oh yes, I’d become a doughnut given half the chance. Luckily, seeing them every day puts me off. I can’t help an addiction to my coffee though.”

  “Your coffee is amazing.”

  “It is, but do you know, I make just as much money on the chocolate doughnuts as I do on the coffee. They just go together so well.”

  “Let’s get our fish and chips. All this talk of food is making me ravenous.”

  They went inside the shop.

  Well, who knew? Jax was okay with a chip supper. It made me think about dating life. Maybe the trick was to keep things simple. Who needed an expensive fancy dinner if the company was great? And Tristan had taken her to his favourite food place, which was nice. I couldn’t help my mind wandering, wondering where Kai would take me on our first date. Would he kiss me? Would we…?

  “Aaarrrghhh.” A voice came from behind me. I whipped around to find my father standing in the shadows. “Oh my god. Are you following me?”

  “You’re following them.” My dad full on pouted while standing up to his full height and raising his chin in a haughty fashion.

  “It serves you right that you got my unguarded thoughts. Thought-eavesdroppers never hear good things.”

  “I’m just looking out for you. Your mum might be okay with the ‘let her get on with her life’ nonsense, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re still a teenager and I’m one of your responsible adults, so here I am. What on earth are you doing anyway?”

  “I’m checking that their date goes well. I thought I’d practice my peace-making skills a little if they didn’t, but so far they haven’t needed me.” To prove a point, Jax and Tristan walked out of the chippy with a tray of fish and chips each. Tristan had gravy on his, and Jax tomato sauce. I guess neither of them wanted to risk the possible after effects of mushy peas or beans on a first date.

  We watched as they walked off down the street in the direction of the sea front. “Well, aren’t we going to follow them then?”

  I stared at my dad.

  “I’m going to follow them. You’re going to go home.”

  He shook his head. “Not happening. You follow them, I’m following you.”

  I dropped my hands to my sides.

  “No teenager wants to hang with their dad.”

  I regretted the words the minute they left my mouth. He looked heartbroken. His jaw dropped, and his posture hunched.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I love who you’re becoming, Charlene, but I can’t help but feel robbed that I missed out on you growing up. I don’t know if it’s in your mum and my future to have another child, but a hundred and one years is a long time to wait. I just wish I’d taken more photos; made your clingy mother hand you over to me more. Bloody hog she was.”

  I walked up to him and put my arms around him, resting my head on his chest. “I love you, Dad, and I will always need you, even when I’m grown up. And even though it really is lame for a teenager to be seen out with a parent, just for tonight, we’ll accept the fact that I’m only actually seven months old and so I should have an overly-protective dad follow me around.”

  “Really?” His face brightened up.

  “Yes, really. Let’s show mum she’s not the only one who can make sure true love runs smooth.”

  The only problem was that there wasn’t really anywhere to hide ourselves, so we had to stay way back. Jax and Tristan sauntered up the seafront swapping stories about themselves. It was beginning to look like it had been a waste of my time. My father, however, was in his element.

  “I feel a little like James Bond on a mission, or maybe the Milk Tray man. I might call in the supermarket on the way back for a box and then whizz in through the bedroom window. It might bring your mother out of her sulk too.”

  I considered that maybe my dad needed to get out more. Or finally get his bed-and-breakfast running. My arrival had put a temporary delay on things and in the meantime the farmhouse had become a haven for the problem-loaded citizens of Withernsea.

  “Did you get chance to look into Bartholomew’s background, Dad? Is he on the level?”

  “He appears to be. He’s definitely a human, but then again so was Seth and he still managed to be led astray. He has a twin brother.”

  “Oh, I wonder if they’re identical?” The thought of two of them… well, let’s just say my mind was on complete lockdown to my father because he’d never recover.

  “There weren’t any photographs of his sibling, but the main thing is he seemed to check out okay, although I’ll still be keeping a close eye on him. With Jax’s permission, I installed surveillance at the counter, so we can check he doesn’t make phone calls to evil entities. So far, he’s only ordered further coffee supplies, so all’s good.”

  Jax and Tristan had moved toward the quieter part of the beach front where the dog walkers hung around as the main part of the beach was a blue flag beach and dogs weren’t allowed on it. The road came to a dead end there. We hid in the garden of a guesthouse and waited. Then rather than take the seafront, they walked up toward the town.

  “Where is he taking her?” I said.

  It soon became clear as they stopped outside Withernsea Waffles.

  “Seriously? After fish and chips, he’s taking her to his place of business? Is this so he doesn’t have to fork out for dessert?”

  “Hey, at the side of my first date with your mother, this has been perfect. At least she’s not thrown food at him to see if it hurts.”

  “There’s time yet.”

  The door was opened by a pixie and they went inside.

  “We need to find somewhere we can listen, but not too near as look, they have cameras.” I told Dad.

  “Are you forgetting I’m a technical genius, daughter?” Dad brought out a screwdriver from his pocket. “I think we deserve front row seats.”

  Unfortunately, front row or not, the rest of the evening was boring. Tristan fed Jax a waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce and then drove her back home where he planted a chaste kiss on her lips and they agreed to go out again at the weekend. I realised that if my dad hadn’t turned up, I would probably have nodded off with boredom.

  “Thanks for coming with me, Dad. I’m sorry it wasn’t more exciting.”

  “Are you kidding? I got to roam around incognito and disable a security system. I’ve had the best night in ages, but don’t tell your mother I said that.”

  I laughed.

  “Now to the supermarket for that box of chocolates. Do you want anything?”

  I nodded. “I could really devour a waffle right now. Spying is hungry work.”

  “Come on then. The supermarket sells those too.” Dad gave me a wink and we whizzed away.

  Polly

  It didn’t take a genius to work out that since Drake and I had arrived back at the farmhouse, we’d done a lot of ‘sleepwalking’. I felt though that maybe we were avoiding the main subject—how the hell we would convince the Duke to let us be together.

  It was time for me to confess my secrets.

  I sat up, resting my back against the headboard. “Drake. I have something I need to confess. A secret I’ve been carrying for a long time.”

  He
sat up too, a look of apprehension in his gaze.

  “What is it? Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” I nodded. “It’s nothing serious, well, it is, but not like that. I can heal myself.” I babbled the words out quickly, so he didn’t worry any further.

  “You can what? Heal?”

  I nodded again. “Yes. So far, I’ve only healed myself. I’m not sure if I can heal anyone else. I’ve always been too scared of what might happen.”

  “How long have you been able to do this?”

  “Since I was fifteen. I fell out of a tree and broke my leg. My hand began to glow and when I placed it on my knee it returned to normal. Obviously, there’s no way I could tell my family that, so I just kept it to myself.”

  “See, just when I think you couldn’t be any more special to me, you surprise me all over again.” Drake moved closer placing an arm around my shoulder and he kissed me softly on the cheek.

  “Do you think it’s anything we could use with your father? To show that I do have some skill I could bring with me?”

  Drake’s face dropped. “Alas, my father already has a team of healers.”

  My shoulders slumped forward. “Oh. Well, it was a thought.”

  Drake placed a hand softly under my chin and raised my face, so my gaze met his. “Don’t you see, Polly? You shouldn’t have to bring anything ‘to the table’. I love you and that should be enough. My father has no right to demand a union that brings him power or wealth. I swear he’s this way because my mother didn’t stick around.”

  “That must have been tough on you. Being raised without your mother.”

  “The other sirens have always come and made a huge fuss of me and taught me their ways. It’s who they are. They seldom stay with one person, it’s just not their natural state.”

  My face must show my worry that Drake is half Siren.

  “Oh, Polly. Male Sirens are not the same at all. Listen, does my singing attract you further?”

  He launched into a rendition of End Game by Taylor Swift and I grimaced so hard my cheeks and teeth hurt.

  “Fair enough, I’m heartily reassured.” I placed a hand over his mouth to stop the noise. “So, we have no great plan then?” I double-checked.

  “Just love. If I have to become a wrinkled-up prune to show my dad my love for you, then that’s what I shall be.”

  “I will love you regardless, but it won’t come to that. I know my sister won’t let it. She was going to discuss our situation with the others at the coffee shop today. I feel bad that I’m not there seeing as it’s about us.”

  “You’re feeling bad? Darling, then I need to make you feel good.”

  He dragged me back under the covers.

  We finally got up in the early evening. Thankfully, I had a small fridge in my room and a basket near the kettle, meaning I’d been able to snack on Pringles and a Twix, and keep my energy going with a can of Coke.

  When we arrived downstairs, there didn’t appear to be anyone around.

  “I wonder where everyone is?”

  Mary appeared, floating into the room. “Theo and Charlie are out, and your sister is in her room sulking because Theo didn’t agree with her methods of child rearing. But I overheard Theo wasn’t in a rush to apologise because if he did he’d have had to see a boring chick flick.”

  It appeared Mary had yet to learn about keeping the things you overheard to yourself.

  “Oh, he did, did he?” My sister had come to the top of the stairs.

  “Bloody vamp hearing.” Mary complained and disappeared.

  We all went through into the kitchen and I gestured for Drake to take a seat at the table. “What would you like to eat?”

  He looked uncomfortable. “I don’t need anything. Not until I return to the sea. I eat plankton and certain plants. I don’t think I would be able to get my nutrition from human food.”

  I could feel Shelley’s eyes boring through me. Drake and I had never been out to eat, and when we had dined with his father I had just thought we were being given Masterchef type meals, you know, all the fancy-schmancy stuff that no one in their right mind would usually touch with a bargepole. But it seemed it was actually what my boyfriend did eat.

  “So, to live on the land you would need to regularly visit the sea for your food as well as the sea itself.” My sister switched the kettle on. “I’m having a hot chocolate. Do you fancy one, Sis?”

  Sis. She’d called me sis. Such an affectionate term, but I didn’t have too much time to celebrate this term of endearment with the new information that had just presented itself. The reality was that Drake did not belong on land. The fact he would do this for me showed me the depth of his feelings, but it was clear it wasn’t his natural environment and he would suffer. That meant I would have to consider the fact that my home would be under the sea, with Brishon, underwater politics, and a whole host of strangers.

  “Polly?”

  “Oh.” I stared at Shelley trying to remember what she’d asked me. “Oh, no thank you. I’ve not eaten. I need some proper food and lots of water.”

  “There’s some stew in the fridge. Theo cooked it when he got up. He figured you’d surface at some point and be hungry.”

  “You so have a winner there.”

  “Yeah, the winner who deliberately didn’t apologise to avoid the cinema.”

  “It was a chick flick, Shelley. When this is all sorted maybe we could go to the cinema together?”

  “Do they have cinemas under the sea?”

  Drake shook his head. “We have DVD players though and large screen TV’s.”

  I gave a half smile to Shelley. Then opened the fridge door and took out the stew, placing a portion in a pan and putting it on the hob to slowly heat through.

  Shelley sat down at the table next to Drake, placing her hot chocolate down on a coaster.

  “So, have you had any ideas of how to move forward?”

  Drake looked at me and shook his head.

  “Not really. I still think my father needs to accept our union due to love.”

  “In a perfect world, Drake. But your father is anything but.”

  “Did anything come out of the get-together at the coffee shop?” I asked.

  “Well, Lucy volunteered to send a demon down to make Brishon a special-of-the-day at Beached.”

  Drake leapt back in his seat.

  “Don’t worry, we soon cleared that off the list of possible moves. Then she said she had another idea but needed to look into it. I wouldn’t hold your breath, it’s probably flambeing Keto.”

  “Works for me.” I growled.

  “So, the only thing I could think of is to ask my father if he’d like to take on the position of Duke. Which he may not want to do, and also would be a last resort.” Shelley said, reassuring Drake. “I don’t want to cause such upheaval, but I may be left with no choice.”

  “I know.” He said.

  I took a deep breath. “I told Drake something today, Shelley, and now I want to tell you. Well, actually I think I’ll show you.”

  Frown lines appeared on my sister’s forehead and she watched as I opened the kitchen drawer and took out a sharp knife.

  “Nothing’s that bad that you have to harm yourself, Sis.” Blue webs shot from her fingers, wrapping around the knife and wrenching it from my grasp.

  “God, no. That’s not what I was about to do.” I walked to the other side of the kitchen and picked up the knife. Then I sat at the table and opened my palm.

  “I know we’re getting on well, but I’ve not agreed to a sisters blood oath to my knowledge either.”

  I gave her a look.

  “Okay, get on with it then. Jeez.”

  I made a quick slit across the fleshy pad of my palm. Blood welled up and then the slit melded back together and disappeared.

  “Holy crap.” Shelley’s jaw dropped.

  “I found out I could do it the night of Damian’s party when I first snuck out of the house. I fell out of the tree next to m
y window and broke my leg and hurt my wrist and head. Then my hand glowed and it healed everything. Now I don’t even glow, things just heal.”

  “And I’m guessing Mark and Debbie have absolutely no clue about this?”

  “God, no.”

  “Can you heal others?”

  “I’ve never tried because I was scared I could inadvertently cause harm instead.”

  “Well, I guess there’s one way to find out isn’t there?” Shelley reached for the knife. “If it doesn’t work, I can seal the wound with my vampire venom so we’ve nothing to lose.”

  It was my turn for my jaw to drop. “Shit, I exposed fresh blood to you. I’m surprised I wasn’t dinner.”

  Shelley giggled. “That’s why I keep myself well fed, Sis.”

  She cut across her own palm and I watched the blood run to the surface. I closed my eyes and asked for the power to heal to work through me. I felt my hand heat and opening my eyes I placed my hand over the cut on Shelley’s palm. “Wow, the heat.” She exclaimed.

  When I moved my hand away, there was nothing there to indicate she’d ever had a wound.

  “Oh boy. But how?”

  “It has to have been from you, Shelley. You healed mum, right? Then she carried me. And when I was poorly in the hospital you did it then. You must be able to heal too.”

  “I don’t heal. Only with vampire venom.”

  “Maybe you can heal others though?”

  Drake sighed. “You want to cut me, don’t you?” He reached for the knife.

  But Shelley couldn’t heal Drake and I had to place my own hand over his to do so.

  “I think I passed the power to you.” Shelley said after giving it some thought. “I had it when I healed Debbie’s inability to carry a child. When I was in the hospital I must have somehow given it you, to save your life. Maybe? It’s the only thing I can think of.”

  “Yes! That has to be the answer. Proving you’re the best sister anyone could ever ask for.”

  I threw my arms around her and hugged her and we both burst into noisy tears.

  “I would save you again in a heartbeat.” Shelley said through sniffles.

  “Right back at you, but let’s hope it never comes to that.” I said.