As soon as she was healthy, he’d take her back to the ocean, to her home. A lump formed in the back of his throat. When this was all over, she’d be gone, and he’d have nothing to show for it but his memories. Even a picture in this day and age wasn’t believable. The town would laugh at him and tell him how great he was at photo manipulation.
Pushing the cart over near the pharmacy, he perused the medical supplies aisle and picked up more gauze and medical tape along with a few other things he hoped might help.
“Rowan?” He turned to see his friend, Nick, sporting a major sunburn, and his normal dishwater blonde hair lighter than usual.
“Hey, I didn’t know you grocery shopped. Doesn’t Melissa usually do the shopping?” Rowan joked with him.
“Damn man! What the hell happened to you?” Nick pushed his cart out of the way and stepped closer to inspect Rowan’s face.
Rowan brushed him off with a wave. “Just a small accident.”
Thankfully, Nick didn’t press him further. “I had to stop by to pick up some food for the grill this weekend. Wanna come over and hang? Looks like you need to relax a bit,” he offered, eyeing the contents of his cart with a lifted brow.
“Um, well, work has been brutal and I think I am gonna relax, just at home.” He’d never turned Nick down for a weekend at his place. His parties were killer. He was one of the few people who didn’t think he was completely crazy. If asked, he might consider Nick to be his best friend, but that would be stretching things a bit.
“You sure? Melissa’s friend, Courtney, is going to be there. I'm sure she wouldn't mind playing nurse. Though I’ve heard she can be a bit rough. She’d only add to the bruises.” His grin spread wide while his blue eyes danced with humor.
Rowan groaned, shaking his head. “As good as that sounds, I can’t. I’m sorry, man.” He should check his face in the mirror when he got home. He hadn’t thought about how he looked after getting tail whipped by Meriya. Now, with the adrenaline worn off, he felt the effects of that beating.
“Okay, okay. If you change your mind, you know where my place is. The futon is still in the basement for you to crash on, too.” He gave Rowan a conspiratorial wink as he walked away, reminding him of the times he hooked up with Courtney at Nick’s parties, dragging her to the basement for some one on one action.
Meriya waited for him at home. He also didn’t like the way Nick eyed his cart. Time to check out and get home before Nick asked any more questions.
The gate gave a click and a groan as it opened for him to enter. He pulled all of the grocery bags out of the back of the truck because a man did not take more than one trip when carrying groceries into the house. Every man knew this unspoken rule.
Bags on each arm, he headed into the house to put it all away.
Rowan squinted as he emerged from the house, covering his eyes to survey the backyard. He wandered over to the pool to talk to Meriya, but the water appeared empty. He ran around the whole perimeter of the pool, searching the water in vain.
“Meriya?” he whispered, not wanting to alert his neighbors. Even with the distance between their properties, he could still see Mr. Caldwell working in his yard next door, pruning the bushes lining his gazebo.
Shit.
Where would a mermaid go if she wasn’t in the pool and surrounded by nothing but concrete and fence? Shrubbery lined parts of the fence, giving some semblance of privacy from the beach rolling down the hill below. The first few bushes yielded no mermaid, but eventually, he reached the end of the landscaping and discovered her tail barely peeking out from beneath it.
“Meriya? What are you doing out here?”
Squeezing through the bushes on his hands and knees, he managed to get whacked in the face by a rather robust twig. He discovered her body pressed up against the black metal fencing. Her hands clutched the bars as she pressed her face between two of posts, staring at the ocean.
“I only wanted to see Her.”
“Her?” He was the one who hit his head in the pool, not Meriya. “There’s no one out there. What are you talking about?”
“The ocean. She misses me. I… I can feel Her calling to me.” She sucked in a deep breath and released it with a wistful sigh, freeing her hands from the bars, and turning around to head back through the bushes. No wayward twig popped her in the face. How did she manage to remain unscathed?
He watched her go, feeling like an ass for keeping her here. Surely, there were predators in the ocean who would pick her off if they knew she was injured. He was only looking out for her safety and well-being.
That’s what they did for animals at the sanctuary. Rowan and the team he worked with made sure the injured animals they found returned to the ocean once they were healthy and able to defend themselves.
A blurry image of Meriya could be seen beneath the waterfall once more as he passed by toward the house. Once inside, he sifted through the medical supplies and brought back out what he needed.
“Meriya? I need to change your bandages.” Sitting down on the edge of the pool, he waited, ankles swaying in the warm, salt water pool.
Her graceful, sleek form circled the bottom of the pool before ascending and breaking the surface of the water. She glared daggers, letting him know he’d get no reprieve with her still missing the ocean. She hoisted herself up when she reached the edge, turning around with a wince so she could sit next to him.
“Go on, get it over with.” Gone was the scornful woman from moments ago. He’d almost take that version over this gloomy one.
“You’re going to have to pull your entire tail out of the water, so I can check on the ones by your fins.” He hopped up and grabbed a nearby seat cushion to lay on the ground at her head as well as one for behind her tail while he worked on her injuries.
Once she was as comfortable as she was going to get, he settled down on the ground near her head. He internally winced as he started with the bandages on her face, peeling the edges away slowly so he didn’t hurt her. She laid there motionless through it all.
Not flinching.
Eyes vacant.
After half an hour, he redressed everything on her face, arms, and abdomen and thankfully he finally made it to her tail. There was already enough tension between the two of them with her feeling like a prisoner, but her body was remarkable. He tried everything to keep himself focused on the task at hand, but his eyes couldn't help but wander. Weren't mermaids supposed to have seashell bikini tops or something?
Adding to the awkwardness, she caught his eyes lingering before he was able to look away. "Is there a reason you are so enamored with my chest?"
"Huh, what?" He attempted to turn the attention to one of her wounds. "Looks like you ripped one of these stitches. Thankfully, the others are holding, but we'll have to keep an eye on the wound. I may have to stitch it back up if the wound opens up anymore."
"Humans are so odd. You walk around here without your chest covered, but you expect your women to be covered, as well as me it seems. Why is that? Are we supposed to be ashamed of what we have been given?" Her expression pinched.
She obviously refused to let this go. He stuttered as he attempted to get his thoughts together. "There's... No, you shouldn't be ashamed. We humans…” he cleared his throat. Now he was starting to sound like her, “just aren't accustomed to showing off our more intimate areas regularly. Well, most of us at least. I... Sorry if I offended you."
There was a bit of color rising to her cheeks as she listened to him blabber his way through the apology. "I wasn't offended, per se, but your actions were a bit rude. I saw a certain look in your eyes, and while different, it reminded me of Cay..." She stopped mid-sentence, turning her head and shutting down.
Scared to ask himself if anything could make this situation more uncomfortable, he continued. Things were a bit more difficult when getting those bandages off with her scales. The adhesive on the tape clung to them more than skin.
“I’m so sorry. Some of your scales are coming of
f.” This was the first of five bandages to re-dress on her tail.
Her body shifted as she sat up, finally coming back to life.
“They shouldn’t be coming off.” A trembling hand shot out and ran two shaky, yet tentative fingers over the scales surrounding the burn mark, skimming over the vacancy. Her eyes widened and she audibly swallowed. “They shouldn’t,” she repeated softly.
“Maybe they were injured, too?” His mind kept reaching for some sort of explanation to appease her and settle her nerves.
This burn was small and the missing scales were several inches away from the injury. Maybe it was stress. For the first time, he started to question whether it was safe to keep her here.
Meriya cleared her throat, a calmness washing over her features, despite the quiver in her voice. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Those scales will grow back when the wound heals and… I’ll be fine.” She nodded to herself and looked toward the pool, hiding her face from view behind a curtain of semi-wet, brown tendrils.
Rowan finished patching her up and reached out to lay a hand on her forearm. “Meriya?”
“Hmmm?” She turned back toward him, tears swimming at the edge of her eyes, but a determination of steel settled in the thin line of her lips.
“I’ll go fix you something to eat. Be back shortly.” He gathered up his supplies and trash, headed back into the house, and tried desperately to figure out something to feed her.
Deciding on a nice cut of Mahi Mahi, he cooked it to perfection and plated it alongside a fresh salad.
While he cooked, his mind replayed the vacant look in her eyes. He couldn’t get the image out of his mind as she laid there while he’d cared for her or the panic which seized her when he’d mentioned her scales falling off.
He set the plate down on the counter and dropped his chin to his chest. How was he going to care for her when in essence she was supposed to be a fairy tale? His training didn’t prepared him for a marine animal with snark who would talk back.
Gathering up a plate for him and Meriya, he headed back out to the poolside table and set them down.
His nerves ratcheted up, hoping she’d like the meal he’d prepared for her, and worried it wasn’t enough.
Meriya’s head poked out of the water, sniffing the air before he could call her name. “Food?” She questioned, eyeing the bottom of the table from her vantage point in the pool.
“Yup! We have fish and a fresh salad. Sound good?” He grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and spread it out at the edge of the pool, preparing a spot for both of them to eat. After placing both plates on the towel, he sat down cross-legged near his own plate.
“What is this?” She poked at the cooked fish, pulling her finger back when she noticed how hot the meat felt to the touch. “Is it still alive?”
“No, it’s cooked.” His fork sliced through the fish like butter and his mouth watered at the prospect of a home-cooked meal. He didn’t cook often, but when he did, he pulled out all the stops.
Rowan slid the bite off his fork enjoying the flavor when he noticed Meriya merely sat there, staring at her plate.
Rowan canted his head, raising a brow.
“Um…” She cleared her throat and began again. “What’s wrong with this seaweed?” She picked up a crisp, leafy piece of lettuce and immediately dropped it. “It’s cold!” Her whole body shivered in place, then she slowly backed away from the offending vegetable.
“It’s supposed to be cold. It’s a salad.” He managed to eat half of his meal already, but her not eating concerned him. “C’mon, try it. It’s really good.”
Without food, she’d have no energy, which would prevent her from healing properly. She picked up the utensil she’d seen him use to eat and stared at it as if it would attack her at any moment.
“It’s a fork. You use it to cut the fish, then spear the piece, and bring it to your mouth.”
She brought the fork to her face, examining it more closely. “Fork? This is a strange contraption. We only hunt and kill the food we need, which we eat right away to avoid it spoiling.”
“Do you not cook it at all?” He set his fork down on the plate, leaning in to listen.
“No, we eat the fish right after we catch it. My people also eat the vegetation along the bottom of the ocean, such as seaweed. This…” she flicked the lettuce, “is not seaweed.” She fidgeted with the fork before poking the fish. Ever so carefully, she cut into it, jumping when the fork scraped the plate, a screeching sound grating against both of their ears.
“Go on, take a bite. Tell me if you like it or not.”
Meriya stabbed the bite she’d cut and brought it to her nose, sniffing. “It smells halfway decent.” Then she licked it.
Shaking his head, he tried his best not to laugh at her antics. Her examination finally complete, she placed the bite in her mouth and shuddered when her teeth ran across the tines of the fork.
Her face contorted like a child tasked with finishing every piece of broccoli on their plate. He bit his lip, unsure if he could contain the laughter bubbling up inside of him.
“Do you like it?”
“Um…” she mumbled around the bite. “Kind of? It’s… different.” She finished the painful act of chewing and swallowing. “I’m not used to it being overly warm, or well, cooked.” She scrambled to put her fork down, dropping it to her plate with a clatter.
“Is something wrong?” Rowan set his own fork down and gawked.
“Can… can I have uncooked fish?” She pushed the plate away and sunk down with only her eyes peeking over the surface of the water.
Rowan averted his gaze. “Yeah.” He pushed himself up from the ground, picked up her uneaten meal as hesitant steps carried him into the house.
That was one big, fat failure. Why didn’t he realize she wouldn’t eat cooked fish? She lived in the ocean, for crying out loud. He wasn’t aware there were any stoves at the bottom of the ocean. If he was being honest with himself, he was trying to impress her.
Tossing the one dish in the sink, he plated another piece of Mahi Mahi, uncooked this time. He ventured back out to the towel and placed the new plate where the previous one once sat, biting his lower lip.
She poked her head out of the water, a slender hand snaking up toward the plate, snatching the piece of fish and retreating to the depths beneath the waterfall.
Figuring she wanted some peace and quiet, he picked up his own plate and finished eating at the table.
The back door slammed shut and Rowan’s shoulders tensed, spotting Nick striding over to the table. “What are you doing here?” Rowan narrowed his eyes.
“That’s not exactly the greeting I was hoping for.” Nick shoved his thumbs into the pockets of his shorts and rocked back on his heels. “The guys were asking where you were. You weren’t answering your phone–”
“I’d left it inside…”
“Right. I thought I’d come over and make sure you were okay. You didn’t look like yourself at the grocery. Hell, to be honest, you looked like you got busted up pretty good. I thought I taught you how to take care of yourself better than that.” He claimed the chair across from Rowan, glancing at the towel and plate sitting near the edge of the pool and then at Rowan’s empty plate.
“I appreciate your concern, but as you can see I’m perfectly fine.” He spread his arms wide.
Nick’s brows drew together, eyeing the bruises on Rowan’s face. “Are you on a date? Is that why you didn’t want to come over?”
Laughing nervously, Rowan’s mind reeled as he rubbed the back of his neck.
What do I tell him?
Lie.
Meriya’s secret was safe with him. He resisted the urge to look at the pool, refusing to draw attention her way. “Um, well. Kinda?”
“You could have told me you had a date instead of lying.” Nick’s eyes darted around the pool and his head swiveled toward the house, trying to find Rowan’s date.
If he only knew.
“Is she hot?” N
ick turned back to face Rowan and was practically drooling at the prospect of Rowan’s hot date. Meriya was definitely hot, but she was nowhere near what he would call his date.
Nick glanced around. Even though he loved Melissa, it didn’t stop him from chasing after every available and unavailable woman on the island. He was a horn dog and couldn’t keep it in his pants. Rowan hoped Melissa never found out. She didn’t deserve to be treated that way, but it wasn’t his place to spill the beans.
“She’s okay looking.” Another lie. “Can you leave before she gets back?” Rowan’s palms began to seat in his lap, his heart rate picked up with each second ticking by.
“Who is she?” He leaned over the table, eyeing him up and down. “Do I know her? Is it Jessica?”
“NO! It’s not Jessica.” Rowan balked at the assumption.
Jessica and Rowan had been on-again and off-again so many times he’d lost count. He knew things would never work out between them. Her parents didn’t like him and her brother wanted to kill him. For some reason, they thought he was a bad influence on her. Even with living in this huge house and having everything his father left him, it wasn’t good enough for their little girl.
“I know it’s not Courtney. She’s back at my house looking for you, too.”
Rowan shook his head.
“You’re killing me here, Rowan.” Nick groaned as he stood up. “She’s in the house, isn’t she?”
“Nick, so help me…” Rowan stood up quickly, blocking Nick’s path to the house. “Can’t you leave well enough alone and go? My love life is none of your business.” Rowan thought if he admitted to a date, Nick would leave sooner. Boy, he’d been wrong, but telling Nick he didn’t have anybody there would have prompted a search party as well.
He couldn’t win for losing.
“You grew a backbone. Wow!” Sarcasm dripped from Nick’s words as he stepped closer, towering over Rowan by only a couple inches, but he outweighed him by at least thirty pounds. Nick thought he could intimidate him, but keeping Meriya safe was more important than backing down from Nick, as he often did in the past.
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