I understand him, but I pretend I don’t, turning away to climb down the back side of the rocks instead. Liam tosses the bag onto his shoulder and hurries after me, taking my hand to help steady me. I squeeze it, grateful. The rocks on this side are warm and dry, but I’m terrified of slipping after my last fall. The pain was worse than anything I’ve ever felt, and my body tenses just thinking about it.
When we get to the lowest rock, Liam lets go of my hand and jumps to the ground then reaches up to grab my waist and lifts me off the rock. When he sets me down, he doesn’t let go immediately, so I wrap my arms around him and give him a kiss to thank him for looking out for me.
It startles him. He chuckles, and his serious expression breaks in a wide smile. “Finally decided to give me a kiss, too, huh?”
In his mind, he’s counting up the kisses I’ve given out so far, and he comes out on bottom. I don’t want him to think I like him any less than the others, so I purposefully stare into his eyes and press my lips against his, running my hands slowly down his body.
When I pull away, Liam’s eyes are swirling like abalone shells. He whispers, “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to us, Coral? Every single one of us is going to fall in love with you, and then what are you going to do?”
I don’t know what he’s saying, but the intensity in his voice tells me he’s feeling the same way as me.
Suddenly, Jude comes tearing down the beach towards us, hollering, “Last one in is a rotten egg!” Gio and Avery are shuffling behind him, apathetic towards the race.
I start giggling until Jude veers my way. I gasp and grab onto Liam, but Jude crashes into us and grabs me, scooping me up in his arms. When he heads for the water, I screech and start flailing my arms and legs. No! If he takes me to the water my tail will come out! I pound on his chest, demanding my release, but he ignores me, each step bringing me closer to my greatest fear.
“Jude, let go of her! Can’t you see she wants down?” Gio bellows after him.
“No way, Jose! She’s going for a dip with me!”
Jude splashes into the water, and tears burst from my eyes as he jumps into a breaking wave, submerging both of us. I wriggle out of his arms just as my tail appears, my slick scales gliding out of his grasp, my fin fluttering against his belly.
Did he feel that? I can only hope he didn’t. I swim as hard and fast as I can away from him, desperate to hide my secret. My name echoes over the water, growing fainter the farther I swim, and my heart pounds in my ears, eventually drowning out the sound completely. My tears mingle with the salt water as I swim, and I let them pour out of me.
I don’t know what to do or where to go, so I just keep swimming.
Chapter 14
It’s safe to go back now, I think.
The sky is black when I raise my head above the water, except for the twinkling stars and the glow of moonlight, and I’m far away from the island. Surely the guys have quit looking for me by now. Do they think I drowned? What will they think if I return?
I know Liam will be desperate for answers, and I’m glad I can’t speak their language yet. Can I pretend that nothing happened and go back to the way things were? I have to try. I can’t stand the thought of leaving them.
I swim back to the island as fast as I can, hoping to make it back before daybreak. When I reach the shore, the area around the campfire is empty, and my heart seizes at the thought that they’ve left. But another light glimmers by the trees, and I realize they’ve moved to the shelter.
I crawl out of the water exhausted from my journey. I want to collapse right there on the cold, hard sand and sleep, but the tide is coming in and I can’t risk falling asleep here and getting wet later, so I drag my weary body several tail lengths further, past the tide line.
“Coral?” Jude’s voice breaks through the darkness, and I go completely still with panic.
“Coral, is that you?” His voice grows closer, and suddenly I jump into action, flipping around and crawling back towards the water as fast as I can.
“Coral, wait!” Jude starts running towards me. I’ll never make it!
I flip over onto my back and start tossing sand onto my tail, begging for it to disappear, as my tears start flowing again. No! I don’t want it to end like this! I’d rather return to the shoal and never see them again than to have them discover my secret and face the pain of their rejection. And what if they decide to capture me? The shoal is full of warnings about the bad things that can happen to a mermaid who is caught by humans.
Jude slumps to his knees beside me and embraces me before I’ve had a chance to cover my fin. “Coral, you’re okay! You’re alive! What happened to you? We thought you drowned. I’m so sorry, Coral! I never should have thrown you in the water like that. Where have you been?”
Jude pulls away to look at me, and I hold my breath as his bloodshot eyes rove from my face down to my body. He gasps as he sees my fin sticking out of the sand, and his hands reach out tentatively to touch it. He strokes the thin, silvery membrane then pushes away the sand that covers the bottom of my tail. His eyes bulge as he reveals the iridescent scales that shimmer in the moonlight, and he quickly brushes more sand away till he’s uncovered my entire tail.
He stares at it for a moment, silently, before daring to look back at my face. My heart pounds, tears pour down my blazing hot cheeks, and sobs wrack my body. I can’t bear to make eye contact with him.
“Coral?” he whispers, putting a finger under my chin and lifting my face to his. “Coral, you’re incredible.”
My mouth falls open and my eyes widen as he leans in to kiss me, his lips taking over mine, sucking and nibbling, his tongue swooping in to taste. I raise my arms up to his neck, burying my fingers in his curls, and he slides his hands around my waist, moaning.
“Jude? Coral?” Gio’s voice echoes through the darkness, and I pull away and turn to see the others approaching.
“Coral, is that really you?” I nod, and Jude pulls back and looks down. My tail has disappeared, and he gasps as he sees two legs instead.
“What the hell happened to you? Are you okay?” Gio drops down beside me, pushing Jude out of the way, and cradles my head in one of his large, rough hands, his thumb stroking my cheek. His face is pinched with worry.
“She’s a mermaid,” Jude says solemnly, and although I don’t know the word, the image in his mind is crystal clear. I knew he’d never be able to keep my secret, even if I’d had a chance to ask him to. I drop my head, afraid to see the looks on their faces. They won’t all be as accepting as Jude, I’m sure.
“Shut the hell up, Jude. Now’s not the time to be funny.” Gio glares at him.
“I’m not joking, Gio. She had a tail two minutes ago.”
“Jude, there’s no such thing as mermaids. They’re mythical.” Liam pinches the top of his nose.
“I thought so too, until Coral crawled out of the water, six hours after she swam off, with a tail.” Jude stares him straight in the eyes to let him know he’s serious.
“So, where’s the tail, Jude? Cuz all I see are legs.” Gio’s intense gaze swoops up and down my body.
“I don’t know, it disappeared! She covered herself up with sand when she saw me coming, but her… fin… was still sticking out. When I wiped the sand away, her entire lower half was a tail. It must disappear when it dries out.”
The others look between him and me incredulously.
Jude throws up his hands. “I’m telling you the truth! Get her wet if you don’t believe me.”
“We’ve seen her wet. We all went swimming together in the stream, and Avery gave her a sponge bath yesterday,” Liam says.
“That was fresh water. She probably only changes in salt water,” Jude says, garnering an eyebrow raise from Liam.
“Why don’t we just ask her?” Avery kneels down and strokes a hand down my legs. “Coral, are you a mermaid?” he whispers, his penetrating eyes locked on mine, the normally blue irises stormy gray in the moonlight.
&
nbsp; All I can do is nod.
Liam shakes his head and turns away. “This is ridiculous. She doesn’t speak English; she can’t answer that question. She doesn’t even know what the word ‘mermaid’ means.”
“She can see what I’m thinking, Liam. Look, I’ll draw a picture.” Avery uses his finger to draw a crude figure in the sand — a woman with a tail.
“We call this a mermaid, Coral. Is that what you are?”
I wish I could deny it, shake my head no and pretend my secret was never exposed, but it’s too late for that, and it’s too easy to prove. All they have to do is throw me in the water again. I could swim off, but I don’t want to. For better or for worse, I have to trust them.
I nod my head and speak the word that changes everything. “Mermaid.”
The guys stare at me silently, their minds swirling with shock and disbelief.
“Coral, does it hurt when you… change?” Gio asks, and I shake my head.
“We have to see for ourselves, Coral.” He says it like an apology then scoops me up and carries me down to the sea.
Jude and Avery follow, but Liam stays behind, and a piece of my heart tears away. Gio wades slowly into the water till he’s waist deep and my legs are submerged, so different from Jude’s approach. He stiffens, and his breathing falters, but he holds me tightly as my legs fuse together and my skin turns to scales.
He and the others gaze in fascination, and I wave my tail, my scales sparkling as I move and my fin splashing lightly. Avery reaches out to touch me, running his fingers gently up and down my scales, and Gio just stares at me, dumbstruck.
His grip gradually loosens till he’s no longer holding me, and I’m floating above his arms. I flip over and dive deep under the water, swimming away from them, building speed, then propel myself upward till I shoot from the water in a magnificent arch, my tail flinging a spray of water that showers them with droplets.
I catch a glimpse of Liam staggering towards the water, his mouth hanging open as my body penetrates the water again, and I swim back towards them. I make a pass around Liam, who’s waded out next to the others, then emerge in front of Gio.
I hold out my hands, and Gio scoops me up in his arms, exposing my tail. Liam comes closer and reaches out to touch me, shaky fingers caressing my scales. His hands run down the length of my tail then slide under my fin. “Iridescent cycloid scales. A webbed, horizontal caudal fin.” He lifts it up to examine it, tracing the translucent webbing between the rays.
“How do you respirate underwater? Do you have gills?” His eyes quickly scan the rest of my body, and I point to my back.
He slides his hand down my shoulder blade, feeling for my gills, and I turn in Gio’s arms to give him better access. I flex my gills, and he strokes them reverently.
“Will you let me watch you change, Coral?”
I nod, and Gio carries me back to the shore and lays me down on the sand. Avery strips off his tee shirt and wipes the water from my legs till my scales begin to melt away, revealing human legs underneath.
“Amazing!” Liam and the others watch, enraptured. “I wish I had a camera. This is the most extraordinary scientific discovery of the 21st century. The oceanography community will—”
“NO!” Gio, Jude, Avery, and I all shout at once, and my stomach twists in panic as he pictures showing me off to crowds of people.
Gio’s face contorts in a snarl, and he grabs Liam’s shirt in his fist. “Absolutely not, Liam. I’ll kill you before I let you turn her into a lab specimen to be caged and studied.”
He glances down at me. “I assume there’s others of your kind out there, right?”
I nod hesitantly.
“We have a duty to protect them, too. If word gets out, they’ll be hunted to extinction. We have to keep her secret.” Gio’s eyes blaze into each of theirs, demanding loyalty.
Liam drops his gaze at the ferocity of Gio’s stare. “You’re right. I know. I’m sorry.” He peeks up at me. “You’re just so incredible, Coral.” His hands run up the length of my legs. “I just can’t believe you’re real.”
The guys stare at me for several more moments, absorbing the enormity of their discovery, their minds flashing through all the fables they’ve heard and disregarded about my kind. Despite stories told by every generation, modern humans don’t believe my kind exists. For the merfolk’s sake, I’m glad, but it makes it that much harder for the guys to accept me.
Before, I was just a mystery, a lost, little girl, but now I’m a legend that’s suddenly come to life, and it contradicts their reality. They can’t reconcile their feelings towards me. Can they ever get past their disbelief and see me as a person again and not some strange, mythical creature?
Their silence and my anxiety grows till Jude glances up at the sea, and suddenly something else more important to them takes over their thoughts. “Guys… Guys! GUYS! There’s a boat out there!”
The others whip their heads around and gape at the lights on the horizon, standing motionless for a moment. Suddenly, Gio leaps into action, and their introspection is pushed aside.
“Quick! We need to build up the fire so they can see it.” Gio rushes off towards the campfire and tosses more logs onto it, stoking it.
“We need to build two more fires down the beach a ways. Three in a row will make it more obvious it’s a distress signal,” Liam says, and the others grab handfuls of wood and take off down the shore line.
When they’ve assembled the kindling, Liam takes a small stick and ties some dried palm fronds around it then sticks it in the fire to ignite it. He carries the torch to the other fires and ignites them as well.
“Put more dry tinder in there to make the fire larger,” Liam says, and the others hustle off to find more materials.
“Now what?” Jude asks once the fires are blazing.
“Now we just wait. That’s probably the Coast Guard responding to our emergency signal, so it should lead them right to us.” Gio crosses his arms and stares out at the ocean, his body humming with energy.
All four of them radiate waves of excitement so strong it’s almost palpable, and their minds fill with images of distant places. They miss their family and friends and the comforts of home — luxuries I can’t even fathom. But new worries also flood their minds, concerns that will return to the forefront once they’re back in their own world.
Gio longs to embrace the dark-haired girl that haunts his dreams, and my own heart stings with jealousy. He’s worried he won’t be able to take care of her like he wants. Is she his mate? Is that why he’s kept me at arm’s length all this time? But he never thinks of her sexually or even romantically. So, what does she mean to him?
Liam’s thoughts revolve around large buildings teeming with people, full of rooms where one person talks while the others sit and listen, poking at electronic devices or wiggling long sticks across flat, white objects. Is that how humans learn from one another? He’s worried about how his failed expedition will affect his grades.
Avery imagines himself standing over a woman in a chair, combing her hair. At first I think she’s just a head with no body, and it startles me, but then I realize there’s a long, black covering draped over her upper half. He’s smiling and talking, and the lady seems enamored by him, but his thoughts sour when he pictures going home.
He is nothing like his family, and they berate him for the choices he makes, teasing him and calling him cruel names. He longs to move out and find his own place, but he doesn’t know when he’ll be able to afford it. This treasure hunt was his only hope.
Jude fantasizes about hanging out with friends, laughing and having fun and drinking foamy, golden liquid from clear vessels while bright lights and loud sounds compete for his attention. But the guys who look like older versions of him also flit through his mind, and he’s afraid how they’ll respond when they find out he was shipwrecked and never found the treasure he was seeking. He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do next. There are lots of women in his memories, b
ut he doesn’t seem attached to any particular one. But he doesn’t picture me in any of those scenes, either.
In fact, my face doesn’t show up in any of their minds. Do they plan to leave me behind? Don’t they want me in their lives? Suddenly, the ship on the horizon becomes a faceless enemy instead of a savior, destined to separate us forever.
I panic as I realize my destiny is once again out of my hands. Without them, there’s nothing left for me here, but the thought of returning home is just as devastating. I have to make them take me with them, but how?
Chapter 15
“I know it probably doesn’t have the turning radius of a John Deere or anything, but shouldn’t that ship be heading towards us by now?” Jude tries to joke, but his voice wobbles with anxiety.
We all watch nervously as the ship continues its path parallel to the island.
“No, no, no!” Gio freaks out when the lights grow smaller as it moves farther away, clearly passing us by. He races back towards the fires, tossing more logs and poking at the flames, trying to make them blaze brighter.
“This can’t be happening! Even if that’s not the Coast Guard, these signal fires should be visible from there! Why wouldn’t they investigate?” His face is pinched with worry, the flickering, orange flames casting menacing shadows on his twisted features.
The others have no explanation for him. We all know the boat isn’t coming back, but they stand silently, their hopes dissolving like sea foam as they watch it disappear, the heavy smoke from the nearby fires clouding the air. When the lights blink out of view completely, Gio slumps to the ground, more vulnerable and broken than I’ve ever seen him.
I sit down beside him and wrap my arms around his middle, laying my head on his shoulder, and try to comfort him as best I can without words. As much as I hate the thought of losing them, it tears my heart open to see their hopes crushed. A sob wracks Gio’s body, and he returns my embrace, engulfing me in his massive arms and resting his head on mine. A lone tear drips down his cheek and falls into my hair.
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