by Allie Burton
At least he wasn’t afraid to touch me. “You probably think I’m cursed.” My lips quivered, imagining his rejection.
“No, just…different.” He swam in front of me. “I mean this is crazy, but cool.” His voice sounded excited like this was one big adventure.
Chase took my hand and we swam toward shore. He wasn’t afraid of me like Alonso, and he still wanted to be close to me. Maybe this would turn out okay. Maybe this wouldn’t be the end of our relationship. I could hope.
“Will I all of a sudden start to choke?”
“If you do, squeeze my hand and I’ll breathe into you again.” This was the first time I’d used my breath to keep someone under water. Normally, I tried to get them out.
“I like that idea.”
“It’s not a kiss.” I shivered thinking of Alonso and the boy.
As we swam closer to shore, I could tell Chase became more at ease with his change. He started to point things out.
“There’s a school of fish. There must be hundreds.”
“Doesn’t that look cool where the rock juts out?”
“I’ve never seen seaweed like this before.”
I became more comfortable with my action of breathing into him. We’d needed to get away from Joe and escape the jellyfish. We were safe and heading toward another cove, and eventually home. Chase hadn’t completely freaked. He didn’t turn away from me. Things were going to work out.
Chase grinned. “This is so cool. Can you imagine what my friends will say?”
Sharpness gullet-ed my gut like it had been knifed with a serrated edge. Telling one person would lead to telling others. Too many people would find out. My secret would be exposed.
The grin grew happier, but to me it became sinister. “I’m going to write the most amazing, in-depth—haha, get it? In-depth?”
My tummy revolted at his lame joke. Shaking started in my toes and crawled up my body, slicing in spot after spot like I’d been shocked by a sneaky eel. A coldness invaded my soul.
Chase’s smile mocked me. “I’ll write an in-depth first person exposé.”
Chapter Ten
Prized Prisoner
Exposé.
As in exposure.
Of me.
Explosion after explosion burned in my gut, gnawing away at my insides, carving out my stomach like he had my heart.
All Chase’s promises and assurances were lies. All his charm false. All his caring phony.
I had to get away from him, from his backstabbing betrayal. I picked up the pace of my strokes. The jellyfish were gone and we weren’t too far from shore. He could surface and swim to shore by himself.
Or drown.
I didn’t care.
Well, I did care. And I couldn’t leave him in the ocean. What if my power stopped working on him? I’d dragged him into the water, I’d make sure he got out.
Even if I didn’t want to, but kind of did.
A tingle of awareness tickled my spine adding to my anger. As if someone was watching. I didn’t see anything unusual, but the feeling of discomfort wouldn’t go away. Hurrying to shore with Chase, I searched the murky water in between the seaweed and rock crevices.
Of course, the tingles must be part of my anger toward Chase. No one could be under the water monitoring us. Ridiculous.
Once in the shallow waves, I stood and stomped onto the beach. We were a few hundred yards from a rock cliff we’d need to walk around to get back to Shell Cove.
“Hey.” Chase called from the surf. “Let’s stay in the water for awhile.” His morph from nice guy to jerk was complete.
From compassionate to conceited. From charming to cad. From caring to clueless.
I slammed my hands onto my hips. My body heated like a volcano. I wanted to explode. Instead, I kept my words hard, precise. “Why? So you can get more ideas for your exposé?”
He rushed forward trying to jump over the waves. Stumbling, he fell using his hand to break his fall. But he didn’t stop moving toward me. “You have to understand, not only can you breathe underwater but you can make others breathe underwater. It’s incredible.”
“Not so incredible when it’s taken advantage of. Used and abused.” Okay, that one specific power wasn’t abused because I’d never told Bill and Carlita.
He halted a step away from me. Raising his hands, he reached out. For me.
Like I’d ever hold his hand again. My eyes burned, but I refused to cry in front of him. I scrunched up my face and swallowed the hard ball of tears down. I took a step back.
Drops of water slid down his tanned chest and I hated that I noticed. “I’d never take advantage of you.”
Yeah, right. Only an hour before he’d promised not to tell anyone my secret. Now, he was planning on writing a news article.
“Take me home.” Turning, I headed up the beach.
“Pearl.” Chase ran after me. He snatched at my hand. “You have to understand this is a huge deal.”
I yanked my fingers from between his, severing all contact. “I thought we were a big deal. I was wrong.”
“But—”
I held up my hand to stop him from talking. I didn’t want to hear his reasoning. I’d heard it all before from Carlita and Bill. Either, I’d be laughed at or taken advantage of. Chase didn’t understand that.
We reached the small path leading to the road where we’d parked the car. My anger made me walk faster.
“Listen, what you can do is amazing.” His tone coaxed trying to convince me to change my mind. “I want you to think about the possibility.”
There was nothing to think about. Nothing to consider. Nothing to say.
“Don’t say another word. It will only make me angrier.” I opened the car door, got in, and slammed the door closed.
After he ran to the other beach to get our thing, the entire drive back to Mermaid Beach was silent. He tried to start a conversation several times, but I’d plug my ears and sing nonsense. Childish I know, but I didn’t want to hear what he had to say. I didn’t want him digging a deeper hole for himself.
I wished I had my driver’s license so I didn’t need to endure his company. If I had my license I could go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted. I wouldn’t be stuck at this beach with Chase, wouldn’t have to demand he take me home, wouldn’t have to sit in a silent car during the drive back.
The day I turned sixteen, I snuck my birth certificate out of Bill and Carlita’s private papers to apply for my driver’s license. The lady at the Department of Motor Vehicles laughed, told me the birth certificate was a fake, and asked who would ever name their kid Pearl of the Sea Poseidon.
Shaking with anger, I confronted my parents. “Is this why you didn’t want me to learn to drive?”
“How dare you steal from our filing cabinet.” Carlita’s face burned red, matching the dyed color of her hair. “Stay out of our things.”
“The birth certificate is mine. Or I thought it was mine.” I flapped the useless piece of paper in her face. “It’s a phony.”
“Pearl, dear.” Bill always tried to make up for Carlita’s anger, but I think he feared her himself. His small stature and ego couldn’t go up against the exact opposite. “Yours was lost in a fire.”
“Lies.”
“Don’t talk like that to us.” Carlita leaned forward showing her overly-large chest emphasizing the threat in her voice. “Don’t make me punish you.”
“We’re your parents.” Bill tried to assure, but I didn’t want to listen.
Usually I cowered, but not this time. “Are you? Are you really?”
I’d always had doubts. I looked nothing like either of them. They both had reddish hair, while mine was blonde. Carlita was short and stout and Bill was just short. I wasn’t a giant, but I wasn’t small. They were greedy and manipulative, and I hoped I was neither.
“You’re being insolent.” Carlita swung her arm and her hand connected with my left cheek.
I staggered back. My fingers reached up and t
ouched the raw spot. “You’re not very good parents.”
“How dare you?” Carlita screeched. “We’ve done everything for you.”
Everything and yet nothing. I was their goose with the golden eggs. I kept giving and giving and all I’d gotten in return was… I thought about it a second. Based on what I’d discovered, I’d gotten nothing from them but lies and Carlita’s verbal, emotional, and now physical abuse. Anger twisted to rage. “I’m the star of your stupid show. I’ve been working every night for as long as I remember. I’ve never had a normal life.”
“Ungrateful little wretch.” Steam seemed to seep from Carlita’s head. “We took you in. Fed you. Clothed you. And all you do is mouth back.”
I had never mouthed back, until now. Rage burned like a forest fire. “Took me in? Took me in?”
“Carlita.” Bill tried to calm her down.
I glared at him. “What does she mean by took me in?”
“You’re not our child,” Bill sank down onto the metal kitchen chair. “You were left to us.”
My entire life swished before me. As I suspected, everything I’d thought about myself was based on a lie. Probably several. “Who? Who left me?”
“Bill, shut up.”
He shook his head but kept talking. “An old man paid us to take care of you when you were a baby. Said he needed to return home and couldn’t take you with him because of the danger. He said he’d be back before you were two years old.”
“What happened when he came back?” I held my breath.
“He didn’t.”
My breath whooshed out. My spirits plummeted. The old man didn’t want me, either.
“Before he left you, he told us about your…unusual abilities.”
Carlita turned and pounced on Bill. “Shut your trap. She’s ours and no one can take her away.”
At that moment I knew what I had to do. Carlita would never let me go. Not when I was sixteen or eighteen or even twenty-one. No one could take me away, but I could run, sneak away, escape.
* * *
Chase dropped me off at the Boardwalk after an uncomfortable silent ride. He’d tried to convince me again that telling my story would be good. I ignored him.
When I got back to my tent, I should’ve packed my things and ran, but I needed the ocean to cleanse the bitterness from my skin. Besides, if he wrote his article it would take awhile to get published. There would be people who didn’t believe him. That’s when my freedom would be curtailed. I’d be constantly watched.
That’s when I’d have to leave Mermaid Beach.
I stripped off my shorts and shoved them into the string bag I brought, leaving it on the sand. I waded into the water. The waves welcomed and revived me. I squished my toes into the wet sand and then, kicked at the waves with my foot letting the refreshing splashes invigorate my spirit. The seagulls skimmed the surface searching for a meal. I inhaled the salty air and tried to relax.
Letting myself sink into the water, my body adapted to the ocean’s temperature as if I had an internal thermostat when I swam. Once I’d breathed into Chase the goose bumps had disappeared from his body. My breath must’ve not only let him breathe, but warmed him inside.
He didn’t deserve my warmth.
I swam faster and farther trying to burn off my hurt. He said he’d never take advantage of me, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t write the story. Tell the world about me and my abilities. Change my life for the worse.
Awareness tingled up my spine, similar to what I’d felt at Shell Cove with Chase. I peered around trying to see something…anything.
It was too soon for the word about me to spread. And no one knew I was out here. Silly. No one could be here miles from shore, under the surface.
I was alone.
I’d always been alone.
My heart bruised with the single thought. Even more alone now, with Chase knowing my secret and willing to tell the world.
Still, my heart pounded in my ears. Louder than all the natural sounds around me. Even with my abilities swimming alone was dangerous. I’d proved that the other night. Before any other catastrophe stalked, I needed to head back. To think about my immediate future.
I flipped around and cruised past a pile of fallen rocks and boulders.
“Don’t be afraid.” The voice entered my brain the way Chase and I had communicated.
My arm jerked. “Huh?”
“Don’t be afraid. I’m a friend.”
I stopped swimming and spun around. My tummy tumbled over itself. “Who said that?”
“I did. Over by the rocks.”
If I was imagining voices, the voice answered back.
I scoured the pile of rocks. “Who are you?”
“I’m like you.” The voice sounded male, if that was possible. “I can breathe underwater, too.”
My heart pulsed in a strange, new rhythm. My chest puffed as if it filled with petrified air. My entire body tingled with anticipation and a bit of fear. “What? Where?”
A guy emerged from between two large boulders. He wore blue swim trunks that blended with the water. His dark black hair hung a little too long, a little too wild. No snorkel or scuba gear was in sight.
He raised his hand in a slight wave. “I’ve been watching you.”
Chapter Eleven
Ragin’ Revolt
I wasn’t alone. The thought pounded through my head. My impossible dream had come true. I wasn’t the only one. There were others who could breathe underwater like me. A thrill shot through me like fireworks in the sky, sprinkling across my skin.
“Who are you?” My thoughts sounded light, tentative. The thrilled sprinkles changed into itches of tension and fear. “Why were you watching me?”
“Needed to confirm you’re one of us.” I liked that he didn’t move forward. He seemed less threatening that way. “I’m Finn.”
“How can you breathe underwater?” Maybe I could learn the reason for this ability. Some genetic mutation, a top-secret science experiment gone wrong.
“You’re new here.”
“Y-yes.” I backpedaled, putting more distance between us. Something about him put me on edge. I balanced on my toes, ready to make a break.
“Do I make you nervous?”
I shook my head. A lie.
Finn held both his hands up in a surrender gesture. “Would you be more comfortable talking above?” His gaze shot to the surface.
“Yes.” I wasn’t sure why. I loved being in the water, but I still didn’t have a handle on reading other people’s thoughts. Could they hear everything I thought or only what I wanted them to?
“I’ll meet you on shore.” He kicked his feet and headed toward the beach leaving me to decide whether to follow.
Not that I had a choice. I needed to go back to the campground. And I needed to know more about Finn.
When I reached the shore, Finn sat near where I’d left my clothes. I jogged to my bag, took out my shorts and put them on, not wanting to be so exposed to a stranger. Ridiculous since he already saw me in my swimsuit and said he’d been following me around, possibly for days.
“Why were you following me?”
He appeared to be my age, maybe a bit older. His fit body didn’t show an extra ounce of fat. Solid muscle. He was attractive but for some reason I didn’t react.
Maybe because he wasn’t Chase.
I surveyed the area hoping Chase would appear. Then, mentally kicked myself for the thought. He was going to betray me. I didn’t need or want his help.
Finn stretched his arms, and then leaned back against his elbows in a non-threatening way, almost too casual, like he wanted me to be comfortable around him. “What’s your name?”
“Pearl.”
“We don’t find many strangers who can breathe underwater.”
I sucked in a lungful of air before spewing out the word, “We?”
“My people.” He flung his black hair back in a practiced move.
People, as in multiple. Not
just him and I. There were others like us. Lots of others. “Do all your people breathe underwater?”
“Yes.”
Shock and hope cascaded through me like a cold, refreshing waterfall. Chills of anticipation splashed my skin. “There are more of us?”
He angled his head. “Where are you from?”
“Florida.” In my excitement I answered without thought, for once being completely honest.
“What about the guy you were with today at Shell Cove? Is he from Florida too?” The questions shot out like accusations.
I didn’t care. I was happy to meet someone who could breathe underwater. I’d answer all his questions. “Chase Thomas. He’s from Mermaid Beach.”
Finn had watched Chase and I swim earlier. That must’ve been the awareness I’d sensed.
“I’ve never seen him that deep in the water.”
I didn’t want to talk about Chase right now. “Well, he can’t…he can’t breathe underwater like us.” This was the weirdest conversation. And yet, I wanted it to go on and on. I’d finally met someone like me.
Again the sprinkles spread across my skin. The thought of not being alone, of having others who understood my issues, burst again and again, lighting up my insides like a lighthouse.
Finn’s body stilled. The too-casual smile disappeared from his face. He spoke slowly, “I saw him.”
“I sort of breathed into his mouth.” I stared down at the ground. Heat washed through me wondering if I’d broken some rule. “So he could swim with me.”
“What?” Finn jerked into an upright position. “That’s impossible.” His gaze roved up and down my body like searching for an explanation.
“Can’t everyone do it?” I angled my head to study him. If no one else could make others breathe underwater I’d still be different.
Still be a freak in a world of freaks.
“Not that I know of.” He sounded tight, guarded. Maybe he wasn’t as intelligent about his people as he’d claimed.
I needed to get information. “Where do all of your people meet? Is it like a club or a secret society? How many of us are there?” My voice rose with each question. Blood pumped stronger through my veins. I didn’t care if we all didn’t have the same skills, his people could breathe underwater therefore they were my people.
