Authors: Kelly Coughlin
He grinned playfully. “More horrible than spending your night with a Merman? Such dreadful creatures, really.” He scrunched his face up, feigning disgust.
“No. Not quite that bad, ugh!” I snarled teasingly in response. “I can’t imagine who’d want to spend their time with some overgrown fish.” I took my hand, ruffling his perfect coal black hair.
“Call me as soon as you want to talk.” With his opal-like tail he lifted the lid to the drain once again, spiraling away from me much the same as last night. The only difference was this time there was no kiss. My heart ached as I realized that. I didn’t want to hurt him like that again. I promised right there that I would never hurt him like that again if I could help it.
With a new purpose I wrung out the dress as best I could, showered, and half blow dried my hair in record timing. I decided to go with my soft sleeping shorts and an old shirt for bed. I didn’t want Ty to get the wrong idea about me if I decided to wear one of my lacy tops. Although I wouldn’t complain much if he did get the wrong idea. I stood by the bathtub for a few minutes trying to decide the best way to “call” him. Does the water have to be on? Is there a certain way to do this correctly so that he can hear it? Feeling like a complete idiot I turned the water back on to full blast. I waited until the tub was halfway full before calling him.
“Ty?” I asked meekly. After a few seconds of nothing I tired it again, louder. “Ty.” Still no answer. “TY!” I yelled. Finally I saw a bright shape spill out with the flowing water. His tan body grew first from the rapidly moving water, his stunning tail followed. I griped the edge roughly, not wanting to black out again at his magnificence. I still couldn’t believe this existed, especially not for me. I gasped as his mesmerizing eyes locked hold of mine causing my stomach to drop three floors below.
“I heard you the first time, but I just thought it would be more fun to make you keep doing it.” He smiled gleefully at me. I rolled my eyes, all traces of kindness removed after that comment. “So let’s talk about your wonderful date with old prince charming, in the flesh.”
Ignoring the sarcasm, I told him everything. It felt so good not having to edit my emotions for anyone else’s benefit. I told him how unfair was that I had to date the kid just because our parents were good friends. Ty never asked me a single question, he just nodded his head as I ranted and raved about how the jerk never even bothered to ask me about anything important, in my life. I went so far as to tell him, in great detail, our conversation at the park, about the one person I was trying so hard to remember.
When I was finished he was silent for a few moments, his brain processing everything I told him. I sat on the cold tile floor waiting for him to give me some sign that he was ready to talk. Finally he reached his slippery hand out to take mine, carefully angling his frightening nails away from my fragile hand.
“So, did you ever remember who the other person was?” His face was carefully composed to reveal nothing. I searched his eyes, trying to figure out what benefit he would gain from asking me this question. I sighed, realizing that I’d even gone as cold hearted as to think that Ty would need a reason to ask me a question.
“No. It’s the weirdest thing too. I can usually remember every detail about a situation. But for some reason this one thing, and so many others lately are…are… I don’t even know how to explain it other than they are hazy to me. Some of my memories have a thick cloud over them that never existed before.” He nodded his head sullenly.
I smiled slightly trying to lighten the quickly fading mood. “I’m really glad that I finally know what has been making the weird sounds late at night.” I smacked his arm teasingly. “You have been freaking me out lately. You could have at least told me.” I scolded him.
My smile quickly faded when he turned giving me a confused look. “Wh
at do you mean ‘weird sounds’ at night? Amy, I haven’t been spying on you. I wouldn’t do that.” I gaped at him hopelessly. I thought it had only been him, checking up on me after our not-so-nice encounters on the beach.
“You mean that wasn’t you making the clicking sounds near my window?” Fear started to rise once again in my stomach; the cold bitter taste creeping its way into my mouth. He shook his head side to side, indicating the negative. He thought for a moment before his eyes snapped open in horror, his muscles going rigid to his sides.
“What?” I breathed. His face twisted with anger, the furious look reaching horrific new levels as he glared straight ahead.
“I can’t believe he was that stupid to put you in that much danger. If he had made one tiny mistake, one little slip, he could have killed you right there.” He gnashed his teeth in rage.
“Who could have killed me? What are you talking about?” I backed as far away from him as my bathroom would allow, dropping his hand in my haste. For some reason, Patrick’s scowl was the first image to enter my head when I heard about anyone wanting to kill me, it gave me all the more reason to be afraid. Abruptly he looked down at his hand then back towards my face, his anger subsiding for the moment.
He leaned against the side of the tub. “Please don’t be afraid. I don’t ever want you to be afraid of me.” Tenderly he reached one hand out, facing me.
I took my place beside him, holding his hand away from my body, just in case. I looked expectantly at his face. He smiled, showing that he was going to be good. He sighed before answering my questions. “Amy, I can’t tell you what it was, right now. Even if I could, I’m not sure that you would believe me. But given everything that you’ve seen over the last couple of days…” He trailed off
suggestively.
“You could try me.” I said softly. This time I would not flinch away from his eyes. We stared at each other for a long moment, neither of us giving in to the other. He was the first to break away, chuckling.
“Curiosity killed the cat, remember? The cat didn’t know that it was getting in way over its head.” he teased. He still wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“The cat should have been strong enough to deal with whatever it was given, if it was going to be brave enough to ask.” I retorted.
He nodded his head. “Maybe,” he agreed, “but still please not ow, Amy. I promise I will tell you.” From his tone I knew he would say no more on the subject. Angrily, I crossed my arms, swatting his hand away playfully. It seems every time I talk to him I only get more questions and less answers. One more moot point to add to my never ending list. There were many other questions I had, however, that I didn’t see him having any objection to answering.
“Ty, where do you live? You know where I live, so I think it’s only fair that I should know where you live.” I wanted to have some other way to meet him, besides whenever he felt like magically appearing. He smiled, obviously pleased that I had moved on to a different subject.
“I live in a condo with my two brothers, right near where we lifeguard. I’ll show you one day, if you want.” He paused, waiting for my answer.
“Oh. You don’t live with your parents?” I wanted to know more about his family life than he had given me. I knew his mother was human, and his father wasn’t, but I had no other information than that.
He stared straight ahead, his majestic eyes tinged with sadness. “My mom lived with my brothers and me, until I was fourteen. We visited our father everyday. It wasn’t always the easiest relationship, given the fact that our father couldn’t be there for us in the normal sense. But he was still a good dad nonetheless.”
He inhaled deeply, twitching his brilliant tail uneasily. “My mom went swimming one day to meet my dad. Mina waited until she was far enough out, then she…” His handsome face winced like he was punched. I placed my hand on his back protectively. “Once my dad found out what she did he left. We haven’t seen him since. And we haven’t looked. If he wants to come see us he will. The worst part of it is we had to find out from another one of our kind. That’s why I didn’t want you near her, why we hate her.” His jaw was clenched tight in despair. I didn’t ever want to see him like this, but I wanted to know his past. I had to know.
“How did you survive like that? I mean is there some other family member that took care of you?” I never let go of him. I had to imagine it would be hard explaining certain conditions to a family member.
“No. We couldn’t take that risk. Patrick took care of us. He has always taken care of us. Henry and I owe everything to him.” His lips resisted a smile when he saw my grimace at Patrick’s name. I still wasn’t over the dirty looks I’d received. “I know you are worried about him, but he really isn’t mad at you. He’s just mad at the circumstance. Yes, I know that you don’t understand them yet, but you will understand everything soon. I promise.” I scoffed at that. I was beginning to think I would never understand anything anymore.
“How old are you?” The questions flowed more freely now.
“I’m nineteen, and you are seventeen, Amy.”
“You say my name a lot.” I noted, it wasn’t really a question. He shrugged, a small grin spreading across his face, as he waited for me to continue. I shifted around, uncomfortably, afraid to ask a stupid question. It burned in my throat, knotting my stomach, so that I had to turn my head to the side to ask.
“Does my age bother you?” I glanced up at him through my eyelashes, forming a small barrier, incase he decided to tell me the answer I didn’t want to hear.
To my relief, and annoyance, he rolled his eyes, dismissing my fears. “I’m part creature of the sea that eats animal flesh, and you ask me if your age bothers me? As to your name,” he paused to gently flick my nose. “I love saying it. I haven’t been able to say it in a while.”
I scowled at myself, the curiosity not completely subdued. “You know so much about me, but I don’t know anything about you. I feel horrible about that. I want to know more about you.” He looked down, pensive for the moment, choosing his words carefully.
“We met a long time ago, before that memorable day at the beach.” He smiled slightly. “Sorry about that, by the way, I was only trying to protect you from me. Anyways, we met at your mom’s club, but you don’t remember me. Even though I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you for one single moment since the moment we met.” He winked at me, lightening up the mood. “It’s okay though, you’re too beautiful not to forgive.”
He placed his hands on either side of my face. My heart stopped beating for a moment. He leaned in so that we were just an inch apart. “I have to go now. I’ll come back when I can.” I nodded stupidly. Slowly, he tilted even closer. I closed my eyes. So soft that I wasn’t sure it happened, he pressed his lips to my cheek for a fleeting moment. I could almost feel him smile at the warmth that radiated from my, suddenly very rosy cheeks.
When I opened my eyes he was gone. He always left me exasperated and slightly annoyed, at how smooth he was. It was too late to back out now. I knew that my heart already belonged to him. I just hoped his belonged to me.
11.
Penitence
I awoke to
find a note placed by my head. My first reaction was dread when I thought it was another task from my mom, until I realized that I didn’t recognize the script. I literally jumped for joy when I read the flawless note.
My Dearest Amy,
Your parents are going out tonight at half past seven. I would like the chance to repent for some of my impious actions last night. They were unforgivable. If you would allow me the chance, there is a map on the back showing where to meet me. Wear that royal blue dress in your closet, it shows off your beautiful eyes and the blond in your hair.
Ty.
In the space
above his name a word had been completely scratched out until it was illegible. I couldn’t be sure but I would swear that it said “Love.” My head raced with the questions I was dying to ask him, questions that we had never really gotten to before. There were so many endless things I wanted to know about him, it was impossible to have them answered in one lifetime,
much less one night.
I skipped downstairs into the kitchen, filling the exhilaration of Ty’s plan. I nearly ran straight into Gaby. She threw me a questioning look at my good mood but continued as if she didn’t notice anything. The evidence of last night’s trouble was visible on her usually exuberant face. Dark bags hung under her bloodshot eyes, her dark skin had an ashy look to it. I resisted the urge to say anything to her while Mom came in from the office. Neither Mom nor Steve ever seemed to sleep, and yet they always had bundles of energy. It is a very peculiar phenomenon that has perplexed me lately.
“Darling this is truly a miracle. You are up before noon. Where is my camera when I need it?” She said playfully. I rolled my eyes. “What do I owe to this miracle?” She asked. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I just felt like getting up, I guess.” I tried to keep my gaze steady. I didn’t want to think about lying to her, but more than the lies I had to see Ty. It wasn’t a question of if I would go; it was a question of how could I possibly not go? I needed to see him. He was my compulsion.
“Honey, Steve and I are going to the country club tonight. Would you like to join us? The Greys will be there.” Her voice was sweeter than honey and just as thick. I fought the urge to laugh.
“No Mom. I’m not feeling well enough to go. You know, it’s my monthly time.” She eyed me skeptically. To my amazement she inhaled deeply, seeming to taste the air with her nose. She wrinkled her brow.
“Funny. You aren’t on your period yet.” My legs rooted me to the spot. I stared at her in horror.
“I’m about to start, and I don’t want to take the chance. But how can you possibly know that I haven’t started yet?” She fumbled with the pen in her hand for a moment. I took a step back, suddenly very conscious of how close she was to me.
“A mother always knows her daughter. It’s instinct.” She smiled to herself. I nodded my head once. She turned away smiling because she had satisfied my question. “But since you honestly don’t feel like going I won’t force you to, love. Just know that the offer is on the table.” She turned to smile at me.
“Yeah, thanks Mom. I’ll think about it.” Sike.
My mind is made up. There is no way I am going to let this opportunity slip through my fingers. I fidgeted nervously the whole day. I never realized how many hours make up the day until you are really excited about something. If it had been a date with Adam the day would have flown by, no matter how much I tried to stop it.
I helped Gaby clean the whole downstairs from top to bottom. I needed to do something to help take the edge off my nerves. Mom eyed me warily. I told her I needed to take my mind off my cramps. She gave one slow nod, her eyes teeming with uncertainty.
The rest of the afternoon dragged by just as slowly as the morning. Finally Steve came home, signaling that it was somewhere around five. I couldn’t keep still, my legs jittered nervously under the table. Just a little bit more than two more hours left to go. I can do it. I can make it. I twirled my hair frantically. Steve shot me one questioning look with his dark brooding eyes.
Mom answered for me. “She says she doesn’t feel well tonight, darling. So we are just going to have to go together.” Steve shifted his head away from me. In the dip of his neck I saw a dried red streak of blood. My stomach knotted in disgust.
“Steve, I don’t know what happened with one of your patients today, but you have blood on your neck.” Steve’s body went rigid at the mention of blood, his dark eyes shimmered brightly. I shifted away from his suddenly very excited face.
“Right, sorry about that.” He quickly jumped out of his chair to wash if off in the sink. Mom stared at him with a look in her eyes that I didn’t quite understand. She almost looked, hungry.
At half past six I thought I was going to die due to the anxiety. My heart hammered very loudly in my chest, trying not to imagine Ty rushing forward to greet me, or him wrapping his arms around my waist, or going on a date with him! Oh no. My heart kicked it up a notch.
Stop it head, stop thinking about him!
Finally when I didn’t think I could take it anymore Mom and Steve left. I wished them both a quick goodnight before I turned to Gaby.
“Go home. Get some rest, go see your fiancée. Just don’t hang around here all night.” I smiled at her. She wrapped her warm arms around my head, burying me in her hug. I cleared my whole night to be with Ty just like that.
I raced up the stairs. I tried to drag out the process of showering and washing my hair as long as I could but I still ended up being ready for the date by fifteen until seven. I smoothed out the blue dress several times trying to pass the time. The dress did complement my hair well, and my eyes, which was a little bit surprising that he knew that, because he had never seen me wear it before. At least not that I could remember.
By seven I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed the map and went to my car. It was relatively easy to find the place, just like everything else in Vero. The outside of the restaurant had been fixed to resemble an old weather worn sea food restaurant. From the type of cars parked outside I would venture to say that the inside must have been completely different, and expensive. I debated on staying in my car until seven twenty so that I could at least pretend I wasn’t so excited about the date, until I saw a tall figure leaning against the front.
My jaw actually dropped. Ty leaned casually against the opening, scanning the parking lot. He wore a dark black suit that complemented his hair nicely, with a white shirt and a blue tie to match my dress. I gaped at the intensity of his eyes. Even from this far away it was impossible to miss the light blue-green spheres. I shuddered at the memory of others that shared that trait.
In a dream like trance I carefully stepped out of the car and strode over to meet him. His eyes found me the second that I steppe
d out, as if he knew that I had been there the whole time and was just giving me some privacy. I didn’t know what else to do as he waited for me, so I waved nervously. I turned into putty the moment he smiled back, with his eyes enchanting mine in their deep pull.
He extended both his hands out to me when I was close enough to him. I took them without a second thought, not like when I was with Adam. I shivered involuntarily the moments our hands touched, not in a bad way. The moment his skin was against mine it felt like a blanket of warmth had been around my entire being, it made me stupid happy. When he released me I felt like the blanket had been pulled off, shoving me abruptly back into the cold world.
“You came.” He smiled at me. I just nodded, too stunned to really say anything when I saw his handsome frame up close. “Shall we?” He asked. I nodded and he turned to open the door for me. The hostess was busy when we arrived so we waited patiently for her.
My eyes unconsciously turned to stare at Ty when I realized that he was already staring at me, his eyes examining every detail of the dress. My face flushed bright red. “You look absolutely stunning in that dress.” He exclaimed.
“Thanks.” I mumbled, still red faced. “And you look incredibly handsome in your suit. I mean, wow.” I gestured with my hands.
Ty laughed loudly. “What? This old thing? I just threw something together you know, last minute.” He winked at me.
“I know. That’s the problem. You still look good in anything you just throw on.” He laughed again. The hostess nearly dropped the menus when we approached. Her eyes examined every centimeter of Ty in his dark suit. I suddenly felt very nervous about being seen with him. It was impossible not to notice him. It saddened me that I would never be on the same level as he is, ever.
“Something with an ocean front view, please.” He instructed smoothly. She nodded dumbly, her eyes fixated on Ty’s. Her body seemed to turn from under her without her permission. She jerked her head in the direction she was going, we followed silently behind her. We found ourselves in a small table away from the noise of the main dining room with the view all to ourselves.
“Thank you, this is perfect.” Ty said. Almost like a magician snapping his fingers, Ty’s eyes lost his intense stare, the hostess regained her composure; her eyes lost the trancelike quality they possessed. She looked slightly confused. She stalked away, rubbing her head. Ty pulled my chair out for me, helping me to sit safely down, without any knife throwing incidents.
When I was absolutely sure we were alone I asked him, “Did you do that to her?”
“Did I do what?” He asked me back innocently. His face resembled a young sprite, with his dark hair perfectly in place, his blue-green eyes glowing in the dim lights. I didn’t trust that answer at all.
“You know what. She started acting strange, and walking in that strange manner, giving us a section all to ourselves. Did you do that?
Can
you do that?” I fidgeted with my napkin nervously. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know the answer. I was already having Mina flashbacks and we had only been on the date for ten minutes.
He sighed heavily. He opened his menu, but his eyes never really looked at it, just scanned it without seeing. “Yes I can do that. We can make humans do just about anything we want, as I’m quite sure you remember from Mina.” He paused as I shuddered.
“But, I didn’t do that—on purpose.” He took in my skeptical expression and began to try and explain his complicated life to me. “Sometimes we do it unintentionally. It’s just an instinct for us. Not really something I have to work on, just something that my body does naturally. It’s like imagining what you want done and seeing it happen before your eyes. Controlling it is the hard part, but enough about me. I want to hear about you. What do you think you would like to eat tonight?”
For a moment I forgot that we were even here to eat. I picked up the menu, looking at the names of foods I barely recognized. “So what exactly is it that you do? Make us see what you want us to see?” He lowered his menu down, scowling because I kept at the topic, but he complied with me.
“Not at all. We don’t make you see what you want to see. We don’t even make you see anything at all, it’s like you draw a blank. It’s the absence of fear, and hope, which draws you towards us. If you could have every fear, every doubt, removed from your mind, you would take it. At least that’s what my brothers and I came up with. I’m sure there’s a better verdict out there, but we haven’t searched too hard for it.”
Ty brightened up a bit when the waiter, an older man with dark brown hair and a happy nature, came to get our order. “Amy, what would you like?” Ty asked me after we ordered the usual round of sodas.
“I think I’m going to get the crab dinner.” I said shyly. It was the only item on the menu that I somewhat recognized. For the briefest second Ty’s body contorted in what looked like a wince, and then as if it never happened he smoothed his dark features again.
“And I’ll have the salmon fillets.” His tone betrayed no hints of his unusual reaction. I was about to comment when he lifted his face towards mine, his eyes shining bright with enthusiasm, mom
entarily confusing my thoughts. “This is a very nice place don’t you think?”
I found myself agreeing with him whole heartedly, as if this was the best place I’d ever seen. His eyes were all that I could see. The bright blue orbs sucked me in to their depths, pushing all away anything and everything. He became my past, present, and future.
I realized with slight annoyance that this is exactly what happened to the hostess. I shook my head free of his gaze, and glared at him with a sullen expression. He eyed me warily before his face cracked into a large grin.
“Is something wrong gorgeous?” He asked, his lips straining to hide his smile. I continued to glare.
“You know exactly what is wrong. You tried your little trick on me didn’t you? But it won’t work. So now, why don’t you just tell me why you made such a face at my order?” He doubled over in laughter and shock. I continued to glare until he muffled his laughs. “What’s so funny?” I asked coldly.
“Well…it’s just that…” He stopped every couple of words to giggle. “You are the only girl—the only human to ever break free of my gaze. And I wasn’t going easy on you.” He smiled radiantly at me. “If you can survive me, Mina should be nothing to you from now on. It’s almost unbelievable how much you’ve changed since you arrived this year. Amazing.” His smile wavered near the end.
I smiled in spite of myself. “Well thanks for the compliment, but you are ignoring the main question.” I stared accusingly at him. He smiled his sheepish grin. “Now, why did you make such a face when I ordered crab? I thought you liked fish, I mean I know it’s not your first preference.” My eyes glanced at my skin before I could stop them before they made their way back to his face. He grimaced at my reaction. He paused to contemplate his answer. I sipped my Coke nervously.
Finally after a few minutes he reached one hand across the table, extended palm up, waiting for my decision. Without even pausing I placed my hand in his. The corners of his lips pulled upwards slightly in a smile.
“I want you to know that I will never hurt you, okay? Yes, a part of me will always want to know how good your skin tastes, but the greater part of me cares for you too much to ever do something that vile. The thought of sinking my teeth into you makes me feel physically ill, if a Merman can get ill.”