“Thank you.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come when you did.”
I was still reeling from my realization. All the girls I had dated, fooled around with, hadn’t come close to making me feel what I did for Meena. She had captured my heart with her sense of humor, her smiles, and one sweet kiss. I moved closer and touched her cheek.
“Aren’t you upset? I’m a freak.” She started to move away, but I moved with her. “Part fish. I’m not human, Blake.”
“I don’t care.” And I meant it. She was Meena and that was all that mattered. I leaned forward and slid my hand around the back of her neck, cradling her head. Her hands slid over my chest before coming to rest on my shoulders. Slowly, I touched my lips to hers, enjoying the way the salt water mingled with her taste. Just as I was about to dive into the kiss, shouting from the sanctuary broke us apart. She looked at me with wide eyes.
“My parents.” She looked around us wildly and I realized she was trying to find her clothes. I pulled my shirt off and handed it to her. It would hang low enough to cover the important stuff. She took it thankfully and grimaced as the noises came closer. “I’m sorry, Blake.”
“For what?”
“They’re going to freak out. There isn’t much I can do at this point.” She reached out and grabbed my hand. A shock ran up my arm, making us both jump. There was a faint glow from our joined hands.
“MEENA!” Marion hit the beach first, her face frantic. She was knee-deep in the water in no time. Ben was right behind her and surprisingly, so was Violet.
“I’m okay, Mom!” Meena swam toward her mother. “I’m okay. Don’t get your clothes wet. I’m fine.”
I followed suit, there was no way I was leaving her side at this point. I needed to know that she was really okay. She stopped a little way away and looked at me shyly. There was a faint blush creeping up her neck.
“Um. I need to change and when I do…” She whispered the words before nodding her head toward her tail.
“Oh. Right. Naked.” I couldn’t help the dip my eyes took over her body and down her tail. I looked back at her face, enjoying the blush. “Maybe you can show me that trick again sometime. Only slower.”
She splashed me, but laughed. Well, it wasn’t a no. I’d take it.
“Go.” She pointed toward the shore.
“I’m going. Can’t blame me for trying.” I backed away from her.
“Hey,” she called. “Thanks. For before.” She smiled, a teasing light in her eyes. “I owe you.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.” I turned and made my way to her parents and best friend. Ben was looking at me with an expression that made me nervous. It wasn’t that I blamed him for giving me the stink eye. I knew his daughter’s secret and it was a big one.
“Are you okay?” Marion met me as I exited the water, her little hands reaching up to touch my face. “Did you get in a fight?”
“I’m okay.” To be honest, I hadn’t given much thought to the stinging on my face. I looked at Ben. “Did you find Devin?”
“What happened? When Devin didn’t come back I went looking for him. I saw the cleaner poured all over the floor in the fish house and went looking for Meena.” Ben moved next to Marion. “Did he hurt her?”
“Dad, I’m fine.” Meena waded out of the water wearing my shirt and part of me wanted to growl in pleasure. I liked seeing her in my clothes. And I really liked the way the wet material clung to her body. As my eyes traveled down her frame, my vision turned red. There were still welts running down her legs and her arms. And I knew that if they were there, they would be along her stomach and other tender areas. She looked exhausted, dark smudges under her eyes.
Her eyes were on me as if she could tell how much I needed to make sure she was okay. She walked straight to me, stumbled slightly, and reached for my hand. “I’m fine.”
I looked from her to her parents and wondered if Ben was going to try and kill me right there on the beach. His eyes were narrowed and I imagined steam coming off his head. My shirt covered her pretty well, but it was obvious that she didn’t have anything on under it but her bikini top.
“Devin knows what I am. He’s something not human, something wrong.” She took a deep breath. “He trapped me in the fish house while I was cleaning tanks. He threw some of the cleaner at me and thankfully, Blake heard us.”
“That is not from a little bit of cleaner.” Violet pointed at Meena’s legs. “God, Meena, he could have killed you.” She hugged her carefully, and I let go of Meena’s hand so that she could return it. I knew how important Vi was to her.
“You stopped him?” Marion was looking at me with tears in her eyes. I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like I could just let him do that to someone. Especially not Meena. I nodded my head and was shocked when she wrapped her arms around me. Guilt curled through my stomach and I had to tell them the truth.
“It’s my fault that Devin is here. I didn’t know, but my dad paid off the judge so I wouldn’t do time. I think it meant a whole group of us got off easier than we should have.” I swallowed. “This is my fault. If I had just gotten time, Meena wouldn’t have needed someone to save her. I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t make him do this to me, Blake.” Meena looked at me and shook her head. “It’s not your fault.”
Marion patted my back and kissed my cheek. “She’s right.”
“What do you mean he wasn’t human?” Violet’s voice rose. “He’s a mermaid? Merman? Was he the one you saw swimming the other day?”
“No. That was Jacen. I met him last week. Devin was something else, something weird.” Meena shook her head.
“Jacen’s a mermaid?” Jealousy hit me hard like a jagged shard of pain that cut through my heart. Would Meena need to be with someone like her? I took a deep breath and hoped no one had heard what I was really thinking in my tone. “And Mireille, too? I guess that explains the blue hair.”
“You met the mermaids last week?” Marion frowned. “Why didn’t you tell us?” I could tell that Marion was upset her daughter hadn’t brought it up. Meena’s eyes darted to me and I wondered if she hadn’t told them because she had been worried about other things. Things like me. Things like us. Just the thought of it made my heart feel lighter. She cared about me.
“I just had so much going on…. They were at Sugar’s” Meena winced. “It was pretty awkward.” I laughed. Awkward wasn’t the right word.
“When it rains, it pours, huh?” Violet looked at Meena with big eyes.
“Let’s go back to the house. We need to talk.” Ben’s eyes ran over Meena and then to me. He kicked off his shoes and pushed them in front of his daughter.
“Thanks.” She slid her feet into his large flip-flops and we started for the house. My mind was still reeling from everything that had happened. I fell behind the group a little and watched everyone walk. They grouped together like a family unit and I felt like an intruder. I watched as Meena stumbled some more; her legs were weak and shaky. Trying to walk in those large shoes was making it even harder on her.
I took a few long steps and scooped Meena up in my arms. She didn’t even gasp, just wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I looked down in her eyes and realized that my mind was already made up. I was part of this now, too.
Chapter Fifteen
- Meena -
Blake tucked me against his chest and the world melted away. I didn’t realize that I had drifted off while listening to his heartbeat under my ear, but we were at my house in what felt like seconds. He shifted me in his arms and laid me down on the couch. He started to move away, but I grabbed his hand and pulled him back to sit next to me. I scooted into a corner of the couch and he sat down next to me.
Even with everyone else in the house, I found myself hyperaware of Blake. I looked down at our hands and frowned. With my free hand, I traced the faint white lines on my wrist and then let my fingers trail over the matching lines on his. I looked up and met his eyes.
He didn’t say anything. No questions or cursing, just shrugged. I could hear Mom and Dad whispering in the kitchen. Violet was on the phone with her mom, letting her know that I was okay. My wet hair slapped against Blake’s borrowed T-shirt and I shivered. I was soaked and not wearing enough clothing.
I stood up and frowned at my shaky legs. Blake was on his feet immediately, steadying me. I had never changed with such bad wounds before and it had taken a lot out of me. Doing changes that quickly back to back was difficult in itself. I heard Vi get off the phone and watched as she yanked the throw blanket off Dad’s favorite chair to wrap around me.
“Let’s get you in some dry clothes.” I let her help me to my room, where I sat on the bed while she found a shirt and shorts. I changed while she was getting my brush out of the bathroom and slipped on my fuzzy slippers. My skin felt sensitive and my feet even more so. I looked in the mirror and frowned. Red skin peeked out of my shirt collar and trailed down my arms. The shirt did help cover up the worst of it, though it agitated the problem even more. Sighing, I pulled the shirt off and slipped a tank top on instead. It would heal faster if I didn’t irritate it more.
“The shirt hurt?” Violet came in with my brush and frowned at me. “God, Meen, he really got you good.”
“I’ll be okay.” I frowned. I would be okay, but I still felt shaky. I met Violet’s eyes in the mirror. “It scared me, Vi. It was just concrete cleaner, but it might as well have been acid. If Blake hadn’t shown up…” I wiped at my cheeks. I didn’t need to cry about this, it was over. I was okay and I would be better tomorrow.
“But he did show up.” Violet hugged me gently. Tears ran down her cheeks and she sniffled. After a minute, she looked up at me and shook her head. “I owe him a bunch of cupcakes.”
I laughed and leaned my head against hers. “He didn’t freak out, Vi. When I turned he didn’t act like I was some kind of monster.”
“I said he was trouble, not stupid.” She stepped away so that I could brush my hair. “I’m giving up my grant. I can’t leave you right now. There’s too much going on.”
I stopped loosening one of my braids and frowned at her. “That’s crazy. You can’t do that!”
“How can I leave right now? You’re my family. You don’t leave family when they need you.” She stuck her chin out and I knew I had to nip this in the bud fast. “I’m calling in the morning. There’s enough time for them to give it to someone else.”
“You are not going to give that up.” I turned around and pointed at her. “Devin was a weird, random thing and I’m fine. You aren’t giving this up, Vi. This is a big deal, your dream!”
“You could have died.” Tears formed in her eyes again and I went to sit with her on the bed.