Authors: Kelly Coughlin
Ty almost had me completely out the door, the only faster method of getting me outside would be to physically pick me up and run. His quick brain probably already comprehended that fact a long time ago, and he was just trying to avoid any and all kidnapping charges. I’m pretty sure he was saving up his jail time for when he murdered Henry for the little stunt that nearly got me killed. It wasn’t completely Henry’s fault. He can’t help himself when it comes to women. Patrick didn’t look too ecstatic either, he had the same determined looked that Ty now bore.
Adam yelled over the shocked whispers, “Amy, so help me if you leave right now I can never forgive you. Our relationship as you know it will be over. I’ll do whatever I think is necessary. Amy! Amy!” My only response was to wave from the other side of the glass window, towards his enraged face.
I didn’t care what he thought anymore. I made my decision, and it was the easiest one I’ve ever had to make in my life. I could practically feel their excitement. I was feeling pretty proud of myself as well. It was my first official time ever telling someone off. Cool.
“I have never been more proud of anyone in my life. I’ve been dying to tell that loser off for years, especially at school.” Ty mumbled. Then he leaned in to kiss me on the forehead. I almost melted on the spot.
We kept up a brisk pace for a couple of minutes; we were almost jogging in the rain. It didn’t occur to me where we were going until the full impact of the wind slapped me in the face. My teeth started chattering very loudly. I tried to stop them, but it was like they had a mind of their own.
“H..eeyy, Ty wh—ereeeee are we go—iinngg?” I asked in between chatters. Who knew it could get this cold in Florida? The only route out this way was the beach. Oh please no. It’s cold enough. Not to mention I am not the greatest swimmer in the world. Especially as I just officially relearned how to swim with Ty. Apparently Steve had erased my knowledge of swimming too.
Ty turned to smile angelically at me. Crap. That’s not a good sign. “Well you see Amy, not many people have survived publicly humiliating a dragon. In fact, no one ever has. So we really can’t afford to be wasting any time putting as much distance between us and him as we can.”
My stomach dropped between my knees while a loud roaring sound filled my ears. “Oh look, that would be him now.” Ty said. He grabbed my hand, pulling me forward in a sprint. Patrick and Henry ran along easily behind me.
Crap. Crap. Triple Crap. I’m sorry. I will never tell anyone off again. Why does this sort of thing only happen to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?
I looked at Ty’s face, then quickly away. Something as wonderful and beautiful as he was had a heavy price attached. I was willing to pay it. I was giving up my Mom for my soul, no more importantly I was giving her up to be with Ty. I closed my eyes, trying to fight back the tears that wanted to flow. I stumbled over a rock, but Ty grabbed my hand pulling me up.
He methodically took hold of my legs, slinging me up into his arms without breaking stride. I clung onto his neck for dear life, literally. The light drizzle steadily picked up pace. It poured outside. I pushed my sopping hair out of my eyes. Now that they boys didn’t have to slow themselves down to my human crawl the raced across the short distance with ease. Objects lost their definition as we raced past them. It still wasn’t as fast we when they were swimming, there was no parallel to that phenomenon.
The boys almost seemed to enjoy the chase, their faces danced with the excitement. Each of them wore a wild smile, their tan skin threatened to show their ever changing opal colors that lurked just underneath the surface. Only I was afraid of what the change brought with it. Their strange black hair always freely bounced around, as if all human boundaries were severed, seemed to float in the rain. I couldn’t ever forget that they were a part of water, there was always something to remind me.
The cold rain stung my eyes, so I turned my face away from it, burying it into Ty’s shoulder. I heard a horrible thundering sound, this time it was closer. I searched the sky, but all I could see was dark clouds pouring more rain onto us.
“You can’t see him, but he can see us, which is just the way I prefer it.” Ty was sprinting faster than any human, yet his breathing wasn’t even pained. Typical Merman. He placed his face next to mine, moving his nose up and down my nose, my body turned limp in his hands. Ty laughed a deep laugh. Henry made a gagging sound, but another shriek from above let me know that we weren’t alone.
“I—mmm re---allllyy sorr-yyy tha-t I put yy-oouu through all o—ff thisssss.” Ty looked at me like I was Queen of the Lunatics, which I couldn’t argue against at this point. I was living in a house full of vampires. A dragon was chasing me and I was running to the beach with a couple of Mermen. I wonder where I could put that on a college resume.
“Just save your energy for keeping warm. You are going to need it.” He smiled blackly. This I took to be a very bad omen.
Louder even than the thunder were the waves. The water churned black and angry against the shore. I was nearly blinded by the rain. It was coming in so thickly I could only make out blurs in the distance. The sandy shore had turned into a slippery death trap. Somehow Ty and his brothers navigated the mud with little trouble. I would have slipped as soon as my foot hit the ground. It was amazing how they even pretended to be humans, they were so out of touch with their human senses. It must have bored them to death trying to slow their movements down to match our dull capabilities.
Maybe if they weren’t busy saving my life they could explain some things to me.
Then again they would probably enjoy torturing me with not knowing. Yup. That seems more like them.
Ty came to a full stop right before the thundering ocean. He set me gently on the ground. I swayed in the wind’s grip. Patrick and Henry stopped their sprints right before they almost rammed right into us.
“TY WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! HURRY UP HE’S ALMOST HERE!!” Patrick shouted over the howling wind. I looked frantically from one face to the other. I still wasn’t sure what they had planned. The thought of seeing anything that made that horrible screeching sound turned my insides into knots.
He lifted my chin so that his eyes could nestle into mine. “I haven’t been completely honest with you up until a few days ago. I just want to make sure that this is really what you want. This is really what you are willing to do with your life.”
“YES! YES! YOU SILLY IDIOT! NOW COME ON!” I shrieked. I made my decision, and I was willing to suffer through the consequences.
Ty’s face lit up. His eyes shined with a new ferocity that made me shiver, not in a scared way. Patrick tossed an object at Ty, which of course Ty caught without ever looking at it.
I felt an elastic strap placed over the back of my head, then the suction of something being placed over my eyes. The goggles. I opened my mouth to object but Ty grasped the back of my head firmly and brought my face up to his, a little roughly. With his other hand he grasped my back, lifting me off the ground.
My eyes snapped open as the sting of the cold ocean water washed around me. Ty was running into the water carrying me with him. I tried to pull my face away for a better look but he held my face securely to his. Normally I wouldn’t complain, but normally I wasn’t outrun
ning a terrible monster into the midst of the ocean in the middle of a storm.
I gasped at the cold waves that sloshed around us, but Ty never gave me so much as a millimeter. Before the last sight of land faded from my vision I saw something dark, like a piece of the clouds falling down toward the earth, it was enormous. It was shaped like a giant angry lizard with wings, something out of the movies with scales and eyes that wanted blood. His jaws open, fangs visibly ready to bite down, so ready to end my life.
It was Adam.
He was coming to make sure that I didn’t turn on the club.
It was already too late.
The water swallowed Ty and I, forming a protective layer against us and Adam. The loud shriek was only inches above our heads now. I saw Adam pull up from his dangerous dive just before he plunged into the water.
Ty pulled me further and further down into the dark waves, down into the unknown depths. My limbs felt weak from lack of oxygen. I struggled against Ty, trying to force him off so that I could surface, to get some air.
What is the matter with him? I’m human. I can’t just go under water like him and survive. Is he trying to kill me? I had a sudden spasm of fear. I thrashed against Ty, using all my force to push him off. He wouldn’t let me go.
He tightened his hold on my face. He took his other hand and stroked my face, in a soothing manner. I wondered if he even knew that I was using all my strength to push away. Probably not.
The dizziness was overpowering. My limbs felt limp and heavy. All I could see around me was darkness from every angle. Not even Patrick’s goggles helped me.
If I am going to die at least I’m dying with someone I love. I let me body go limp, let the darkness swallow me from the outside in. I better get used to it.
Ty shook me gently at first, then rougher when I didn’t respond. I knew he was there, but I felt like I was floating somewhere very far away from him. For a brief second I felt his lips leave mine. I thought that I had officially slipped into unconsciousness.
Soft hands were placed on either side of my face, gently lips were placed back on mine. I immediately recognized them as Ty’s so I must have already made it to heaven to feel them again. I felt something go into my mouth forcing my brain to operate slowly once again.
The cold shock of the water hit me like a sledge hammer. My brain finally realized what it had been suppressing in its lack of oxygen state.
Ty was breathing for me underwater.
He was doing his best to convert the ocean into oxygen for me.
Oh. In my giddy state I forget to breathe while Ty was kissing me, which led me to panic under water. I felt Ty’s muscles relax when he realized I was not on the verge of death, at least not yet.
Ty pointed up ahead. I wrapped my arms around his neck to let him swim with his arms, while he continued to breathe for me. I took in his sweet breath, let it course through every inch of my body. Carefully, I looked with only my eyes in the direction he was pointing.
Oh wow.
Even in the dark murky water it was impossible to miss the shining tails of both Patrick and Henry, both of their pants seemed to have disappeared. They turned to smile at from a few yards below. The intense blue-green of their eyes shamed the ocean into dullness. I had never seen any of them more at ease than when they were underwater. Or more ferocious.
I could also clearly see the razor sharp edges that outlined the corners of their tales glinting sinisterly in the ocean. Their sharp white teeth actually sparkled even in the dim light, I couldn’t help but instinctively pull away from their jagged edges.
I looked down to notice that Ty had not transformed like his brothers. My only guess was that he could not convert the water into oxygen for me if he did. I allowed myself to relax, and gently enjoy the ocean swim.
I heard Adam thunder from up above the ocean. But it was okay I wasn’t scared of him anymore. He couldn’t get to me now, not under the protection of the waves.
I was stronger than him, because I was still human.
And I had not willingly given up my soul.
For once I was in control of my own life, and that felt good.
19.
Beautiful Disaster
There weren’t words to describe what lay in front of me. Words like; fantastic, amazing, wonderful became bland even before they were said aloud. Wind’s churned up the ocean, forcing the fish to move in time. It was an underwater club where only the select were invited. I was slightly afraid of going down too deep, but Ty and his brothers stayed fairly close to the surface.
We glided underwater for what seemed like hours. I never wanted it to end. The swirling shapes would become vivid then fade quickly into the distance. In all that turmoil it felt peaceful, somehow. Animals weren’t malicious like people were, they just needed to survive. People needed to become perfect.
It was Atlantis.
In the dark, murky waters I caught a shape out of the corner of my eye a blurred shape darted by. I didn’t turn to look incase it was a shark, not to mention I still didn’t have any chance of turning my head because it meant becoming disconnected with Ty, not to mention losing my oxygen supply. I don’t think I could handle swimming by a shark, after all, I still smelled like lunch I shouldn’t have worried, it was only Henry.
He tapped my shoulder lightly with his long black fingernails, in one rhythmic motion with the water he pointed his finger up; then he was gone. I cringed at how truly inhuman the brothers had become underwater. What was even more frightening was that I have never felt more at ease than with them, in their natural element, their home. I guessed the gesture was more for my sake than Ty’s. They could probably communicate at a level I couldn’t understand.
They burst through the surface, hair slinging back behind them, their browned skin shimmered spectacularly, even in the dull grey light. I popped out of the water, still attached to Ty; gasping for breath. After breathing in Ty’s sweet oxygen, the air had a sour taste to it. Nothing could compare to him. Hair hanging limp in my face, clothes sopping wet, I looked more like a flood victim than the only surviving person to tell of a dragon and live to tell the tale. It’s a good thing I didn’t have time to grab my purse before Henry suddenly showed up in my doorway, dragging me out to the car by my hair. I still haven’t properly thanked him for that yet.
Ty stared at me for a long moment, a coy smile playing at his face. His piercing stare unnerved me to the core. I felt my face turn a slight shade of red. I turned my face away from him to avoid further embarrassment, let my eyes scanned the dreary clouds very any sign of him; of what once was my friend.
“He’s not here Amy. He has to stay out of sight now. How are you feeling? It’s not everyday a girl gets to tell off a dragon, you know.”
“I feel exactly like I look.” I smiled back in response. Let’s see what answer he gives me in response.
“You look like a beautiful disaster.” His answering smile momentarily surprised me, until I remembered what he said. Patrick and Henry smirked their annoying triumphant smirks; both of them had mysteriously lost their tails, and razor sharp nails in a matter of seconds.
“I’m really going to try and see that as a compliment.”
“You really should. I meant it as one.” Stupid jerk, why do I love you? “But seriously, how are you feeling?” His eyes probed into my very soul, watching my face very carefully for any indication of fear. I tried to smooth it out, though I’m not sure how successful I am.
“I’m okay. I was feeling pretty good…until I saw the monster…until I saw him for what he is. Up until then everything felt like a big joke, like some
how everyone was going to pop out and scream ‘Gotcha!’ But they aren’t, and no one is laughing. I don’t regret my decision though. I never will.” I wrapped my arms tighter around him. He lifted me up to place his soft cheek against mine. I shivered but not in a bad way.
Patrick cleared his throat loudly beside us. “I hate to interrupt this beautiful moment, but we don’t exactly have a lot of time here, Ty, before they get back.”
Ty pulled me back at arm’s length. “You’re right. Pat, you and Henry go get the car and meet me back here in ten minutes.” I blinked my eyes and they were gone. Ty unhinged my shoulders from his iron tight grasp to spin my around in the waters. I gasped.
Staring back at me was my house; the prison. The house no longer seemed sturdy to me now, as if one word could bring it crashing down like a house of cards. The clouds hung darkest around it. All the curtains remained drawn, not allowing even the meager dull, grey light to pierce the blackness.
“I can’t go back in there Ty. I won’t go back. I don’t know what they’ll do to me.” I whispered. I couldn’t hide the hysteria creeping up my throat.
“I’m not asking you to go back. I’m asking you to get the things you will need to leave.” I spun around to look clearly at his face. Please, please don’t let me be imagining this. I would die if he was a figment of my imagination. There would be nothing left for me.
“What exactly are you asking me to do?” My heart accelerated. It was just too good to be true.
“I’m asking you, since you can clearly no longer live with them safely, would you like to come stay with us? At least until it’s time for you to go back to your dad’s house.” I felt a stab of fear while he mentioned going back to my dad’s house. I wasn’t going to any place that he wasn’t at. That is a promise.
“I would love that.” I locked my arms around his neck. He ruffled my wet hair playfully.
“Good to hear.” He mumbled. I felt him glide silently towards the shore. I turned to face the odious structure. I had been brave once today. I should be able to do it again. Hopefully.
All too soon we arrived at the shore. I looked up at my balcony, instinctively. The door was shut to my bedroom. Had I done that? I’m pretty positive I left it open. Henry dragged me out so quickly though, I’m not sure of anything that occurred.
We waded through the dark waters to the muddy shore. Ty stroked my hair, or face the whole time. I couldn’t unhinge my jaw to make any sounds back to him. I could only nod stupidly to everything he said, wishing I could believe it.
“Everything will be fine. They won’t be home for some time yet, so you WILL be fine. I promise they won’t hurt you. I’ll give you twenty minutes to get your things and meet me out here. If you aren’t back here by then I’m coming in and hauling you out myself.” He smiled confidently at me. I felt like I had just been hit in my stomach.
“You aren’t coming in there with me?” I asked.
“No, I can’t. So far I’ve been careful enough to where they haven’t caught my scent in the house yet. If I go in there now they’ll be able to follow the scent to our place. I can’t let that happen, Amy. If they caught Pat and Henry unaware they could kill them. They will already be on our case after they get word of what happened today in the ice cream parlor. It will be okay though. Our friends are just as strong as theirs.” He looked down sadly. I stared back at him in disbelief. I couldn’t rid myself of the stupid girlish feeling of abandonment. I imagined us working as a team; with him I was strong enough to do anything, without him I was nothing.
We peeked around the front of the house to make sure that Steve’s car was still gone, of course Ty knew that, but I wasn’t completely convinced. There wasn’t any concern about Mom being at home. If Steve was gone, she would follow him.
We crept to the back of house, trying to stay out of line of sight. Though it seemed silly considering the weather was bad enough that the neighbors probably couldn’t see us anyway.
Ty placed one hand on the doorknob, turning to face me. “Are you ready?”
I scowled back at him. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” I grumbled.
“Don’t worry. You will be fine. Remember, I love you. I wouldn’t let you go in there if I didn’t believe it was completely safe.” He annunciated each syllable as if he was speaking to the incredibly dim. No comment. I didn’t have enough time to react to him saying he loved me, it just flowed out of his mouth, naturally, like he’d been saying it for years. I felt a strange tingle in my stomach, I wanted to say the words back to him but my throat was too tight. The words got tangled in my mouth, faltering to break free of my gaping gob.
He spared me the embarrassment of not returning his love, with a flourish of his wrist he wrenched the door open, pushing me into the home. I heard the snap as the door was shut behind me. I could feel my pulse race as I stood in the middle of the somber living room, staying in one place as I allowed my eyes to adjust to the blackness before venturing to move about the house.
I wish I could be a mermaid right about now. At least then I could at least see where the heck I was going. I inched by carefully, afraid to brush up against any object, for fear of leaving a scent. I could almost picture Steve with his nose to the ground tracking me down. In any other situation it could have been funny.
I tread as lightly as I could up the stairs, which wasn’t easy because I was sopping wet and freezing. My heart accelerated frantically at any little thing. The light breeze inside sent my pulse racing, the curtains billowing softly because of a fan made me twitch. A creak in the stairs nearly sent me into seizures.
When I was finally in my room I heaved a sigh of relief. After I nearly blinded myself by switching the light on, I looked for dry clothes. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Perfect. I looked like a half drowned rat. The club must be crazy to believe that I could ever hold any powers, or secrets. I’m not special enough for that.
I slung my wet clothes over the side of the bathtub, so they wouldn’t drip too much on the floor. I toweled off quickly, so as not to spend any extra time than was necessary. I threw on some underclothes. Next I began frantically stuffing the rest of mine into a smaller backpack, the only bag other than my suitcase that I had access to here. I pulled on khaki shorts and a white t-shirt with the company logo placed diagonally across the front.
I finished stuffing enough clothes into the backpack, then turned to my bathroom that was in casual disarray. Now was the only time having a clean bathroom would have come in handy. I grabbed essentials and tossed them in the bag as well.
I looked around the hideously pink room, and for once I didn’t cringe. A deep pit formed in the bottom of my stomach, I swallowed the sadness that wanted to leak through my eyes. Who knows how long it would be before I could come back to this room? If I could ever come back? I knew that Mom would never forgive me, but it just wasn’t fair! I should be able to choose what I want with my own life. No one else should be able to have that power.
I shook my head, shaking away the nostalgia. I didn’t have much time left, and I didn’t want Ty to come in after me. I forced my phone charger into the already overstuffed backpack, placing my purse next to it; I scanned the room to see if I had forgotten any other essentials.
I took two steps towards the bathroom when a bright light blinded me, and the floor came up to meet my face. I heard a cry of pain, but it sounded like it was coming from very far away, the haze I had been so desperately trying to keep at bay had resurfaced to full force.
The noise became louder, and louder, and louder
The cries weren’t mine.
Part of my body wanted desperately to go towards the blackness, to stop the screams, to let everything happen as it may, but the other part of me fought it with all it could.
The fog lifted and I could finally understand the noise. “I’m so sorry. God, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me Amy, please forgive me.”
“Gaby?” I murmured. My eyelids felt too heavy to lift, but I could hear her sobs coming from beside me. Her knee brushed against my hand as she pleaded with me.
I didn’t want to picture her tall frame, shaking with tears and rage. My beautiful friend’s dreams had been crushed by my
them
, the same people were going to bring them back to life, all for one simple prize.
They created this disaster, now I must suffer for their mistakes.
“It’s not my fault Amy! They promised me that they would help Juan if I did this. Oh God, please forgive me. Please, Amy, please forgive me.” Her tears splashed lightly on my arms, but I couldn’t move, or even defend myself.
Gaby’s life had been one full of hardship and regret. It wasn’t fair for such a beautiful person so suffer that way, especially one as sweet as her. I wasn’t angry, just sad that things had turned out like this. I didn’t want to picture her, sprawled out next to me, eyes burning with regret, the living breathing disaster that selfishness could cause. I didn’t’ have any choice not to forgive her, I still loved her.
I heard the scrape of the object as it was lifted back off the floor.
“It’s okay. I forgiv….” I didn’t get to finish my sentence as another blinding light crashed down in front of my eyes, before the darkness swallowed me whole.