The Siren (18 page)

Ben and Julie were standing in the doorway. Now that there was light, I could see blood. Blood on Akinli’s hands, blood under Evan’s nails. The glass was cutting them both up as they struggled against one another. I covered my mouth so I wouldn’t scream. Akinli pulled his fist back and connected with Evan’s cheek, sending the monster’s head back. Evan was still a little too out of it to really move, but his arms gripped around Akinli, ripping at his clothes in an effort to get him off his chest. Evan let go with one hand, searching for a weapon. His hand found a hard-backed book, and he swung it into the side of Akinli’s head.

What was I supposed to do?

I couldn’t speak. I wanted desperately to help, but I didn’t really know how to fight. All of this happened in a few quick seconds. Then, responding in a way I didn’t know how to, Ben jumped in the middle of it.

“Kahlen, get out of here. Come here!” Julie yelled at me. I obeyed, taking a roundabout way to leave the room.

“Akinli, ease up!” Ben yelled.

Julie took me upstairs quickly, and the sound of the fighting died in my ears.

 
CHAPTER
8

“Did he hurt you?” Julie had me on her bed, touching my face gingerly. I shook my head. A normal girl would have been bruised probably, but this temporary body was strong, unbreakable. Nothing could cripple me. I was angry, enraged even, but not in any physical pain. My worried expression was for Akinli. I didn’t see how he looked. I didn’t know if Evan had managed to land another swing on him.

I knew it was all over now. I heard Evan protesting as they threw him out the door, Ben yelling he didn’t care how he got home. I had just finished wiggling into a new shirt that Julie had provided. This one fit me. I looked over at the clock on Julie’s nightstand. It was nearly five in the morning. She wasn’t convinced.

“Are you sure? Does it hurt anywhere? Do you need ice or anything?” she persisted.

I shook my head again, this time looking at her face. She looked terrified and sympathetic. That expression meant the world to me. I had forgotten how comforting it was to be a younger sister.

“Thank God you’re okay. Evan has a temper sometimes, but I’ve never seen him act like that towards a girl. I’m so sorry. It makes me sick thinking that it could have been worse.”

She had no idea. I’ll admit being cornered by someone bigger and stronger was pretty awful, but I was about to kill that man. I was unbelievably close. One more second was all it would have taken. Akinli saved me twofold. He saved me from someone who would have hurt me— or at least tried to— and he saved me from truly turning into the monster I always feared I was. I’d never be able to thank him enough for that.

“Kahlen?” It was Akinli’s voice, but it was low and gruff, labored with worry, fear, and fatigue. I looked up to see him in the doorway. His shirt was torn on the sleeve, and his skin was splotchy. It looked like his lip was bleeding or had been a moment ago, and there was a cut on his left temple where the book had crashed into his head. A collection of band aids on his arm covered a multitude of scratches. The blood had been washed from his hands, but traces of it remained on his shirt. Otherwise, he was safe, whole, unbroken.

My relief overpowered any sense of modesty. I flew at him, wrapping my arms him, burrowing my face into his chest. It didn’t seem like he was tensed when I had taken in his injuries, but he must have been. With an indescribable pleasure, I felt his whole body relax in my embrace, and he held me back.

“She’s just fine,” Julie said. “She doesn’t have any bruises or cuts. She’s shaken up, which can’t be good for her on top of whatever happened the other day, but she’s fine.” I felt the weight of Akinli’s hand holding my head, his fingers getting a little tangled in my hair. He spoke over my head to Julie.

“Ben’s fine. Not a scratch. He’s just making some coffee. He’s pissed. Fired Evan, and now he’s trying to figure some things out, ya’ know?”

“Yeah. Right thing to do though. I guess it’s close enough to start the day. I’ll be downstairs. You want some coffee?”

“That’d be great.” I stayed nestled in his arms. I listened to all his words vibrate in his chest. It was the most reassuring sound in the world.

I didn’t see her, but Julie’s hand rested on my shoulder as she exited the room. Akinli took a few stabling breaths and then pulled me back to look at me.

“Did he hurt you?”

I shook my head.

“Are you sure? Because if he did, we really should do something about it.”

I put my hand over my heart as if I were taking an oath. I shook my head again slowly, looking into his eyes the entire time. I had to convey that I was safe, that he’d saved me.

“I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head again. Evan’s behavior wasn’t his fault. I reached up and brushed his hair out of his eyes. I moved my hand too slowly down his cheek, enjoying the feeling of his skin and stubble as my fingers passed. I hoped he didn’t notice. I was just so glad that he wasn’t hurt.

He pulled me close and held me for a long time. I felt tiny. His arms wrapped around me easily, with room for two of me to hide there. His hands— those strong hands that were strapping enough to hurt me much more than Evan could have— rubbed my back and my hair, incredibly gentle with my indestructible body. His lips and nose rested on my forehead. His breath was hot on my naturally cool skin, and it felt electrifying.

It ached. Because I knew with a certainty no doubt or fear could cloud that here, in Akinli’s arms, was exactly where I was meant to be. And with a certainty that I wanted to doubt and absolutely feared, I knew I would never be allowed to stay here.

The morning was a little tense, but everyone was in good spirits when I walked out of the guest room in Akinli’s overalls. They were huge, of course, but Julie didn’t really own anything appropriate for going out on the boat. I left the boxers on for extra coverage, folded up the hems of the legs until I found my feet, and wandered into the living room. Ben laughed out loud, Julie giggled, but Akinli looked pleased. This was me trying to make amends.

Over breakfast they had discussed the plans for the day. Turns out they usually started working around six in the morning, so this wasn’t an unusual time to discuss their schedules. John was leaving town today to visit Kristen’s family. Again. Ben grumbled. Yesterday the family car had made some funny noises, and Ben had to take it into the shop— which wasn’t even in town— first thing in the morning if they had a prayer of getting it back in a day. I didn’t know much about cars, so I didn’t follow that branch of the conversation well. Evan had taken Ben’s shift today, but now Evan was gone. Akinli said it was no problem; he could take care of the traps alone. It would be harder and take longer, but it wasn’t an issue. He said he’d gladly take the trade, looking at me pointedly. I felt so bad, I took up my paper.

Can I help?

Ben laughed, but Akinli was for it.

“You need some new memories. This should be fun,” he said. And with that, it was settled. After breakfast, he went upstairs to find me clothes.

“Your Miss America gown doesn’t look exactly sea-faring,” he claimed. If only he knew. But I couldn’t effectively argue, so giant overalls it was. I pulled my hair back with a rubber band, and Julie lent me a pair of shoes. They were almost exactly my size, but they had the strange indentations of another person’s footprint. I felt bulky and silly, but I was happy. I was finally going to be of service to my caregivers, and I was going to see exactly where I was.

The town was so small, we walked to work. In the front yard, I noted the mailbox. With iridescent stickers, the word “Schaefer” was printed on the side. I stopped, and Akinli turned. I pointed to the word.

“What? You expecting mail here? Gosh, Kahlen, you’re here for a day and you’re already having all your bills forwarded here? I’m not paying ‘em! I’m serious. And if I find you having wild parties while we’re gone all day, you’ll be sleeping on the porch.”

I had rolled my eyes twice during that little speech, but he kept on. When he finished, I shook my head and underlined the name with my fingers.

“What? Schaefer? Ben and I are Schaefer men. Proud of it, too. And,” he got close so that only I would hear the whisper, “you didn’t hear this from me, but I’m thinking Julie might be a Schaefer woman someday soon.” He winked.

My mouth opened with shock and joy. I liked Julie. I hoped she’d be happy.

“Now don’t go blabbing that all over town, you chatterbox. Gosh, Kahlen, it’s like I can’t get a word in edgewise with you.” Akinli tugged on my overalls, and we continued into town.

Port Clyde was beautiful and tiny. We walked down a maze of streets, passing other people who were already awake and starting their day. Akinli waved to them all, introducing me as his “friend Kahlen.” We turned down a road and the whole scene finally unfolded.

There were several small docks in the distance leading to the Ocean. Boats were everywhere with men already starting on their day’s work. Buoys of every color littered the water like confetti. There were buildings that looked like houses but were almost assuredly businesses. A row of cars lined a concrete barrier that was next to a tiny beach that was made up of more of the same large, dark rocks behind Akinli’s house, except here there was a small stretch of sand that dipped slowly into the Sea. It was quaint. I liked the colors. It painted a picture of a place that was somehow innocent.

Now that I noticed, even the Ocean behaved different here. I thought of the beaches in the south where people were there almost exclusively for pleasure. Down there, She was louder, boisterous, almost playful. Here She was all business. Her waves were quiet and slow, realizing people depended on Her here. Even upset with Her, I could appreciate that.

Ben and Akinli’s boat was named “Maria.” It was moored out in deeper waters; we actually took a smaller motor boat to get to it. Then we traded off and were out to catch some lobster. Akinli didn’t let me do much in the way of work. I should have known it would be that way.

Since I couldn’t die of starvation, I almost exclusively ate cake. I knew it was only a matter of time until I had to go back to the other food groups, the hideous, non-cake food groups. My plan was to enjoy it as often as I could while I couldn’t gain a pound from it. I was always nervous that I would pay for this indulgence later. My cake-loving led me to an embarrassing place when Akinli asked if I liked lobster.

I just shrugged. It was more difficult than usual because he had insisted upon strapping me into a life jacket.

“You can’t exactly call for help if you fall overboard. I’ll never be able to forgive myself if you drown on my watch,” he had said. His concern was cute.

My shrug shocked him.

“Tell me you’ve had lobster before,” he declared. “Seriously, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried it. Stop looking down! Look at my face and tell me: Have you had lobster?”

I slowly looked up at him with a blush on my cheeks and shook my head no.

“Oh my gosh! How have you gone through life without lobster?! Okay, that’s it! Tonight, we’re going out for a lobster dinner. If you get out of this town without tasting it, I’ll be almost as ashamed as I would be if you drowned.”

I smiled. He didn’t do much talking on the boat; he was pretty focused on his work. And I was pretty focused on him. As the sun climbed higher, the day got hotter, and he took off his shirt. It’s not like I hadn’t seen plenty of guys without their shirts on before, but there’s something different about it being someone you really like. And he was doing a lot of lifting and pulling. When he pulled the traps out of the Ocean, water would splash around, dripping down his chest. I honestly tried not to stare, but I couldn’t help it. He looked gorgeous.

When I wasn’t ogling Akinli, I soaked up the moment, not worrying about its eventual end. I enjoyed the sun here in Akinli’s boat, in Akinli’s clothes, in Akinli’s presence. And, while he didn’t say it in so many words, I was fully looking forward to my first date. I knew I should be more guarded, but I couldn’t keep up the show anymore. I wanted Akinli. So, when he took my hand on the walk home that afternoon, I didn’t bother putting up any kind of fight.

Ben was still gone when we came home for our very late lunch. Julie had already called the police that morning. No leads. Big surprise! When Akinli mentioned he was taking me out for dinner that night, Julie nearly exploded with excitement. She asked if she could dress me up. There was no way to say no to that kind of enthusiasm.

That afternoon, she took me under her wing. I showered and washed my hair at her command. I felt bad though; all the soap in the world wouldn’t wash the saltiness out of my skin. She proceeded to do my hair and makeup.

“You really don’t need any of this; you’re a natural beauty. And the lone restaurant in town doesn’t have a dress code, but let me play anyway, okay? I live with two boys,” she said.

I nodded. I was pleased to have her speak to me at all. She had disappeared after I arrived and was gone most of the day before. Her kindness to me this morning had been so unexpected. Julie’s thoughts were in the same place.

“I’m sorry if I seemed rude when you got here. I was sort of worried about having a stranger in the house, and I got scared a little. But I’ve been thinking of how you must be feeling. You can’t speak, you don’t remember anything, you don’t really know where you are, and you’re depending on complete strangers right now. And, if that isn’t enough, you get assaulted in our house.” She sighed at the memory. “You’ve had a lot to deal with, and I’m sorry I didn’t get that.”