Everblue (29 page)

“Yes, but—I don’t know anymore—it’s become so confusing. Before the promising, Tatch wanted nothing to do with the King’s son, and after, we couldn’t pry her away from him. Without knowing what she really wants now, I don’t know what to do. Should I try to bring her home? Only death will set her free.”

She gasped. “Her death?”

“No! His. Only after
his
death does her soul become free again.”

She grabbed her chest at heart level and sucked in air. “Don’t do that to me.”

“Sorry,” I said, admiring her theatrics. “You’re stuck with me.”

“I guess I am.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “And you with me.”

“I’m glad no one is at this park.”

“Me, too.”

We finished the rest of the conversation wordlessly with only our lips doing the communicating.

56

ASH

After more people showed up at the park and we caught a few glares from moms at our display of affection, we high-tailed it back home.

“I think you should meet my parents officially,” Fin said out of nowhere as he turned the corner, our houses in view.

I swallowed hard. “Meet your parents? Now?”

Somehow I’d assumed they’d be reopening their shop for business today.

“Heck, yeah. We’re practically married now in mer standards. They know everything.”

I tried to speak but stuttered something incoherent and couldn’t finish.
Did he say we were practically married?

“Look,” he said, taking my frozen nervous hand into his burning hot one. “This is cause for a party. You’re family now. They’re your in-laws.”

“Not in my world they aren’t. If my parents even knew what happened—my dad would flip and he’s the most understanding of the two. I can’t even imagine my mom’s reaction. She might just keel over with a coronary.”

He tilted his head and looked at me over the top of his sunglasses. “Am I scaring you?”

“No,” I said. “This is all a little fast. You just came home. We just got together.”

“It’s eternal. You can’t fight it. We can’t be apart. We’re a match made in water.”

The lump in my throat made talking difficult. “Hardly. I can swim like a fish, but my talents are limited. I doubt I could keep up, let alone survive.”
Besides, we aren’t even a matching race
.

He chuckled. “Please. Come meet them. They’ll be cool. I promise.”

“They don’t really know me,” I said, still in a panic.

“Well then let’s remedy that.”

We parked out front and my legs turned to mush. My last memory of his dad, though unrelated to drinking, still scared me. Though Fin said he’d already told them about me, I couldn’t imagine them liking me. First off, I wasn’t a mermaid. How could I give them merlings in the future?

Fin popped out of the Jeep and went around to open my door. I sat quaking in my seat, gripping the leather with white knuckles. This wasn’t how I wanted my date to end—fighting with his parents and them forbidding us from seeing one another again. It had to be a set-up.

“It’ll be okay. I promise,” he said and kissed my hand before he led me out.

Memories of coming here and looking through the window as a child hit me hard. I tried to dig my heels in, but Fin looped his muscular arm around my waist and ushered me inside.

“Mom? Dad?” he called out. His voice echoed through the vaulted ceilings of his lavishly decorated home.

A scuttle from upstairs preceded a “Be right down,” from a female voice.

“Fin, let’s go. Come on,” I whispered and pulled his arm with all my might. “They’re busy.”

He shook his head.

“Fin,” a woman said with a smile as she flowed gracefully down the stairway in a white cotton dress. Long, flowing blonde hair covered her shoulders, and eyes bluer than Fin’s sparkled at me behind bronzed skin. She was 100% mermaid material if I’d ever imagined one. “Who’s this beauty beside you?”

Beauty? Has she looked in the mirror today?

“This is her, Mom. My Ashlyn,” he said, pride bursting forth like he’d just won the lottery.

Fin’s mom took my hands before she enveloped me in the warmest hug. “Welcome to the family, dear.” She pulled back and studied my fingers. “Oh, I see it. It’s coming in lovely.”

She traced over the spot on my ring finger where a wedding band would go. I studied the spot and noticed raised discolored marks on my skin.

She took off her own wedding ring to uncover a gorgeous colorful tattoo underneath. “Yours will look like this soon.”

My mouth fell open. Now my parents were definitely going to kill me. A tattoo? “How—?”

Fin showed me his hand. He also had faint markings like mine. “They’ll match once they completely fill in, after a month.”

I blinked. “Holy crawfish.”

Both Fin and his mom laughed as she hugged me again. “You are too adorable.”

“What’s all this laughter happening in my kitchen?” A gruff voice spoke from the stairwell.

I nearly peed my pants when I turned and shook in Jack’s presence. Standing six foot three with a gnarly beard and broad, naked shoulders, he towered over us. Off-white drawstring pants were all that he wore.

“I told you to put on a shirt,” Fin’s mom said and disappeared for a moment. She reappeared and threw one at him.

I didn’t move, blink or speak as he pulled on this shirt, and inspected me.

“Come on, Dad,” Fin finally said.

“Aw, love. You’re as pretty as a picture. Come here!” He grabbed and squeezed the life out of me. I coughed as he pounded me on the back. “Well, this is such a wonderful day. Have you two made official plans yet? What did her parents say?”

Fin opened his mouth and nothing came out.

“Jack, give the boy a chance to see his girl and get reacquainted. There’s a lot to discuss. She is
still
human after all.”

The word “still” rang through my head a few different times. I turned to Fin and studied his stoic expression. He’d only told me we bonded, not that I was going to sprout scales in the near future.

“We haven’t talked about the details yet,” he said quickly.

“You need to start because we can’t stay here forever.”

My heart thumped wildly. “You can’t stay?” My frantic glance ping-ponged between the three of them.

“No,” Fin said, looking hard at his father and then softer towards me. “We’ve got time to work everything out. We aren’t going anywhere. Don’t worry.”

I couldn’t stop from breathing faster. He was my world. He couldn’t leave without me.

“I’m famished,” Jack said, unfazed by the invisible grenade he’d launched in the room. He moved towards the fridge. “You kids hungry?”

I felt unstable, my reality toppling over.

He opened the fridge and cursed. “Great, Poseidon. I swear my idiotic brother would die if he ever lost his scales.”

Fin leaned over and whispered. “There’s nothing in the fridge.”

I gaped. Who could care about food at a time like this? Mermaids? Merlings? Tattoos? Leaving? I couldn’t focus as the blood pounded louder in my ears. I needed fresh air—now. “I need to go outside,” I choked out, grasping onto Fin’s hand.

“Oh.” Fin looked at me and furrowed his brow. “Hey, Dad. We just ate and besides, I need to get Ash home.”

“Lookie here, some pancake mix.” Fin’s dad removed himself from the pantry for a second and took a quick look over his shoulder. “Oh, sure. Good to meet you, Ashlyn.”

“Yes. Come back soon,” Fin’s mom said, enfolding me in another warm hug. “Don’t worry. Everything will work out.”

I gave a feeble smile as Fin led me out the door by the hand.

57

FIN

Ash stumbled outside. Her glassy eyes indicated she’d reached information overload—something I’d hoped my parents would avoid.

“That went over well,” I said with a fake grin. “I told you they’d like you.”

She nodded but the uncertainty creased her forehead like a paper fan. She stopped and stared at the lake once we got to the Jeep. I turned her to face me. “We’ll get through this. I promise.”

“Please drive me somewhere,” she mumbled as she opened the door and robotically climbed in.

I took a deep breath before climbing into the driver’s side and starting the Jeep. “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t care.”

She remained quiet for several minutes as I drove down the secluded lakeside road with no destination in mind. Would this be the time she told me she couldn’t handle this? That she wanted out of the promise? Her silence gnawed at my gut.

“Please talk to me,” I finally said. “What are you thinking?”

“Everything . . .” she stopped.

“What do you mean?”

“Everything has to change.” She started to sniffle.

Seeing her tears, I pulled to the side of the road and got out. She remained inside with her door opened a crack, only her foot propped on the running board.

“Look at me,” I said and put her cheeks between my hands. “I love you and I’m not going to let anything keep us apart, or make things difficult with your parents, or ask you to move away, or assume you’ll want to become a mer, like me. This will all work out.”

“You love me?”

“Of course I do.” My shoulders dropped. “I knew it the day I wanted to punch that idiot’s face when he had his hands all over you.”

She sniffled, but smiled—the first time since we’d left the house.

“I love you, too,” she said softly.

My heart expanded, filling with indescribable bliss hearing the words. I pulled her off the seat and into my arms. She whimpered sweetly as I covered her lips with mine, tasting the salt on her skin, kissing away the tears. I never wanted to see her cry again. If the mer life scared her, I’d become a man in a heartbeat. Her happiness was my everything.

I looked into her green eyes and pushed back the red, loose curls falling around her cheeks, worried how to help. She had no idea she’d fit in perfectly and put all the mermaids to shame with her beauty. She smiled at me, as if she read my adoration of her on my face.

I pulled her back into my arms, and cradled her body against mine. She finally relaxed.

“I was thinking,” she said in my ear. “Why don’t I go to college here in Tahoe next year instead.”

“What? Why?”

“’Cause—” she nuzzled deeper into my chest “—it would be less complicated.”

I pushed back, wanting to study her eyes. “Complicated? You didn’t think I’d let you go alone, did you? I’d like to see you stop me.”

Her lips curled into that adorable grin as her face lit up with new hope. “Tatchi and I specifically picked Florida Atlantic  University because it was close to the ocean. And I can get a job and we can live by the sea. Or . . .” Uncertainty clouded her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, brushing a curl off her forehead.

“Am I going to . . . ” Her cheeks flushed as she bit her lip.

“Are you going to what?”

She dropped her eyes and rubbed her finger over the promising mark. “This is so embarrassing.”

“Tell me,” I demanded.

“Fine.” She let out a quick gust and straightened up. “When am I going to turn into a mermaid?”

I blinked for a second, confused why she thought she’d spontaneously change. Then smiled, filled with relief. “You mean because we’re promised?” I chuckled.

“I knew it was silly.” She grimaced.

“No, don’t feel like that.” I folded her back into my arms and squeezed. “A promise doesn’t make you turn into a mermaid, though I’d really like that—” she giggled. “Our
essence
does. There’s a spring in Natatoria under the palace that bubbles up a blue liquid from within the earth. If you drank it, you’d transform into a mer. I’m sure you’ve seen it. Tatch has a vile on her bracelet.”

She thought for a moment. “Oh, right. So, if I drank that, I’d poof into a mermaid?”

“Something like that. I’ve never actually seen it happen. It’s a fashion statement for mermaids to carry it around. They continue to drink it—like it’s a fountain of youth.”

I laughed, but suddenly realized we might not have brought back any
essence
with us.

“That’s kind of cool.” She hummed as she leaned against my shoulder.

I kissed her temple and inhaled the honeysuckle scent in her hair. “Just know I don’t want you to feel any pressure. I can become human, if it comes down to that.”

“There’s a way to do that?”

“Yes,” I said and took her hand. “The bond of our souls might go away, but we’ll be together on land without any mer restrictions.”

“But you’ll have to leave your family and you won’t be able to go get Tatchi.”

“Then I’ll go get Tatch first. My family will still be around. Maybe they’ll take up residence in Florida, too.”

“That’s huge,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t want you to have to choose between me and them.”

My chest tightened. “It won’t be like that. It’ll all work out.”

She looked down and traced the raised emblem on my ring finger that signified our eternal connection. “Will this go away, too?”

I grimaced. “I don’t know. Possibly.”

She sighed again and laced her fingers with mine. “I don’t want it to go away.”

I moved our hands up and brushed her tattooed finger against my lips, kissing it. “Maybe I’ll put something else in its place.”

She smiled, her expression warm. “Are you proposing to me?”

My heart thumped wildly in my throat. This wasn’t how I wanted to ask her. Not without a ring. “What?” I said and looked away with a sheepish grin.

“Brat.” She hit my arm and I grabbed it to pull her toward me again, brushing my lips against her neck.

“I like being your brat.”

“This is all so crazy,” she whispered in my ear. “But as long as we are together, I’ll do and go where you want me to.”

“Music to my ears,” I whispered back and swayed with her body as we heard music. “It would be nice to be able to be free from always worrying about the sun setting.”

“Tell me about it,” she said as she moved in for a kiss.

a

The afternoon flew by faster than I wanted and after another wonderful dinner with her family, the eventual decision of who would leave whom became heartbreaking to think about. Ash fidgeted and hid her left hand under the table during dinner. Once the sky turned rosy and cast long shadows across the kitchen floor, we both looked at each other in sadness. Another early good-bye.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered as I moved a stray lock of red hair from her face and peered into her green eyes. “I hate leaving so soon.”

“Can I meet you later at the dock? I’d love to see your—what do you call it?”

“It’s just a fin. I’m appropriately named for my appendage,” I said with a wink. “How about later this summer, when it’s warmer? I’d hate for you to freeze outside.”

She curled her lips downward and pouted. “Please?”

I laughed. “We’ll see. I’ll call in an hour, how’s that?”

“Fine. I guess.”

I kissed her irresistible lips again before dashing to get home. I didn’t want to ruin another pair of jeans.

“Finley,” mom said as I walked through the door. “She’s adorable. What did you two decide?”

“Nothing yet, Mom.” I said and went towards the basement stairs. “But I want to talk to Dad.”

“He’s downstairs fixing one of the soda taps on the bar.”

“They broke that too?”

“Among other things. They have no clue how to use or work anything around here.”

Dread hit me. I hadn’t thoroughly checked my room yet. Did Colin break anything of mine? I went to my room, but knew I wouldn’t have time to look. Scales had already begun to appear on my legs. I slid out of my jeans and sat on my bed. My tail burst from my skin like magic and I wondered what Ash would really think of my fishy side. The time spent living as separate species would make for an interesting relationship.

I slid across the floor and maneuvered down the stairs. Mom was testing out the new tap, while Dad moved to fix the filter.

“Son,” Dad called out, waving a wrench in his hand. “I like her.”

“She is something special.”

Mom dangled a vile filled with
essence
on a chain for me to see. “I can’t wait for the day she officially becomes one of us.”

I exhaled, relieved she grabbed some before we left, but felt a pang of dread after spending such a great time with Ash’s family.

“One thing at a time, Mom,” I said quickly. “I’m not in a rush to take her away from everyone who loves her. Don’t you remember what it felt like to leave your humanity? What would you think if I chose the opposite? To become a man instead?”

Her smile pulled into a frown; a tear glinted in her eye. “I’m sorry, Son. You’re right.”

“It’s not an easy decision.” I dropped my eyes. “For now she’s going to finish high school and go to college. It’s near the Atlantic in Florida. And once she graduates, things will change. You guys managed it.”

Mom looked to Dad with a faint smile on her lips. “Yes, we did.”

He swam over to her and hugged her shoulder. “You endure much to be with the one you love.”

Mom sniffled and I swam away from them, over to my floating lounge chair, needing to escape the tension. Dad had reattached the arm to the seat.

“Thanks,” I said and tested it out by relaxing back and closing my eyes. All I wanted was the hour to pass quickly, so I could call Ash and not feel pressure to make these tough decisions.

“How Colin managed to break so much stuff in such a short time, I’ll never know. Why I’m even bothering . . .”

I sat up at the sudden silence. “What do you mean?”

Dad sighed. He crawled into the closest floating lounge and paddled over to me. “Since we’re going to be leaving, I don’t see the point. Mom and I are planning to get out of here once I wrap up the business and our finances. Florida is actually where we’d planned to go. It’s close to home base.”

Home base. I’d forgotten about the mer safe house for runaways Dad had set up a while back, unbeknownst to the King.

I ran my hand through my wet hair. “Badger gave me an earful while you were gone—”

Dad laughed lazily. “I’m sure he did.”

“You didn’t tell Tatch and me anything about anything . . .” My cheeks burned. “It was quite embarrassing at times.”

“Well.” He scratched his belly before Mom swam over and handed him a beer from the tap. “Ever since you were little merlings, I’ve been contemplating leaving the colony. I didn’t want you too attached and interwoven into a life that I’d have to uproot you from. And with Phaleon in control, it’s become too unstable. The so-called secret mission I was on was actually to find his runaway daughter and he didn’t want anyone to know.”