Fated - A Mermaid's Curse 2 (4 page)

She laughs. “Alright. I’m going to go talk to Bill to make sure we’re all good and I’ll be back soon.”

I smile at her and walk over to Blake.

“
So what do you want done?” I ask.

“
A mermaid,” he says.

I give him a puzzled look. I know she never told him about her or he would be diving into the ocean everyday since.

“
Why a mermaid?” I ask.

For the first time in days, I see him smile. “Because she was my fairy tale. They are too good to be true, just like she was.” He grins wider. “She always smelled like the ocean. I loved that smell. And then there was a time when Molly told me a story about them playing mermaids or something.” He sighs. “I just keep getting this image of her against a rock, her hair flowing in the wind. And even though the image is blurry, I can tell it’s her.”

I stand there frozen. He’s smiling and sobbing at the same time.

I nod. “Okay. You got me convinced. Where and what about colors? I have to ask… Just making sure you are making some sort of wise decision.”

“
On my chest. I want it some kind of abstract form and all black.”

“
Tell me why,” I ask.

He rolls his eyes at me.

“
I need to make sure you know what you’re doing.”

He looks away and when he answers, he makes me believe that he gave this a lot of thought before. No drunk would have this good of a reason for everything. “On my chest because she was my heart. Abstract, because she was like an illusion, and black, because that is all that is left inside of me… darkness. Happy?” he asks as he glares at me.

I hold in a breath and I swear I can feel pain radiating from the cut on my back.

I nod. “I’ll get Brenda.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Blake passes out by the time Brenda is done sketching his tattoo.

“
He’s in really bad shape,” she says.

“
Yeah.”

“
Should I go on?” she asks.

I nod. “Yeah.”

“
I guess she was the one, huh?”

“
Yeah, you could say that, but things were too complicated for them. I don’t think it would have ever worked anyway.”

She gives me a sad smile. “The things you work hard for are usually the best things in life.”

I shrug. “Maybe. That doesn’t exactly apply to my family though. The whole ‘meant to be’ thing is nothing. Dad writes our own destinies.”

“
So, your dad is still being a hard ass, huh?” she asks.

I laugh. “You remember him?”

“
I remember your thirteenth birthday party as if it was yesterday.”

I stare at her and when she stops working on Blake’s tattoo for a second to look back at me, I give her a puzzled look. She goes back to working on the tattoo. “You don’t remember it, do you?”

“
I can’t say that I do.”

She sighs. “Maybe it’s for the best. Sometimes our minds block things out for a reason.”

“
Come on, Brenda. This is going to bug the fuck out of me. Just tell me already.”

She sighs. “Do you remember Jenna?”

“
Of course! She was Ms. Lauren’s daughter. The housekeeper.”

She nods. “Don’t you remember your dad kicking Jenna out of your party for not ‘belonging’ there?”

I gasp. “I remember her leaving, but I thought she just had some kind of emergency. I mean, her mom was pretty shaken up when they left.”

“
Did she come back after that?”

I stop to think about it. “No.”

“
Your dad fired her.”

“
But my mom said they had a death in the family and had to move.”

She looks back at me. “Trust me, she was trying to protect you. They didn’t move anywhere. In fact, Jenna still lives in town with her mom.”

“
Fuck. I didn’t know.”

She shrugs.

After that we start talking about old days and people who we went to school with. Time flies by.

“
Well, I’m done here,” she says.

I walk over to look at Blake’s tattoo.

“
Nice!”

“
Thanks,” she smiles up at me. “Now, how are we getting him out of here?” she laughs.

I take a deep breath. “Do you think Bill will help, you know… for a nice tip.”

She laughs. “Don’t worry about the tip. He’s a good guy. He’ll help.”

“
Alright.”

“
It was nice seeing you again, Owen.”

“
Nice seeing you, too.”

We say our goodbyes and Bill helps me get Blake out of there and into the car.

“
Thanks, man.”

“
No problem.” He turns around and goes back to the shop.

I drive back to Blake’s apartment. I manage to get Blake somewhat awake to where he can walk up to the elevator with my help. I get him in his apartment and to his bed and go pass out in the living room.

I get waken up by the bright sunlight coming through the living room. I look at my watch and it’s only seven in the morning. I text dad, ‘getting things straight with Blake. Might be a good idea for us to stay out of the office today.’

‘
Fine. Just get this fixed and soon.’

‘
Yes, sir.’

I throw my phone on the coffee table and go back to sleep.

***

The sound of someone in the living room wakes me up.

I open my eyes to find Blake pouring himself a drink. I look at my watch.

“
Hey, man. It’s eleven in the morning.”

He looks at me, takes a shot, and goes back to his room.

I sit up on the couch, run my fingers through my hair and clench my fists before storming into his room.

I find Blake sitting on the bed, with his back to me. He didn’t even move as I walked in. I can see that he’s staring at something so I walk over and look over his shoulder. I see the ring and my mind takes me back to the first time I saw Arianna, and how looking at the ring led me to so many assumptions about her… about her belonging to someone and being unhappy about it. I had seen her watch my brother before, but knowing that she was unhappy was what told me she would agree to any deal I offered her.

I take a deep breath, and Blake, realizing that I was there, looks back at me.

He’s a fucking mess. There are tears all over his face. He clears his throat. “Pretty disturbing that this is pretty much the only thing I have left of hers; a ring given to her by a guy who she wanted nothing to do with.

He looks down at his chest, at the tattoo.

“
Thanks for getting them to do it.”

“
It’s the least I could do.”

He gives me a puzzled look, but goes back to staring at the ring. “I miss her. And all I have are memories. No pictures… nothing else. I’m actually afraid that I will forget what she looked like, the sound of her voice, her scent,” he looks over at his pillow.

“
Things will get easier, man.”

He lets out a frustrated growl. “That’s what people say to give them peace of mind before leaving you alone with your own thoughts and memories. Things are not getting any better. They are getting worse by the minute. Every minute, every second that passes, I miss her more and more.”

He shakes his head, grabs the bottle of whiskey from his floor, and drinks from it. At that moment, I know there is no fixing this. My brother will never be the same and it’s my fault. I tell him I called off work for both of us, but that tomorrow, we’ll have to go back. I go back to the living room and let him drink away his pain at least for today. I only stay around because I don’t want him to do anything stupid.

CHAPTER SIX

ARIANNA

Days pass and the pain doesn’t get much better. Even Bram starts to show signs of concern over how much pain I’m in, but still, I can also see the hate and disgust in the way he looks at me. That look actually makes me hurt even more. Even if he is the one keeping me here, I feel his pain… he deserved to fall for someone who wasn’t already in love with someone else. I just look at Bram and how much he changed and I hate that I was the cause for that.

Bram and my father are both with me when Lyra returns, along with an older merman, and a mermaid named Ikelia. I’ve never seen either of them before, but I can feel something off about him… I know that he doesn’t belong in our world. And Ikelia, well, although I don’t get that same feeling about her, I know that she’s different as well. They haven’t been here but for a little while, and I’ve seen her tail change from pink, to purple, to blue.

Lyra looks at us all staring at them and says, “This is Eric. He’s human, but used dark magic to be able to be here, like this. He helped me find Ikelia. She will be able to tell us what is wrong with Arianna.”

Lyra catches Bram staring curiously at Ikelia’s tail. “Her tail changing colors is a reflection of what she can pick up from Arianna’s feelings, which are obviously all over the place right now.”

The man, Eric, approaches me. He looks about my father’s age. He seems cold and serious. He reaches for my hand and I give it to him. Ikelia repeats his movements, reaching for my other hand.

I feel cold and afraid.

They close their eyes and when they open them again, they look at each other as if they are communicating. When he looks back at me, his cold look softens.

He shakes his head and turns to my father and Bram. “I need to talk to her alone.”

Bram speaks first. “No. She is my wife and whatever you have to say to her, you can say it in front of me.”

Eric gives me an apologetic look. He then faces Lrya and for some reason, Lyra immediately moves to my side.

Eric faces my father, speaking directly to him. “There were mistakes in the deal that she made. She was made free of her deal, but the bond tied to the deal was already there before. I’m not even sure how this happened, but she needs to go to a human hospital or she will die.”

Bram spoke, “Whatever it is, you use magic. Fix her!” he yelled.

“
I can’t. There are human matters involved, and even if I could, I’m not paying for the consequences of getting involved.”

“
She’s not leaving,” says Bram.

“
Quiet,” warms my father. “So if she goes to a human hospital, they will take the pain away, and then she can come back as she was before?”

Eric turns to look at me before looking back at my dad. His look terrifies me. “Even then, there is no guarantee that she will live, but either way, I doubt she will ever go back to how she was before.”

“
What is wrong with her?” my father asks.

Eric hesitates.

“
Tell me!” father yells.

The man shakes his head. “She is… was pregnant when her body switched back to mermaid.”

We are all shocked. I can see the ripples of water surrounding Bram.

I instantly let go of Ikelia’s hand and wrap my arms round myself.

“
That is impossible!” he says.

The man looks at Bram, “Her body was somehow adjusting to being human in more ways than you can imagine. When she turned back into mermaid, her internal organs started to adapt back to her origins. Her body and the human child were trying to fight the changes, but it’s too late.”

My eyes widen in shock. I instantly put my hand over my stomach and start to cry uncontrollably. The impossible had happened. I was given a miracle, a child from Blake… and I lost it.

Bram looks from me to Ikelia’s tail, which went from pink to black. He then looks at me once more and shakes his head in disgust before he storms out, leaving ripples of water behind. I can tell the sea is angry.

My father won’t look at me. “What will happen to her if you take her away?”

“
Well,” says Eric, “Hoping that all goes well, she’ll have to transform back to human. Her body will take care of things as it would if she was human, but she will need human care. I’m not sure how her reproductive system will look to a normal doctor, but I have connections at the hospital nearby. I’ll handle everything personally.”

Father still won’t look at me. “I want her back here and with her husband as soon as she is cleared.”

Eric nods.

“
What favor will I have to do you in return for this?” asks father.

The man shakes his head. “I’m doing this to repay a debt to Lyra.”

“
Very well,” says my father before he swims away without even glancing at me.