The Mermaid and her King (20 page)

I
need the pain to go away. The emptiness I feel is gut wrenching. I need Skyla just to breathe. I’ve barely eaten in days, and I only know what day it is because I can’t forget the amount of time I’ve been away from her. I need to touch her skin, see her smile and feel the joy that radiates from her.

I
can’t believe I spent Christmas alone in this bed. It was going to be a special day spent with my friends and her. At least she had Rock to spend the day with.

It’s pathetic how I cry over her all day. She was le
aving me voicemails until yesterday. It pains me to hear them, but I listen just to hear her voice. She still wants me. After everything, she still wants to be with my sorry ass.

The pain I’m putting her through makes me sick, but the pain I caused her from Bud’s death is unforgivable.
The thought of it cuts through my core. It feels like a knife chopping me into pieces. She has to get over me.

Eric

I don’t know what to do to help my friends. Skyla’s not even the same person. There’s no life left in her, and I can’t even imagine what King’s going through. If he doesn’t come back soon, I’m going to have to go looking for him.

My phone rings
, and I see that it’s Skyla.

“Hi, girl. Are you doing OK?” I ask gently.

“No, I miss him, Eric. The pain is unbearable.”

“I wish I could do something
to help.”

“I have to go find him. I’m on
ly giving it a couple more days,” she says.

“Well, I’m going with you.”

“My friend, Brooke, will be here later today. She can go with me.”

“You don’t even know where you’re going. I have to go with you. I know where he lives and how the flights work. You’re too upset to deal
with it on your own.”

“Fine.”

“How are things with Rock?”

“He’s an ass, but he’s taking me to pick up
Brooke. I told him he better not mention Chase.”

I’ve really had it with Rock treating her like shit.

“Skyla, just call me tomorrow, and we’ll work out the arrangements to go to Maui.”

We hang up,
and I decide that tonight I’m finding Rock.

***

It’s nine at night, so I figure Rock’s had plenty of time to pick up Skyla’s friend and drop them off. He’ll probably be at the bar I know he frequents since he’ll be pissed and upset over Bud. He’s not the only one that’s had this shit thrown back in his face.

I pull into the
bar parking lot and see his car. It’s the one Skyla’s been driving. He’s sitting on a bar stool inside and looks up at me when I pull out the one next to him.

“
Shooter,” Rock says before he takes a drink of his beer.

“Rock.”

“I guess it wasn’t enough I had to see King’s ugly face.”

“We need to talk. I can’t s
it back and watch you hurt Skyla.”

Rock looks at me with anger
in his eyes. “Don’t tell me how to treat my baby sister. Just great, I guess you’re the other one she’s close to.”

“Rock, you really have no fucking clue how
things were before Bud died or since. You need to hear some things, or you’re going to lose your sister, too.

“Besides how damn sweet Skyla is, the thing I
love about her the most is the happiness and positive attitude that oozes from her. It’s gone, and I don’t think it’ll come back if she doesn’t get to be with King.”

“I can’t forgive him for what he did to Bud.”

“
I don’t know what gave you the idea that King was the bad influence. It was Bud who got King hooked on hard drugs. I saw how it all went down, and it tore me apart.

“I loved Bud, but he wasn’t perfect like you wan
t to believe. He wanted someone to do coke with him, and I think he wanted it to be King because he had an unlimited supply of cash to get the shit for them. He also had the house to bring the women to.

“I kn
ow Bud cared about King, but he destroyed his life. It wasn’t the other way around like everyone outside of our circle wants to think. I wouldn’t lie to you, man.”

“But King
supplied him time after time.”

“
Yes, but only after Bud got him hooked. On top of what happened before Bud died, for nine months after, King punished himself. He did go right to rehab, which was good, but then he shut himself up in his house. He didn’t do shit. He didn’t spend one minute with a woman. He never touched his board. He did nothing.

“Then
your angel of a sister walked into our lives, and we all came to life again. It was like Bud put her there to make it happen. We love her, man. We’d never hurt her, and King wants to give her everything. He adores her, and you’d see that if you’d get past your fucking anger.”

I’m shocked he listened to all
of that. Probably because he doesn’t know what the hell to do for Skyla any more than I do. This right here was my last idea. Rock takes another swig of his beer and looks at me.

“Bud
struggled with alcohol and drugs before he ever got to Oahu, but it wasn’t bad. I assumed because King had money that he got Bud to try the harder shit.”

“
I don’t believe Bud intended to take advantage of King, but he did, and he did it for a long time. It was the perfect set up for Bud because King won’t let his friends pay for a damn thing.

“
Bud was a good person. He had that happy energy that Skyla exudes, but his mind wasn’t healthy like hers. He was self-destructive, and he just about took King down with him. I swear it’s the truth.”

“Did Nixie
send you down here?”

“No, she doesn’t know. I did this because I care
about King and her. If they don’t get back together, then I believe King will slowly die, and she’ll go back to California. We all lose her then, including you.

Rock drops his head and grasps
the top of his beer bottle, twirling it around on the bar. “She’s really pissed at me.”

“I know she’s
all you have left, and if you want her to be on this fucking island when you get back from deployment, then you need to forgive King and let him love her. He’ll take better care of her than any other man could. It’s pathetic how much he worships her. He treats her like his queen.”

“So
, where is he if he loves my sister so damn much?”

“He’s punishing himself again. He still blames himself
for Bud dying, so I imagine he feels responsible for all of her grief. You might be the only one who can change that.”

“I’ve never liked King. He always acted like an arrogant ass.
I can’t bow down to him or apologize.”

“I’m not asking you to. Just tell him you know it’s not his fault Bud died
. Then let him be with Nixie without giving them shit over it. Whether you want to believe it, Bud wanted the two of them together. He planned on fixing them up when she got here. He talked about it all the time.

“
Ultimately, Bud made his own choices. He chose to surf that night when he was fucked up. It’s not King’s fault, and he’s punished himself enough over it. If you don’t want to do it for him, then do it for Skyla.”

Rock doesn’t
say anything for a few minutes. I sit quiet, knowing he’s trying to come to terms with the fact that Bud was flawed. None of us want to admit it, but it has to be acknowledged to move forward.

“Alright.
I’ll do this for Nixie and Bud but not for King. He still played a role in my cousin’s drug use, and I don’t know if I can get past that, but I’ll admit, I know Bud wanted them together, and I can tell my sister loves King. It’s killing me to see her hurting like she is. Where is the fucker?”

“He has a house in Maui. Skyla’s going there with me in two days.”

“You want me to fly to Maui to tell him this shit?” he asks, sounding surprised.

“Kin
g needs an intervention, and he needs each of us to talk to him if we’re going to get him back with Skyla.”

“Fuck. I c
an’t believe I’m doing this. It’s only to make things right with Nixie. She’s never been angry at me before, and I hate it.”

“Just say you’ll do it
.”

He let
s out a deep breath. “Alright. Have Nixie get hold of me, and I’ll go.”

“
Thanks, man.” He must’ve already been questioning his behavior. That was way too easy. I figured I’d be leaving here with blood on me, most likely my own.”

“This is his
home?” Brooke asks, sounding shocked as she sits down her suitcase.

“Yep, this is it.”

“He has to have millions, Nixie.”

“That’s wha
t I hear, but you know I don’t care.”

“I kn
ow, but it’s so damn cool. Now that your brother’s gone, you need to tell me everything. I’m gathering Chase found out the truth.”

“Lee
came home early, and Chase showed up before I got to tell him that I’m Nixie. He couldn’t have found out in a worse way.”

I continue to tell
Brooke everything. We’ve been friends since grade school, and we’re so much alike that it’s weird at times. The only big difference is our looks and the fact that her self-esteem has went down the toilet since she started dating her loser boyfriend.

She has the prettiest long hair
that’s between the colors of caramel and honey. Her eyes are brown and have the prettiest speckles of gold in them, another reason Bud called her Honey. He would tease her and tell her that he bet she taste like honey, too.

He always had a crush on her, but with him leaving Cali
fornia at eighteen, they never had a chance to date. He was too old for her before that.

Brooke
and I spend the rest of the day lounging on the beach. I keep my shades on and cry a lot of the time. She holds my hand between the chairs and allows me to be sad.

It’s the great thing about girlfriends. They know everything can’t be
fixed at that moment, and you sometimes just need to cry. Chase, Eric and Andy think if I cry, then they need to fix it and fast, joyful tears or not. Men hate to see women cry, but sometimes we just need to.

My phone rings
, and I frantically grab it out of my swim bag in hopes it’s Chase. I see that it’s Eric.

“Hi,
Eric.”

“Hi
. I have some news. I was going to come by, but I have to get up early and get a lot of work done since we’re going to be gone for a couple of days. I’m trying to do the work that Chase and I normally do together. Anyway, I talked to your brother.”

“You did what?” I ask in total shock.

“I went to see Rock. Don’t worry. It went good. I couldn’t watch him hurt you and Chase like this, so I had to get through to him. Chase can’t move forward with you if Rock’s always there telling him it’s his fault.”

“Well … what did he say?”

“Skyla, I hadn’t told you because I didn’t want to talk bad about Bud, but your brother had to know to forgive King, so you have to know, too. Bud got Chase doing drugs. It wasn’t the other way around.”

“I already knew
that.”

“How?”

“Bud told me.”

“Why would he admit that?”

“He felt guilty. He thought when I got here, I’d somehow get them to change. I think it’s another reason he wanted me with Chase.”

“Rock’s going to Maui with
us, and he’s going to tell King that he doesn’t blame him, and he’s going to tell him to be with you.”

I start sobbing.
Eric freaks out, of course.

“Skyla, why are you crying? Please stop. I can’t stand it.”

“I’m sorry, Eric,” I say between sniffles. “I just can’t believe you did that for us. You’re the greatest friend.”

“I don’t want to lose you bot
h. I told you I was going to step in for Bud and be there for you, especially when Chase can’t. I meant it. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he says solemnly.

“
I love you, Eric, and Chase will forgive you.”

“I love you,
too, Nixie.”

I end the call
and feel hope for the first time in days. I look over at Brooke.

“Eric is s
omeone you need in your life, the kind of friend everyone needs in their life.”

Eric

I can’t believe we’re
really going on a hunt for King today. Skyla said she, Rock and her friend will meet me at the airport. She thought it best we leave two cars there in case someone has to come back before everyone else. I can’t believe I caused myself to have to travel with her ass of a brother. King better never pull this kind of shit again.

Skyla comes running toward me as I sit at the gate.
I stand just before she gives me a huge hug, and I know it’s for getting Rock to come along. Damn. This must be Brooke. She’s gorgeous. She’s heaven. She has to sit next to me on the plane.

“
Brooke, this is Eric, my friend I was telling you about.”

Brooke
reaches her hand out to me, and it’s soft. Her eyes meet mine and they sparkle with flecks that look like gold. She’s one hot chick, and dammit, if I remember correctly, Skyla said she’s taken.

“Hi,
Brooke.” I flash her a smile.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,
Eric. Skyla has only great things to say about you.”

“I’m surprised
considering how we first met.” I wink at Skyla.

“Shut up,
Eric. Do you honestly want me to tell her why I fell into the bathtub?”

“Not yet.
Brooke needs to get to know me better first, so she won’t think I’m a pig when she hears it.”

Yes
, I’m trying to flirt. I glance at Rock, and he rolls his eyes.

“Hi, Rock.”

“Shooter,” he says before he sits down. He leaves two seats between us, and I hope Brooke sits next to me, but Skyla does instead. I see that Brooke is saying something to Rock, so I lean over and whisper into Skyla’s ear.

“You need to let her
sit by me on the plane, sister.”

Skyla laughs. “OK, but don’t get your hopes up. I’d like nothing more
than to see it happen, but I don’t think it can in the few days she’s here.”

“Move her ass to the island.”

“I keep trying,” Skyla says quietly while giggling.

Brooke
sits by me on the plane, and I gather that she’s nervous from the way she fidgets with her delicate hands. “Do you dislike flying?” I ask her.

“No, I don’t mind it,” she replies.

Awesome. That means I might be making her nervous instead of the fear of crashing into the ocean.

“I know this is all pretty awkward. It’s reall
y great that you came to be here for Skyla. I can already tell that you’re sweet like her.”

She turns her head to the side and looks up at me. Our faces are not far apart, so
I get to see just how beautiful she is.

“
Thanks. That’s nice of you to say. It’s weird to hear you call her Skyla. Everyone we both know calls her Nixie. Maybe she doesn’t want new people she meets calling her that because it reminds her of Bud.”

“
Honestly, I don’t know what I’m supposed to call her now. I call her Nixie, too. I’d like to call her sis, but I imagine Rock wouldn’t appreciate it.”

“Y
ou two are close, huh?” she asks.

“I think it’s safe to say that. She already feels like a sister.”
I need to shut up. My lack of filter is surely going to get me in trouble if I keep talking. Now I feel bad because she’s fidgeting with her hands even more. This damn trip is going to be stressful.