Mer Tales 01 - Everblue

tell me this was a joke, but I wouldn’t be able to withhold my disappointment. This was something I had to tell her in person.
    I tried to visualize a ray of sunlight so I’d phase into legs. I’d do anything to have one last night together, to curl up in each other’s arms and hope the morning never came. How could we survive this? Being apart for a few hours was hard enough, but months?
    I groaned and put my face in my hands, the impending doom rocketing through my body. The night ticked by slowly but eventually the sun rose and rays peeked through the basement windows.
    Without a word, I left the pool and ran to my girl.

60
ASH

    “ What are you doing out here?”
    My eyes opened to the morning sunlight dancing around Fin’s silhouette.
    “ Waiting for you?” I choked out, my throat sore from the chilly evening.
    “ What am I going to do with you? You can’t be doing insane things like this. You’re going to drive me mad.”
    I rubbed my eyes and sat upright, anger suddenly burning in my veins. “Drive you mad? If my being outside, hoping you’d come here last night to calm my frazzled mind is going to drive you mad, then maybe you shouldn’t leave me hanging like you did.”
    Fin exhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring. “Please, promise me you won’t do anything like this again.”
    My tense shoulders dropped as I curled my lips down into a frown. “Promise me you won’t let urgent calls interrupt us and then hang up abruptly. You have to be honest with me. That’s what relationships are all about.”
    He squatted down, piercing his baby blues into my balloon of frustration, deflating it instantly. “I’m sorry. We got some bad news.”
    “ I figured.” He opened his arms and I collapsed into his chest. “What happened?”
    He waited forever, rocking me gently, sniffing my hair and kissing the top of my head. I hummed and relaxed, but didn’t like the way he ignored my question. Fear prickled down my spine.
    “ We—we aren’t safe any longer,” he barely said, almost as if our reality would break if he talked louder.
    “ Who isn’t safe?”
    I felt him tremor as his eyes grew glassy, grief swirling within the dark pools of blue. Why did I ask the question when I knew the answer? The mermen from his world were coming for them, pure and simple. The denial this day wouldn’t happen blew up in our faces. But why now? Why so soon? His dad was so confident everything would be fine. I willed him to tell me something else. Anything else.
    “ My family isn’t safe. Mermen from Natatoria are coming today to reclaim the house and reopen the gate. We have to leave.”
    The air whooshed from my mouth and I grabbed his arm. “NO!”
    He pulled me into a tight embrace and hugged me hard, like I was going to vanish before his eyes. I felt him convulse—just once—as my own tears fell down my cheeks. I couldn’t handle this. I had to go with him.
    He took my hands into his and pulled me to my feet, taking one moment to wipe his cheek with the back of his hand. “Listen to me. We’re going to Florida and I’m going to contact you every day. I’m not going to let distance drive us crazy. We’ll be together, just get to Florida as soon as you possibly can.”
    I started breathing faster and faster, my head dizzy, my body shaking. My voice pitched, hoping he’d listen to reason. “But I don’t want to be alone. I can’t be alone. I—I’ll never survive. I’ll go mad without you. Please… can’t you stay?”
    He paused with a pained expression. Then he shook his head. “We have to survive. We can do it. It’s only for a few short months,” he said somberly.
    I pressed my eyes closed and felt myself sinking down. He had no idea the pain I felt without him, the torture. I practically went mad.
    He took my shoulders, stopping my descent. “Ash, open your eyes.”
    I sucked in a quick gust and felt myself unravel inside. “No. If I do, you’ll leave.”
    “ Ash, open your eyes. Please.”
    His voice stirred something deep within my soul. Desperation? Hope? I couldn’t be sure. Unable to fight him, I opened them slowly.
    He removed something small from his pocket. At first I couldn’t tell what it was until the stone reflected shards of crimson light as he held a ring towards me.
    I stared at the ring, then into his inquiring eyes. My pulse hammered as he lowered himself to one knee.
    “ Ashlyn, will you marry me?” Excitement and fear danced across his glorious face.
    My