Mer Tales 01 - Everblue

Fin?”
    I snapped out of the trance and looked at her eyes framed in green lashes. Out of nowhere, she broke down into raspy sobs.
    “ It’s only been one day and look what they’ve done to me. Imagine what I’ll come home looking like tomorrow. Or the festival. For the love of the kraken!”
    Unsure what to do, I awkwardly patted her on the back.
    “ We only have to endure a few days until Dad gets back, and when he does, we’ll return to the mainland and wash this crap off with something stronger than soap.”
    Tatiana pulled her face up, mid snivel. “Fin, Dad isn’t coming back anytime soon.”
    My eyes met her crestfallen expression. “What do you mean?”
    “ He whispered to Mom when they said goodbye that he might be gone for several months. Months!”
    “ What?” Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t he take me?
    I moved away and pounded my fist on a nearby barnacle-laden rock. Why was I the last to know?
    “ Sorry. Mom didn’t want me to tell you. She hoped the mission would end early.”
    Suddenly, I felt as if lead weights were attached to my flukes like the mobsters at the bottom of Tahoe. Dad’s absence meant we’d be stuck here. For once, I finally understood what Tatiana was complaining about. I’d joined the ranks of merwomen trapped in Natatoria’s big fish tank under the earth’s crust.
    “ Come our eighteenth birthday, I’ll get us out of here.”
    “ You can’t be a chaperone unless you’re promised.”
    “ It could work. I’d be the male figure, and Mom the chaperone.”
    “ That’s not until May.” Tatch rolled her eyes. “No, what we need to do is disappear and go to Fiji. We could stay on that desolate island we vacationed on last summer.”
    I shook my head. If we ran away, I’d forfeit all chances of acquiring Tahoe in the future. We’d have to stick it out and hope the King would let us go back as a family in May.
    “ Holy crawfish!”
    She dashed for the kelp bed as I turned to spot Azor, swimming in our direction.
    “ Please, get rid of him,” she whispered in my head.
    “ Finley,” Azor called as he approached.
    I tried to act casual. “What’s happening?”
    Azor looked beyond me and scanned the surrounding landscape. “I’m looking for your sister. Have you seen her?”
    “ For the love of plankton, get him to swim away from here!”
    I cleared my throat to cover my laugh. “Did you check the house?”
    “ I was just there. Magdalene said she hadn’t come home from the palace yet.”
    “ Oh, well, maybe she’s still there . . . you know how she loves to get all dolled up.” I shot Tatch a sly wink.
    “ Finley! Stop it! I’m going to kill you!” Tatch screamed in my mind.
    “ Hmmm,” he placed his index finger on his lips, “that she does. Maybe she didn’t receive my message to meet afterwards at her house. If you see her, tell her I was looking for her, would you?”
    “ Will do.”
    He swam past me, headed towards the palace.
    I watched him disappear over the sand dune. “Azor wants you.”
    “ Shut-up!” She punched me in the arm, but the water prevented her fist from actually doing harm. “Oh my starfish, you are so dead. Let’s get out of here.”
    “ Oh, let’s,” I said with a laugh, until her tail flipped back and hit my bloated gut, this time causing me pain.

9
ASH

    I stood shaking with the cell phone in my hand.
    “ Are you still there?” Callahan asked.
    “ Yes.” My voice squeaked as a flame of heat rushed to my cheeks.
    “ I’m sorry—are you expecting a call? Should I call back?”
    “ No. It’s fine. I can talk.” I swallowed as my hands grew clammy. “How did you get my number anyway?”
    “ I tried to catch you after practice, but you’d left. So, I asked Georgia for your number.”
    Georgia? Georgia! Oh, no. Images of her ambushing me with a million questions before morning practice already started to haunt me.
    “ I had to leave early.”
    “ Oh.” He took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
    Blood hammered in my ears while I waited for him to speak. Was this really happening? Callahan O’Reily, the hottest guy in school, could not be calling me. This had to be another horrible prank.
    “ I—” He hesitated. Then another painful silence. I wanted to say something, anything to rescue the conversation.
    Speak, Ash. “If this is a bad time for you—” Stupid, of course it’s a good time for him or he wouldn’t have called. Please just tell me why you called already.
    “ Uh,