Mer Tales 01 - Everblue

pried open my eyes to see Mom and Dad hovering over me, staring. I know this place. The living room in our house in Tahoe. Mom had a mug in her hand and a tangy sweetness laced my throat.
    I swallowed again. “I’m okay, I think.”
    Dad’s shoulders relaxed as he squeezed my hand. “Welcome back, Son.”
    “ The things the two of you put me through,” Mom said with a sigh. “Are you feeling okay, Fin?”
    I rubbed my temples, the pain zinging through my head like a fire poker. On the table next to me, the poisonous bracelet the King had slapped on my arm to keep me in Natatoria sat in two pieces next to a pair of bolt cutters.
    “ Here.” Mom handed me two tablets of Ibuprofen and a glass of water. “Take these.”
    A circle of red dots surrounded my wrist. “What happened? What day is it?”
    “ It’s only been an hour,” Dad said. “I was hoping the bracelet was a decoy, but you fainted when we swam through the gate.” Dad grimaced. “Once we got home, I couldn’t find my tools. But after I threatened Alaster—”
    Mom clenched her jaw. “Once Dad took off the bracelet, and I fed you the elixir Badger gave us, you came to.”
    “ Where’s Alaster now? Aren’t they going to find us here?”
    “ Not for a while, I imagine. I escorted my good-for-nothing brother and nephew back to Natatoria and sealed the gate for good.”
    “ You what?” I sat up, my body stiff.
    “ I activated the detonation device on the gate, just in case. Sealed her right up. No one’s going to be coming or going from Natatoria through Lake Tahoe any longer.”
    Outside, helicopters hummed overhead. I swallowed hard again, my throat still dry. “And everyone saw the explosion?”
    “ Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “Had to do it while I still had the chance.”
    My heart thumped hard. This would create a bigger hysteria than the waves I’d caused. Anyone within the vicinity would have seen or felt the explosion.
    “ I have to go find Ash.” I threw off the blanket and stood up.
    “ No,” Mom barked. “Sit down. You need to let the sedation wear off.”
    “ I need to find her now!” I could only imagine what she’d think, especially if she saw the explosion firsthand. I took another deep breath to clear my swirling head, ignoring Mom’s continued demands that I take it slow.
    I cursed once I saw the mess on my bedroom floor—the board pried away from the hidey-hole, all my clothes and things scattered about. A lowly pair of folded jeans caught my eye. I slid them on with a black shirt that looked halfway decent, along with shoes and socks.
    I was out the door and running towards Ashlyn’s house within minutes.
    What am I going to say? How is she going to react? Would she turn me away?
    I didn’t care. I had to talk to her, make her understand. We had to be together. I couldn’t live another day without confessing my feelings to her.
    I banged on her front door for several minutes without an answer. More helicopters flew overhead and the noise made me slightly fanatical. I held my ears and turned in a circle. Where was Ash? Footprints in the wet mud led to the dock. Off in the distance, a bevy of boats swarmed the water.
    I spotted someone in a little boat a mile or so out. One I’d recognize anywhere. The Sea Star. The girl inside was standing, arms out.
    “ ASHLYN!” I screamed and ran for the dock, shedding clothing the entire way.
    Unable to phase into a fin without ripping my jeans, I kicked with all my might. I had to stop her from doing something rash. Though I could save her again, I’d be naked once I got her on shore with nothing to put on—definitely a risk of exposure. Why didn’t I put on my pack just in case?
    I pointed my hands and butterfly kicked, speeding my progress slightly. She came clearer into view, still apparently deciding if she should jump or not. Her foot rested dangerously on the side, the boat close to tipping over.
    “ STOP!”
    Ash startled and retracted her foot from the ledge, losing her balance and falling onto the seat with a thud. “Finley?”
    I came to the side and treaded water next to the boat. “What are you doing?”
    “ You’re alive?” She stared back as if she didn’t actually believe she saw me for real.
    “ Of course I am. Why are you out here?”
    She continued to stare in shock, her beautiful green eyes adding to my longing to kiss her.
    “ But the explosion?” She looked off into the horizon.
    I grabbed the edge and tried to swim the