Mer Tales 01 - Everblue

gripped my gut. Did Tatch feel this way for Azor? I worried about her, wondering if the promise squelched all her dreams of college, of being human. I formed my fists into a ball as I remembered Azor laughing at me in the palace after he’d stolen a kiss. Revenge was going to be sweet.
    So many decisions now. We couldn’t stay in Tahoe forever. And if I became a man to join Ash’s world, I wouldn’t be able to avenge Tatch. Would Ash and I be able to survive until I could get Tatch away from his evil clutches? And once I became a man later, would our feelings for each other remain after the bond of the mer left our relationship?
    I blew bubbles to reduce my nervousness, hoping the phone would ring soon.

54
ASH

    I walked inside, sad and happy all at once. Fin was home. My heart was whole. Though we didn’t have time to talk, I knew he’d answer my questions eventually.
    “ There’s my girl,” Dad called out once he saw me. “Come join us.”
    The family had retired to the living room to play cards.
    “ That was quick,” Lucy said flippantly.
    “ Lucy,” Mom said with a glare, “mind your own business.”
    “ What I meant to say was, you went from Callahan to Fin so quickly. He’s cute and all, but does he know you still have a boyfriend?”
    If hissing wasn’t socially unacceptable—especially since I’d gained my parents’ favor, I would have. What happened to my nice sister? Though she was right, I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. We were practically broken-up anyway. Since his visit on Wednesday where I’d confessed my secrets and freaked them all out, I’d ignored his calls and texts. It would just be a matter of time before he stopped trying.
    “ I don’t anymore,” I muttered, shifting my weight in the entryway. “Callahan and I aren’t really together anymore, so—”
    She raised her eyebrows and blew out a quick gust of air right before she laid down her cards. “Whatever.”
    “ Anyone who can pull my girl from her slump is all right in my book,” Dad said, ignoring Lucy completely.
    I wrapped my arms around Dad’s neck and kissed him on the top of the head. His hair smelt of the firehouse: cigar smoke and old leather. “Thanks Dad. I really like him.”
    Gran’s and Mom’s eyes twinkled watching me. The general consensus (except for Lucy) was thankfulness. I could have brought home a tatted up guy with a lip piercing and they’d be happy at this point. Anything to get me out of Gran’s room and back into the world of the living.
    The faint ringing of my cell phone formed a knot in my stomach. Now was a good a time as any to tell Callahan. Better than at school.
    “ I think I’m going to move back into my room. My leg feels a lot better today.”
    “ Good—oh. Gin!” Gran said and the rest of the group moaned.
    I smiled. Things were back to normal, as if my accident had never happened. Well, as normal as they could be, considering I was in love with the merman who lived next door.
    I shook my head and left to collect my things out of Gran’s room. On top of the basket of clean clothes, I piled up my sympathy cards and toiletries. My cellphone on the nightstand beeped with a message.
    The walk of shame up the stairs with the basket weighted my feet. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Callahan. The phone started ringing again in my pocket and I sprinted the rest of the way.
    To my shock, my room was cleaned: vacuumed and everything in its place. I plopped the basket on the floor and fumbled in my pocket to get the call. Caller ID said it was Tatchi.
    Anxious to talk to her, my heart began to pound. “Hello?”
    “ What happened to my happy girl?”
    “ Fin?” My mind scrambled a second, not expecting to hear his voice. “How'd you get my number?”
    He laughed, a fresh breezy sound that made me collapse on my bed in a wonderful heap. “You'll never guess.”
    “ Did Tatchi give it to you? Is she there?”
    “ No.” Fin said with sadness briefly in his voice. “But she did put it on speed dial.”
    “ She's not there?”
    “ She decided to stay in Nat—our world.”
    “ Oh.” My chest constricted with disappointment. In our whirlwind of a day, I didn't even think to ask about her.
    “ It's a long story. I plan to go back and get her. Our family had to leave the colony.”
    “ Fin, you're going to have to start from the beginning because none of this makes any sense to me.”
    That was when I learned all about the mers of Natatoria: where and