Ripples (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 2) (17 page)

     In the darkness, I felt myself scream out but only woke to a black ceiling and my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

________________

Stay around your family and friends, the bigger the crowd, the better. Don’t go anywhere alone. What happened last night could happen again. I’ll be back when I can.

                                    Zale

     I read and reread the words quickly. When I’d woken up with the light pouring in through my window, I had immediately looked for Zale. All that remained were the folded sheets on top of the pillow he’d slept on, along with a note.

     I hurried to get ready for the day. The familiar clatter of breakfast had long since ceased, and after throwing on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt I headed downstairs, knowing I would have to explain the sudden disappearance of our silent guest.

     “Lissie!” Caitlin and Sara chimed as I reached the bottom of the stairs. They were sitting on the couch watching cartoons with Jonathan, Justin, and Kaleb, who was doing a puzzle on the floor.

     “Good morning,” I said, and yawned.

     “So you decided to join the living?” I saw Derek in the kitchen, along with Sean and my parents.

     “It was tough, but I decided to see the sun at some point” I replied. “Although, if I had known you would be here I might have stayed in bed.” Derek placed a hand over his heart, as if my words pierced it.

     I walked into the kitchen and saw there was extra pancake batter in a covered bowl. My stomach grumbled as I began to make my breakfast.

     “What’s that in your hand?” Jillian asked as I grabbed a spatula from the container beside the stove. I looked down and saw it was Zale’s note I folded earlier. I stared at it for a second in my left hand, not realizing I had brought it along with me.

     “Just a note,” I said and slipped it into the back pocket of my jeans.

     “What kind of note?” Derek asked, and winked knowingly.

     I felt the heat rise in my face, “Just a note.” 

     “Let me read it then,” Derek held out his hand, Sean laughed. 

     “No,” I said and turned to face the stove in an attempt to hide my burning cheeks.

     As hard as I tried, I couldn’t get the embarrassment to go away. It wasn’t what I felt for Zale that caused me to blush, but what had happened. The events of the night before were almost unreal. The fact I was almost murdered on the beach seemed near impossible, as I stood in the warm kitchen. But what really made my skin flush was what had happened here. I remembered all too clearly the look Zale had given me last night in my room. My stomach fluttered even now, as I thought of his eyes lowering to my lips.

     Shaking my head, I pressed a hand to my gut and rationally reminded myself I was only feeling a mix of emotions for what had been.

     I cleared my throat and tried to think of a way to explain Zale’s sudden disappearance. There had to be a way to inform them in a manner that seemed uncaring, but the problem was, I did care. I was worried about what might happen with him gone. I felt unprotected and out in the open, without him near me. Although last night didn’t seem real, I wasn’t enough of a fool to think it didn’t happen. I remembered all too well the feeling of the merman crashing into me. Not to mention, the fear that coursed through me the entire time I was on the beach watching Zale fight the soldiers. Was he fighting more of them now? Would Morven allow him to live after he had killed other Hyven? All of it was too much to think about and made my head swirl as I thought of the many possibilities.
Why did you leave me?

     “Oh,” I said, as though the thought had just occurred to me. “Zale left early this morning.”

     “Where’d he go?” Dad asked, and I saw the relief he so clearly tried to hide. I knew he didn’t care to have Zale around. He only saw him as a constant reminder of the part of me I could never share with them.

     “I don’t know, he just said he had to leave.” I shrugged my shoulders and turned back to my pancakes and flipped them over quickly, not wanting them to burn.

     Just as I hoped, the conversation didn’t proceed. My family slipped into a topic about the family business. The regularity of it stilled the quivering nerves of anxiety that had been coursing through me ever since the night before.

     My pancakes finished, I joined them at the table and listened to the thrum of chatter about when to release a new menu and what the specials should be for the upcoming week. In an instant, I felt a homesickness, I’d never known before. I wanted so badly to be a part of this. It was as if looking at a memory from my past and wanting to go back to it. I could see it, but not touch it. I could live it, but not truly be a part of it. Closing my eyes, I tried not to let the feeling over take me. It was the same crushing feeling I’d had the night Emly was born.

     I needed to get out of here. Every word they spoke only reminded me of what I had lost. It was similar to those painful days in Lathmor, when I waited for our mission to Hyvar. Every smell, every sight, every word, reminded me of things I could no longer have. Of happier times that were no longer mine to possess. A deep urgency to leave filled me and I tried to finish eating as quickly as possible. I had to get away, or I would go crazy.

   
Stay around your family and friends.
The words from the note, entered my mind on their own accord and I internally shriveled. I had to stay here, had to be around others. Zale was counting on me to obey him, and what other choice did I have? I had hurt him by not trusting him last night, I wouldn’t do that again. It didn’t matter what he believed about Morven, what mattered was his trust in me. He was asking me to do something for him, and I would.

     “You have a lot on your mind,” Jillian touched my hand and I came out of my thoughts with a start.

     “Yeah,” I said off hand.

     She smiled in a motherly way that stirred my heart, and made me want to run away even more. A thought filled my brain quickly and I knew what I needed.

     “Sean, can you and Derek go on a walk with me? Down to the beach?” I asked and widened my eyes slightly, to get them to understand my meaning. Sean noted my expression and nudged Derek.

     “Sure, we can go as soon as you want. We don’t have much to do today.”

     “Great, let’s go.” I said and left my plate at the table to their surprise. My body itched for the ocean and the smell of the sea air. I needed to get close, to it in order to relax.

     Derek and Sean put on their coats slowly, not really paying attention to my impatience.  Finally, they were ready, and I opened the side door of our house to step into the brisk mid-morning air. My feet moved of their own accord and started off to the path that led to the ocean. I had one goal in mind, and that was to relieve this feeling of being trapped.

     “Why are we going down to the beach in the middle of winter?” Derek asked, sounding slightly disgruntled, but I ignored him.

     My feet moved faster and faster until I began to run. Before I knew what was happening, I was sprinting down the hill and out onto the soft sand that led to the beautiful ocean.

     “Lissie stop!” Sean’s frantic yell grabbed my attention. I halted quickly and turned around. Derek and Sean were both running down the hill, their faces filled with panic. My heart picked up its beat in fear, what had they seen?

     Thinking only of what little protection I could offer my brothers, I reached under my sleeve and grasped the handle of my dagger. I pulled it out quickly, my eyes scanning the trees we had just passed through.

     “Where are they?” I said, trying to see past the twins and I noticed they looked at each other in astonishment.

     “What are you doing?” Sean asked, his face frightened and confused.

     “Where are they? Did you see someone up there?” I asked quickly, and pointed toward the trees. They glanced at each other again, this time exchanging looks of concern.

     “We didn’t see anyone, and why are you holding a knife?” Derek asked, and for the first time I noticed his hands were held up in a submissive manner. His eyes kept darting from me to the dagger and back again.

     I relaxed, but only slightly. “You didn’t see anyone? Then why did you yell for me to stop?” I asked and realized Derek was lost for words.  I turned my eyes on Sean.

     “It just looked too much like the last time.” Sean explained, his voice gentle. 

     “Oh,” I said, the comprehension dawning on me, and I lowered the knife. There was no threat out there, at least not right now. “Sorry.”

     “Why were you running?” Sean was still slightly on edge, but Derek just shrugged and walked over to an old stump and sat down.

     “Let’s ask the more important question, shall we?” he said, “Why do you have a dagger in your hand?” He looked at me as though I was crazy and waited for an answer.

     In that moment I realized how strange and awful all of this must be for them. I put myself in their place and tried to imagine if one of them just ran off and had this mysterious life for a few months and then showed up again. Then to imagine them not telling me where they had been, and what exactly was going on, and why they acted so strange at times. They deserved more than they had gotten from me, and I needed to tell them the truth.

     “Come here,” I said to Sean and pulled him over to the log that had been for my knife throwing practice. It was right next to the stump where Derek sat and I looked at them for a second, not really sure where to start. With a deep breath I began.

     “When I came back I didn’t really tell you guys everything.”

     “Really? We had no idea.” Derek rolled his eyes and it made my heart lighter to see him tease, as though I were still normal.

     “Yes, really.” I confirmed. “There is much more to the story and its going to take me a long time to tell it to you, but you have a right to know.” Before they could stop me, I launched into the telling of everything that had happened since the night I had jumped off the pier. Of course, they interrupted here and there to ask questions, and sometimes I had to back track because I skipped over something accidently, but in the end, they knew it all.

     It was a great relief when I finished, and I realized they were the only people, humans or merfolk who knew everything. They knew I loved Patrick more than anything and all the happenings in Hyvar. They knew what Morven wanted me for, and most important of all, they knew who and what Zale was.

     “So Zale,” Sean paused, they were having a hard time wrapping their brains around the concept of Zale also being Patrick. “He wants you to stay here and be around people all the time?”

     I nodded, “Which is why I came out here with you guys. I needed to get some fresh air and really breathe.” I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

     Somehow my chest felt lighter now that I had told everything to the twins. In some way, it was as though I could see the situations more clearly, because I had said them out loud.

     We sat there listening to the constant waves and I was feeling more relaxed than I had in a long time. 

     “By the way, you can’t tell Dad or Jillian any of this.”

     “Oh believe me, we wouldn’t mention a word of it.” Derek said

     “Thanks,” I replied, looking at both of them hoping they could see how much they really meant to me. Sean smiled and so did Derek, although his grin had a twinge of something mischievous.

     “What?” I raised an eyebrow.

     “Zale said the bigger the crowd the better, right?” he asked and I nodded wondering what he was getting at, he smiled even brighter. “I guess that means you’re going to prom.”

The next weeks flew past in a whirlwind and spring was officially beginning, or at least, what could be considered as spring in Maine. Jillian was so excited I was going to prom that I sometimes thought she should just go, and I would stay at home with the little ones. But her excitement was slightly contagious, and I found myself looking forward to the night ahead of me.

     “There, you’re all finished!” Jillian lightly tapped my shoulders after finally pinning the last curl into the simple up-do, I had chosen. I turned my head from side to side, examining her work.

     “I don’t know how you do it,” I smiled at her in the mirror. “but thanks.”

     “Well come on, you need to get into your dress, time is flying by.” I stood quickly at her prodding, noting the stiffness in my back after sitting in the hard wooden chair for almost an hour. As I walked from my parent’s bathroom and into their master bedroom, I glanced at the clock.

     “Time isn’t flying by,” I pointed out. “It’s not even five yet. I don’t have to be at the Jessie’s until six.” Jessie had declared her living room would be the best place to take pictures. The rest of us didn’t want to go through the trouble of offering our own homes, and therefore, allowed Jessie to make the schedule for the evening. I grimaced, thinking about all the pictures I would have to take.

     “You never know when there could be an emergency, plus I want to get some pictures of you here, before you go.”

     “Ugh,” I groaned but obliged to removing my clothes and putting on the tight strapless bra.

     In a moment, I was in the lavender dress, a color I had picked because of my fins, but Jillian didn’t need to know that. The fabric was silky and smooth against my skin and when I looked in the mirror, I was pleased with the reflection. I looked very pretty, prettier than I thought I would. Jillian had certainly done a wonderful job on my hair, which was pinned up loosely with a few soft curls falling around my face.

     A desire for Zale swept over me in an instant. I hadn’t seen nor heard from him since he’d left last month and I wondered where he was. Ever since his departure I had been tangled in my emotions about what to think of him. At times, I wondered if I really cared for him, or if it was just a fanciful notion playing tricks on my mind. But as the hours turned into days, and days into weeks, I found my thoughts drifting toward him more often and each time a knot formed in my stomach.

     Even now as I looked in the mirror, a tight twist wrenched at my abdomen and I found myself wishing he was here. Tossing the thought aside, I concentrated on what was at hand. Jillian was delighted to spend this time with me and kept saying we were making up for lost time. I smiled inwardly, and knew I was doing this more for her than myself.

     Later that evening, after pictures and goodbyes to all the parents, with warnings to behave, we piled into two large cars and drove to the dance. It was the same group that had gone to the movies and I had a feeling this was the lunch table at school too, except I was never there for that.

     The music was booming inside the school gym, while lights twirled from the stage where the DJ stood. I amused myself with looking around at the pale painted walls; it had been so long since I’d entered this building. It felt strange to be back.

     There was a large mass of bodies in front of me, all swaying and dancing to a rhythmic beat. I spotted some of my friends through the darkness, laughing and dancing with their partners. Off to the side, Laura was moving in a very provocative manner with Joey, and I averted my gaze.

     Sitting in the plastic chair near a wall, I was growing antsy. My ears kept waiting to hear the spirited music, the sort of music the Lathmorians had played at Nixie’s wedding. I found myself entranced as I watched the bodies sway, and slowly my eyes closed, and the memories surged through my mind.

     It was as though my brain had taken in every detail in those moments. I could still hear the beautiful notes that strained over the grass lawn as Patrick had whirled me around the dance floor. I could feel his hand grasping mine, and his other on my bare back. I felt his chest, as he breathed in and out, and saw his eyes, as he looked down at me with the lights blurring behind his head as we moved.

     Love swelled in my chest, but it was a different sort of love. It was a love that was lost, a memory of something that had been so wonderful and so precious, but was over. I waited for the pain of the knowledge it was done, to surge over me, but it didn’t come.

     Instead, a different face filled my mind and I tried to push it away, but it remained there. Somehow he had made his way into a place in my heart that I hadn’t allowed him to enter. I thought of his strong features, his wary, bold eyes, his powerful build, and my chest swelled, but I pushed it all back down. I couldn’t feel anything for him, not after what had happened. It was all too soon, and casting my eyes back out over the dance floor, I willed myself to stop thinking of him.

     Something brushed against my thigh, but I moved my leg and ignored it. The movement continued and it was a second before I noticed the dim glow inside the little hand bag I had brought with me. Slowly my mind registered, it was my vibrating phone and I scrambled to pull it out before it clicked over to voicemail. Seeing Sean’s name, I answered quickly wondering why he would be calling me now.

     “Hey,” I said loudly over the music. I heard something muffled and stuffed my finger into my left ear.

     “What’d you say?” I asked. Again it sounded as though he was shouting and I couldn’t make out the words. “I can’t hear you; hold on a second, let me get somewhere where I can hear.”

     “No!” I heard that word clearly as Sean had yelled it very loud. “Can you hear me now?!”

     “Yes,” I replied, worried at his urgent tone.

     “I’m picking you up, get outside!”

     My heart started to pick up speed, Sean never talked like this. He was always so calm and clear minded.

     “Why?! What’s going on?!” I yelled, but the phone clicked off and I stared at the screen.

    What on earth had all that been for? My heart rate accelerated. Were the Hyven coming for me again?
My family
, I thought and the pit of my stomach dropped. If they thought they could go after my family in order to get to me, then they had another thing coming. It didn’t matter if they killed me or forced me to return to Hyvar, if they threatened my family, I would do what they said. It was only because of Zale that it hadn’t come to that.

     I knew I had to get outside. The others wouldn’t even notice my disappearance, and I didn’t care if rumors got started. More than my reputation was at stake. I wasn’t positive, but this could be a matter of life and death.

     Kicking off my shoes and holding them in my hand, I scooped up my dress and purse and ran to the doors. The two halls that led to outside blurred past me and I thrust open the main door. A cold sharp wind blasted against my face and blew the dress tight around my legs. I scanned the parking lot for a sign of Sean’s truck but didn’t see it anywhere.

     My bare feet slapped down the scratchy brick steps and led me to the rocky pavement. I paced back and forth waiting for him to show. Home wasn’t too far for me to run, but I would get there faster if Sean showed up soon. I needed patience, but my mind wasn’t willing to calm down.

     My eyes flashed over and over again across the parking lot. I stared into the shadows, making sure there was nothing hidden there. Then I saw the flash of headlights headed down the curvy road toward the high school. That would be Sean.

     I heaved a sigh of relief and gathered my fears to wait and hear what he had to say. Yet, as I watched the truck pull into the parking lot, I noted how carefully the truck was moving, each turn executed perfectly, with as little movement as possible. It was as though the person was either carrying something precious, or they didn’t know how to drive. My mind clicked to a trap and I dropped my shoes and purse on the ground. I reached under my dress and pulled out the dagger I had sheathed in a garter around my right thigh.

     I put the knife behind my back, waiting for this strange person to get closer, when I noticed there was someone in the bed of the truck. My hand tightened on the handle and waited for the right moment to throw it.

     “Lissie wait!” Derek’s voice issued from the kneeling shadow in the bed of the truck. I froze unsure of what to do and watched as the truck came to a steady halt in front of me. Derek motioned for me to get closer, his eyes fixed downward.

     “What—” I said, running forward, but broke off when I saw what lay in the back of the truck. It was Zale, his clothes and body smeared with fresh blood and sand, his eyes shut, and head lolling to one side. My breath left my body and I couldn’t move.

     “We have to go,” Derek had jumped out of the truck and grabbed my arm. My mind hardly registered what he said.

     “What happened?” I breathed and turned my face to his.

     “Later, just get in.” Derek opened the front door, but I ignored him.

     Hoisting my dress up to mid-thigh, I scrambled into the bed of the truck and knelt down next to Zale’s head. He was unconscious, and the gashes that had sliced through his shirt and across his chest looked deep. I bit my tongue to hold back tears, now was not the time. My heart was thundering in a painful disjointed beat as my brain registered the deep wounds.

     Derek climbed into the cabin of the truck, but opened the back window that was just behind my head. I wondered why he hadn’t resumed his spot in the back when I realized Zale nearly took up the entire bed. His large body was spread out, and to see it so helpless sent a different sort of pain through me.

     The truck started slowly and when we hit a small bump, I feared for Zale’s head and lifted it onto my lap. Blood slithered over my fingers and soaked through the thin fabric of my dress, but I didn’t care. With his head in my lap, I stared down at his strong face and realized how vulnerable he was. Unconsciously, my fingers played with his hair and I hoped with all my might he would be okay. He had to, I couldn’t lose him now.

     The wind rushed past my head as Sean steered the truck down the curvy lane. Strange shadows from the moon flickered across Zale’s body and I realized I had been right earlier. This was a matter of life and death.

     The truck came to a slow stop and I finally looked up. I was surprised to see we were just outside the small house my brothers lived in. I didn’t ask why they had brought us here; I only worried for Zale, who seemed to be getting paler every minute.

     Sean tossed me the keys and instructed me to open the front door of the house, I did as I was told and watched as my twin brothers hoisted the large body between them. Derek had Zale beneath the arms, and was trying to cradle his lolling head with his stomach, while Sean carried the legs.

     Thinking ahead, I ran to get an old worn comforter that was often used for painting. It was a thick blanket and I knew it would take a lot of blood to soak through its tough cloth; although by the looks of Zale’s torso it might be possible.

     “Where are we putting him?” I asked quickly, glancing at my brothers straining faces. Zale’s dead weight was all they could handle between them.

     “Spare room,” Derek gasped and I dashed up the stairs wondering why they would put him there, instead of on the living room floor.

     It was the third door down the hall and I pushed the wooden door open to see a room filled with boxes and other mismatched objects. I dashed around like a mad woman, clearing an area large enough to put Zale on the floor. I had just laid the blanket on the ground when Derek’s back became visible in the doorway.

     They waddled over to the blanket and stood so Zale’s body was right above it in the air. I feared for his head and grasped both sides of it with my hands, as they lowered him to the ground. Derek heaved a large sigh and sank to the floor next to me, while Sean turned quickly on his heel and left.

     “We need to get this off him,” Derek motioned toward his shirt and I nodded.

     “Here,” I handed my dagger over to Derek and he cut what was left of Zale’s shirt off of him. He peeled the fabric away from his body and I tried not to notice how the shirt clung to some of the gaping wounds.

     “These aren’t as bad as I thought,” Derek said softly to himself, and I raised horrified eyes to him. How bad had he thought it was going to be? From the looks of it, Zale’s chest had been slashed at least a half a dozen times, leaving him with foot long gashes in his flesh. I flinched to think of the blades that had pierced him.

     Sean returned carrying old towels and rags, a bucket of water, and a bowl. He didn’t look at me as he entered, but tossed some of the towels to Derek. I watched as he set the bucket down on the floor opposite where Derek and I were sitting and dipped the bowl into the water. He handed it over Zale’s body to Derek. Without a word between the two of them, they dipped the towels into the water and wrung them out, the water making soft patters as it fell back into the bowl. Then they placed the rags on Zale’s wounds, trying to swipe away the blood without causing further pain, but it did. Instantly, Zale’s eyes opened unseeingly and he groaned.

     Within a flash, his blades were out of his forearms and he lashed out at Derek. The bowl of water spilled and Derek lunged out of the way, but not before the blades grazed his hand. New blood instantly surged through the skin.