Seaweed (20 page)

What an idiot I was. This whole thing with Tor had messed with my head.

“Can we start again?” I smiled sheepishly.

His grin widened. “Sure.”

The moms gathered their kids and toys. Other people cut through the park on their way to somewhere else. A couple of teens made out on a blanket on the lawn.

“Can I ask you something,” Ky said.

“Shoot.”

“Are you and that Colby guy an item?”

Yikes. Why would he ask me that?

“Um, not really, but we’re good friends.”

“So, I have a shot, then?”

I was so not used to the forwardness of this guy. “Well, actually, I just got out of a relationship, and I’m not really interested in getting involved again.” Especially with someone who just told me he was only here for a short time.

But to make sure he understood, I added, “But if I did decide I was ready, I’d go out with Colby.”

Ky nodded, and I thought he got the message. Until he said, “I guess I have my work cut out for me then.”

The next morning I got up early. I walked Sidney, dressed and blow dried my hair. It was healthier now that I wasn’t abusing it with chlorine; the blond was highlighted naturally from the sun, not a hint of green in sight. I brushed it until it shone and pulled it back into a ponytail.

I tried to see me the way Ky did. What was it that fascinated him so much? Sure, I was okay looking, and with make-up I could turn heads, but I wasn’t exactly fashion runway material. There were a lot of girls more interesting to look at than me.

Maybe he was attracted to me because I so obviously shunned him. Some guys couldn’t stand that. Ky seemed like the kind of guy with a larger than life ego.

I decided on a little mineral foundation to hide the circles under my eyes—I hadn’t slept that well since….well, let’s just say, for most of the summer.

And a touch of lip gloss. That was it. I wasn’t going to school to attract guys. Despite everything, I still wanted to get an education.

Surprise, surprise, Ky was at my locker when I got there, and Becca happened to arrive with me. She huffed down the hall before I could say anything.

I worked my lock combo. “Go away.”

“Whoa, I take it you’re not a morning person.”

He looked great and smelled terrific. Why? Why couldn’t he have bad breath or greasy hair?

“Look, Ky, I don’t mind being friends, but there are people here, people I care about who wouldn’t understand, so please, no stalking, okay?”

“I didn’t take you for the kind who cared about what people thought?”

Was that a slam or a compliment?

“Well, I do today.”

Of course, Colby would arrive while we’re talking.

“Dori, is he bugging you?”

I stared pointedly at Ky. “No, we were just finishing up. Let’s go.” I walked with Colby to my homeroom, my arms tight around my binder. I couldn’t help but sneak a peek behind me. Ky was smirking. I fumed. If he thought he was going to win this thing, whatever this thing was, he was wrong.

“I don’t like that guy.” The muscles in Colby’s neck tightened as he talked. “I don’t like how he looks at you, like you’re a piece of steak and he hasn’t eaten in weeks.”

Really? That was what Colby saw?

“He’s just lonely from all the traveling and homeschooling he does.”

“You’re defending him?”

Honestly, I thought Colby was going to burst a vein or something.

“I don’t need to defend him. There’s nothing going on between us, and I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

Thankfully, the bell went and Colby had to get to his own classroom. Really, I felt like the world had gone crazy. Some seam in the universe had ripped open and all common sense and normality had been shaken out like feathers. Nobody was who they used to be last year, it seemed. Especially me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Ky’s effort to win me over never let up as the days went on. He’d mysteriously show up as I walked to class, sat beside me through lunch and managed to get his seat moved next to mine in biology, the one class we had together.

I couldn’t deny that I felt flattered by the attention, but there was a cost. Becca refused to talk to me, her last words being, “Why do you have to have all the good guys? Colby, and Tor and now Ky? You don’t even want them. Can’t you let me have a chance with just one?”

It hurt when she mentioned Tor, like I was the one who ended it there, but she didn’t know the truth. Nobody knew.

And Colby was far from thrilled by Ky’s appearances at the park. He’d show up every evening whether Colby was there or not. It wasn’t like there were a ton of parks for me to choose from in Eastcove.

The whole thing was just out of control.

Colby’s angst over the whole Ky thing had reached new levels.

“I just don’t like the guy. He’s pushy and…just always, there.”

We sat on a bench by the sand pit, which was currently void of kids. “I can’t help where he chooses to hang out, Colby. Besides, he said he never stays anywhere long.”

Colby reached over, stroking my cheek as he pushed a fly away strand of hair behind me ear. “It’s just I think, if he hadn’t come to Eastcove, you and I would be… further along.”

He was probably right. Though, Ky wasn’t Colby’s only competition, not by a long shot. I still fell asleep every night thinking about Tor and spent most of it dreaming about him, too.

I gave Colby a gentle smile. “Be patient, okay.”

I thought he would agree. His eyes had started to say yes, until he spotted something in the distance. Something that brought all that anger straight back to the surface.

I knew what he saw before I turned to follow his gaze. Ky’s silhouette sauntered toward us in the dusk.

Colby shot to his feet. “Get lost, loser,” he spit out.

Ky’s confident grin never twitched. “Hey, it’s a free country, last I’d checked. And I’d watch who you call a loser.”

Colby practically snarled. “Is that a threat?”

“Colby,” I said, sharply. Down boy.

Ky laughed. “Maybe.” He removed his jacket and let it fall to the ground. “I can tell you’ve been itching to do this all week. Let’s get it over with.”

And that was it. Colby butted his head into Ky’s chest, pushing him to the ground. I jumped onto the bench to get out of the way as they rolled on the grass. Colby was a star athlete, but Ky was no slouch.

Colby was on top. He punched Ky hard in the gut. I screamed. “Stop, it!”

They rolled again, now Ky was on top. His fist connected with Colby’s face. Colby cried out. I couldn’t stand to see Colby hurt. I ran and jumped on top of Ky pulling on his shirt. “Get off him!”

I heard a rip. Ky’s shirt. He heard it too, and jumped off Colby who writhed on the ground, his hands to his face.

Ky’s eyes were hard. He glanced at the rip in his shirt and then fixed his sights on me. He knew I saw them. His tattoos. They were just like Tor’s.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Ky stooped to pick up his jacket and trekked off into the darkness, like he hadn’t just clobbered Colby.

I rushed to Colby’s side. “Colby, are you okay? Colby?”

He let out a groan, water leaking from his eyes and down his face, blood draining from his nose. I had a tissue in my jacket pocket. I plucked it out and handed it to him.

“Is it broken?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m gonna kill that S.O.B.”

I didn’t think Colby would be able to see him to kill him. His left eye was swelling shut, from what I could see in the street light.

I helped Colby up. At least his legs and arms were fine and he’d still be able to swim. “I’ll walk you home,” I said.

“No, that’s okay. I can find my way.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, okay?” It came out stronger than I thought he intended. I knew Colby well enough to know he was embarrassed. He’d lost a fight he had started.

I called Sidney who had gone into a barking fit during the fight. I was glad the park had been empty.

I had time now to think about what I’d seen. Ky had tattoos. Merfolk tattoos. I had been right with my original intuition.

That meant his story about cruising with his family and homeschooling was a lie. But why? Why wasn’t he busy fighting the Lars clan with the rest of the Rai? Why was he here, with legs in Eastcove?

And what did he want from me?

I tossed and turned all night and almost decided to skip school. Too much drama. But my curiosity got the best of me. Would Ky show up? Would Colby?

I met up with Samara and Becca in the hallway.

“Hey,” Samara said. Becca gave me a weak “hi” but she still insisted on nursing her grievance with me. Samara was Switzerland and had little patience for our nonsense as she saw it. “How’s it going?”

I tackled my lock, my eyes sweeping side to side watching out for Ky or Colby. “Uh, okay.” Should I tell them about the fight in the park? Becca would probably see that as them fighting over me, and get her knickers even more in a knot. Maybe they were fighting over me, or maybe they just needed to fight.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that both guys opted out from school today. In a way, it was a big relief for me. I walked myself to my homeroom and sat through biology and algebra without the knowledge that one guy or the other was focusing on what I did. I laughed at a joke with Sawyer and teased Mike about his love affair with Samara when he went on and on about how hot dark women were.

I felt normal-ish. Almost like it use to be, pre-Tor.

My mood dropped. Why did I have to go and think about him? I was doing so well.

My last class before lunch was gym. Since the development of my tattoos, I had to be very careful about keeping them concealed. It meant waiting until all the other girls had finished changing and had left the locker room before throwing on our assigned gym t-shirts. They were gray with a black sea-lion embossed on the front and the words Eastcove Sea Lions printed in an arc above it.

I heard the last girl walk out the door and I was alone in the room. I whipped off my shirt, and lifted my gym shirt over my head.

I yelped. Tiffany MacMillan stood in front of me, her eyes wide in shock. She must’ve come in when the last girl had opened the door going out. I quickly pulled my shirt over my head.

“What happen to you?”

“Uh, what?”

“Are those bruises?”

She knew I wasn’t the kind of girl who’d actually get real tattoos. “Yeah, it turns out I have this blood condition. I bruise really easily, but I’m on meds for it, so they should go away soon. You won’t tell, will you?”

Tiffany’s face broke into a conspirator’s grin. If there was one thing Tiffany loved it was a secret.

“Sure, I’m cool.”

She grabbed the water bottle she’d forgotten and left me to finish up. I went to the mirror and lifted my shirt. Green and blue swirls with hints of pink cupped my shoulders. In the water they were glossy, and shimmered in the sunlight.

Like Ky’s, except a daintier version. I was more like him than I was like Colby. I could never swim with Colby again.

But I could with Ky. Maybe I
should
go out with him. He could take me swimming. He could protect me.

Something gurgled deep within my being. I could hear the ocean in my ears, throbbing, pulsating. It was a deep need like the need to eat or the need to breathe. I wanted to be in the sea. I needed to be.

I would go to Ky. Not as a girlfriend, but as a friend. I’d tell him I knew what he was and that I was like him. We could swim.

“Dori!” Tiffany shouted through the door. “Mr. Peters is popping screws waiting for you!”

I was so excited about the prospects of my new plan that I could barely stand waiting for the rest of the day to go by.

Plus, I’d forgotten that I didn’t know where Ky lived. At the cave?

I waved goodbye to Samara and Becca, both waved back perplexed by my sudden good mood. I didn’t even go home first. I went straight to the cave.

I’d hadn’t been there since the middle of summer, and I stopped short when I came to the crevice. Was I ready to go back down there? To revisit the place where Tor and I had spent the night through the storm. The evening I’d realized I’d fallen in love. The last good memory I had of Tor?

I could hear the waves slapping the rocks and the desire to return to the sea overrode my sadness.

I found my footing and jumped the last foot onto the sand. I turned and stared at the cave. It looked dark and uninhabited.

“Ky?”

I proceeded cautiously, not entirely sure this was a great idea. Maybe Ky didn’t know about this cave. Maybe some wacko had come across it from the land side and was squatting here.

I had to find out. “Ky?”

I got to the entrance. It was dark, but I could see light from the sky lights up ahead. My vision started to adjust to the dimness.