Forget Me Not (Book 3 of Acceptance Series)

Chapter 22

Serenity finally looked at me, and I could see this sadness and jealousy in her eyes. "She sounds like she will be a super lucky girl," she said, and I could tell that she was a bit bitter and jealous.

'Oooh, someone is jealous,' Melody teased, and I had to hold back an eye roll and a scowl. 'When are you going to tell her that the love of your life is her?'

'When it is time,' I replied softly. I wanted to blurt out that she was the love of my life, but I knew that it would cause problems if I did.

I shrugged and cleared my throat while I looked away from her and then looked at her again. "I haven't met her yet," I said and rubbed the back of my neck, "but I do want to treat her like a queen because she'll be a queen to me."

Melody gagged, and I rolled my eyes at her and scowled. "Ok, enough with the love sickness and treating the other person like a queen, please," she begged and clasped her hands together in prayer. "Can't we do something while we are here?"

I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head. My whole body grew stiff, and I shifted ever so slightly while I looked at her. "And what do you want to do instead?" I asked, even though I knew what she wanted to do. My voice was cold and firm but in a fun way so that she didn't become scared.

Mel's grin grew wider, and she looked a little more evil than normal. She took a step towards me, and Serenity moved away as if she knew that it was happening between her and me. "Oooh, I don't know," she said innocently, and her grin grew wider. "I have a few ideas of what I want to do."

I shifted a bit more and drew my stance wider than it was. My whole body stayed tense and ready for whatever she wanted to do to me. I breathed in and out while I waited for her to do something.

Finally, Melody let out a warrior cry and ran towards me. Her eyes gleamed with mischief while she charged, trying to get me over the edge and into the water below us.

I sidestepped her and shoved her into the water, but I wasn't as fast as I wanted to be because the next thing I knew, I was in the air too because she had pulled me over the edge.

Serenity let out a startled scream and ran to the edge, watching both Melody and I land on the water with a loud splash!

I shoved my sister under the water before I swam to the top, only to not reach it because my sister had grabbed my leg and pulled me back down before she swam to the top.

Melody was grinning when I made it to the top and splashed me with a face full of water. "Sucker!" she exclaimed, and I chose that exact moment to splash her back, getting water in her mouth.

I grinned while she spluttered and coughed and kept my mouth shut while she splashed me again.

"Idiot!" she exclaimed and kept coughing, trying to get some water out of her mouth. She turned away from me so that I wouldn't splash her in the mouth again because she knew that I would. "What was that for?"

"That was for pulling me off of the ledge," I said, "and for grabbing my foot and pulling me under the water again."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes while she scowled. "That doesn't give you the right to splash me in my face while I was talking to you, Thomas Junior."

"It did, too," I replied and grinned innocently. "Because you would have done the same thing to me if I had opened my mouth to take a deep breath."

Mel grumbled and shrugged, but she didn't say another word because she knew what I said was true. She would have splashed me in the mouth if I didn't, and that was why I had kept my mouth shut.

"Are you two all right?" Serenity asked, and we looked up at her to see her peeking over the ledge. Her eyes were wide and filled with tears, and her brows were creased with worry. Her face was pale, and it looked like she had seen a ghost.

'Oops, sorry, TJ,' Mel said, feeling guilty, and I could tell that it was because Serenity looked like she was about to cry.

'It's fine,' I said, even though I pressed my lips into a thin line because I was annoyed. My heart ached, and I did not like seeing her so upset. 'You didn't know how she would react.' "We are," I confirmed.

"Hop in," Melody said and gestured for her to hop into the water. "The water is just right. It's not too cold, nor is it too hot."

Serenity frowned and shook her head. "I don't know how to swim," she said, even though I knew that was a lie because she had always swum with me when we went to the cove when we were younger.

'But she could have "forgotten" that she could swim,' Melody said, and I knew that she was paying attention to my thoughts. 'I mean, she has forgotten a lot of stuff anyway.'

I pressed my lips into a thinner line, and my heart ached because what my sister said was true. I knew that Serenity had forgotten a lot of stuff, and I hated it. I hated having the memories of us together, even though she didn't know it.

"Just jump in," Melody said when I didn't say anything. "TJ will catch you and make sure that you don't drown." She looked at me and raised an eyebrow in question. "Right?"

I nodded and cleared my throat. "Just don't panic in the water and relax, Seren," I said. "You might not know how to swim, but you can float."

Serenity made a face and shook her head. "I'll sink like a rock," she said, and I hit back an amused snort. She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet while she looked anywhere but us.

A part of her wanted to do it. She wanted to join us in the water, but she didn't want to get hurt. She trusted me; I could tell, but that didn't stop the small bit of fear that wiggled around in her brain.

"Come on," Melody urged and smiled while she gestured towards her. "Just take a deep breath and jump. You're fine with us. Nothing will happen to you, I promise."

Serenity looked behind her and then looked towards us. She didn't say another word and stood before she backed away from the ledge.

My heart sank, and I frowned, feeling hurt. I had no idea if she was going to jump or not and prayed that she would.

I had no idea what she was doing, but I wasn't worried because I could feel Aenes near us, even though I couldn't see him. I knew that he was watching out for us, making sure that we were protected.

'Aenes is near,' Mel said and looked at me, and I nodded. She raised an eyebrow in question while she studied me. 'Did you already know?'

'I did,' I confirmed. I took a deep breath and moved a hand through my hair while I grimaced. 'I don't know where he is, but I know that he is near.'

Melody nodded and furrowed her brows in confusion. 'Do you know what Serenity is doing?' she asked, and I shook my head, no. 'Should we go check on her?'

'Not yet,' I replied, even though that was the only thing that I wanted to do. 'I want to see what she is doing.'

Serenity came back to the ledge with her shirt and shoes gone, and my eyes grew wide, and cheeks grew red. She blushed and cleared her throat while she looked away from me. "I didn't want my shirt to get wet," she said, her voice soft. She cleared her throat again and shifted on her feet. "Will you still catch me?" she asked, her gaze on me.

I nodded and cleared my throat. "I will always catch you if you jump," I promised, keeping a tight rein on my wolf. "So, jump."

My mate nodded and backed away from the ledge again. She took a deep breath and ran towards the ledge.

And without second guessing herself, she jumped.