Drowning Beneath The Waves

Chapter 5

I didn't get out of bed the next day. Or the next. Mom, Dad, and Drew came in periodically to check on me, but I didn't speak. Barely acknowledged their presence.

Something deep inside me was broken. Something I knew could never be repaired. It had shattered the moment I'd first heard the Siren song. What was left of my soul had shredded into pieces when I'd looked over and seen Kailani. Glimpsed the shock and fear in the young mermaid's eyes.

All I could see was the face of that unsuspecting mermaid in Kailani's grip. Barely a few years older than me. She'd had her whole life ahead of her. A family, people that loved and cared for her. If I even began to think about what I'd done...

A knock on my door startled me out of my thoughts. Clenching my hands into fists, I took several, slow deep breaths. "Come in," I called out, the hollowness in my voice clear.

As the door opened, Waverly stuck her head in. "Are you okay?" She asked as she swam inside, gently shutting the door behind her. "Your mom told me something had happened."

My eyes were dry and puffy, but no tears came. I was done with crying. I looked into my oldest friend's eyes, took a steadying breath, and told her everything. My voice never wavered, even as I got to the part about Kailani.

I honestly didn't think I had any tears left in me. Waverly's eyes were filled with anger—so much so that I had to bite back a shiver. "Faye, this is crazy. They can't force you to join them. There has to be a way to stop this."

Before the last word even left her mouth, my hand was already wrapped around her wrist, halting her. Vehemently shaking my head, I choked on a sob as I opened my mouth. "No! Y-you can't! They—they'll kill you and Drew and my parents if anyone tries to interfere."

I couldn't even fathom how Dad and Drew would react if they found out. If Kailani even tried to hurt them (or Mom and Waverly), I don't know what I would do. My eyes were wide as I stared at her. "That young mermaid—she was only a few years younger than us. I see her face every single time I close my eyes. I—I killed her, Waverly."

The sympathy in her eyes was almost too much for me to bear. This time, we both flinched at the knock on the door. Waverly glanced at the door, then back at me. "I'll get it," she said.

While she swam to the door, I slowly rose from the bed and swam into the bathing room. As usual, waterproof concealer was a must. Especially today. I looked like I hadn't slept in months. My already-haggard appearance had gotten worse, if such a thing was even possible.

Dark circles had taken up permanent residence under my eyes, emphasizing the blankness in them. My cheeks were hollow, my face pale. Any bit of light had permanently disappeared from my gaze, resulting in a blank expression.

I rubbed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Blew it out slowly. I heard Waverly's voice, muffled by the wall, but I couldn't make out the words. I had just swum into the closet and was pulling on my usual red-and-black dress when I heard Waverly scream.

I bolted from the bathing room, not even caring that I looked a mess. Kailani was floating in the doorway, clutching Waverly's arm, her grip tight enough that tears had sprung to my friend's eyes. Her face was deathly pale. "Please," I whispered, terror lurching through me.

Kailani's eyes were hard, gaze trained on me. "We gave you everything, Faye. Everything. And this is how you repay us?"

I sucked in a lungful of water, preparing to shout for a guard. Kailani's eyes widened; a heartbeat later, she had released Waverly and was swimming out an open window. I let out a ragged breath that ended in a sob as I swam to Waverly.

My eyes flicked over her body, scanning for any injuries. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

Waverly shook her head, eyes wide as she gasped for water. "No, but Faye... She said that you..." When she trailed off a second time, my heart simultaneously dropped into my stomach and slammed to a halt. It was that one word—you—that had grief and shame coalescing inside me with the force of a tsunami.

Before I had time to open my mouth, to even try to explain, an ear-piercing scream shattered the silence. Waverly and I exchanged a fleeting glance before both of us took off, swimming like mad, following the source of the scream. Water rushed past my face, into my eyes, so much so that I couldn't tell if I was crying or not.

My heart was in my throat, nearly choking me. When we finally stopped, both of us panting heavily, I cried out. I wasn't sure what to look at first: the various bodies—mermaids and mermen alike—strewn about the seafloor, or Mom and Dad frozen in place, eyes filled with horror and shock. "Faye?" Mom whispered, voice filled with confusion.

A hand settled on my shoulder a heartbeat later. "Why?" I breathed, voice breaking. "Why are you doing this?" Only then did I turn around, meeting Kailani's eyes. A smirk played at her lips as she stared at me.

The realization from two nights ago came back full-force, stealing the water from my lungs. A cold dread settled over me, sending a shudder down my spine. This was how the Sirens worked. They lured unsuspecting mermaids in with the prospect of a family, sisters who would never forsake or betray their own. Even if their own family (biological or adopted) was still alive.

By the time they found out the truth, however, it was more than likely too late to back out. "This is who you are, Faye," she said. I barely had time to blink before she was beside me, lips inches from my ear. "You know what happens if you refuse."

Fear gripped my heart in an unrelenting fist, stealing the water from my lungs. I turned back to Mom and Dad, eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry," I whispered.

It happened so fast, I didn't have time to react. One minute, Dad was floating beside Mom, gaze flickering from the bodies to me and then back again. The next, he was moving, eyes wild with rage. A hidden dagger was clutched in his fist, and I watched in horror as he swam in front of me, placing himself between Kailani and me.

"I won't let you hurt my daughter," he growled, voice filled with such rage that my heart stopped dead in my chest. Horror and fear choked me, so much so that I was actually gasping for water. I couldn't go through this. Not now.

I heard Mom's voice behind me, but it was muffled. Distant. Another sound, this one loud and clear. The sound of my own heart, breaking clean in half.

Floating right behind him, I was frozen. A half-scream, half-sob was trapped in my throat. The next few minutes happened as if in slow motion—though, in reality, it was over in the span of a blink. Every sense went into overdrive, making everything that much worse. Hearing; touch; sight; smell; taste.

I heard Dad grunt, the sound of the dagger piercing skin. Felt the impact, the blow shuddering through his body. Saw the blood rise through the water, his body simultaneously go limp. Smelled the metallic scent of blood, could almost taste it on my tongue.

Later, I would find out that the dagger had missed his heart by a scale's breadth, badly damaging his chest and lungs. All I knew in that moment, however, was crushing, almost overwhelming, shame and guilt. That guilt and shame would haunt me in the days, weeks, months that followed.

As would the expression on Dad's face—pain mixed with love. I saw me and my brother—the children for whom he would indeed give his life. For now, though, the guilt and shame were quickly replaced by numbness. I was crying, but I didn't feel the tears on my cheeks.

The numbness, I knew, was the shock settling in. I couldn't stop staring at Dad, his limp body supported by both Mom and Drew. The latter quickly tore a piece of his shirt off, balling it up and placing it near the wound. The former just stared, face deathly pale.

Drew swam to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Faye?" His voice was muffled, far-away. "Faye, are you okay?"

I barely heard him. Barely felt the tight grip on my hand as we swam home. Miraculously, I was not injured. But I swore that I could still feel the reverberations of the dagger shuddering through his body, the impact lingering like a phantom ache.

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