Diary of a Mermaid

Twilight

I'm still bedridden. I can't get up because of my concussion. I'm dizzy even when I'm lying down. I got a deep gash in my right thigh from the bedpost when I collapsed. And I'm still not able to move my sprained left wrist which I put my entire body weight on after I cut my thigh.

I'm a mess.

Nemmy, Ray, and Angel are not allowed to see me. Only Finn, Theo, and the adults are. We don't want to scare them. I've been drifting in and out of sleep for the past day. I'm not able to eat. It'll come back up. Ick.

Still no news from Mom and Dad. I feel so guilty. The last thing I said to Mom was You're not allowed to text me again. I automatically reach for the hourglass around my neck.

But then remember how I threw it across my room. I start to break down into tears.

Jaclyn comes rushing in and kneels at my bedside. "What's wrong, Sweetie?"

"Are my parents gonna be okay?" I whisper.

Jaclyn looks me dead in the eye, trying to read my emotions. "Yes, they will be okay."

I don't know why, but her five words comfort me.

I drift off to sleep when she leaves the room, but am woken up when I hear the door creak open. I see Theo standing in the doorway. I smile. I haven't smiled in a long time. "Hey,"

He smiles back, "How ya doing?" He slowly walks in.

"I've been better." He laughs and pulls a chair up to my bedside.

"I just talked to Steven. He heard soldiers will be gone by tomorrow." I feel my puffy eyes widen and my smile grow. I toss my thinning arms around Theo's neck. "Can you sit up?"

I remove my arms and use them to push myself up so I'm sitting against the headboard. After nestling myself into a comfortable position, I smile big and Theo takes a quick picture of me with my camera from my table. I playfully snatch it from him and look at the photograph. Wow. I look good. My hair is surprisingly smooth and I'm wearing a genuine smile.

Theo looks over at the photo. "It's beautiful," he muses. I nod in response. "I, um, have something for you."

He pulls a small box from his pocket and unveils a necklace with two short strings of tiny pearls. I look up at him and smile. "Thank you,"

He stands up. "You just focus on getting better."

I grab the book off the table. It's Twilight.

A switch flicks in my head. Twilight is symbolic. The girls are too young to read it. The girls are too young to be going through this all. The book keeps popping up. Emergencies keep popping up. I like the book. I kinda enjoy all the drama. Not the dangerous part, but the relocation part. And all the traveling.

Twilight will get me through this.