Hollow Waves | OFAF #1

8

Sydney studied herself in Eryn's bathroom mirror, running her fingers over the scar on the side of her neck. She shook her head. She was an Aquerian warrior, scars weren't going to bother her. The violation of her body bothered her. The tugging sensation still lingered around her neck. She swallowed her tears as she took one last glance at the half moon scar.

When Sydney stepped out, Marina turned around and pretended she skimmed through a book on Eryn's shelves. Marina paused, noting some pages were creased due to them being folded doggy-ear style. She caught scribbles written in the margins, the handwriting small and in script. Marina frowned, she couldn't read script.

Syd grazed her fingers along the wall as she stepped out of the bathroom. Being in a vampire's home wasn't what she expected to wake up to. Especially a vampire Marina was cool with. "I don't know how you can be okay with all this. A vampire potentially killed Nerissa."

"I'm not okay, but I'm not going to dictate my life with horror stories we grew up with. It's not like Eryn killed Nerissa." Marina replied as she smoothed over her shirt. Eryn was nice enough to give her and her friends a change of clothes. She let them have full range of her apartment and hadn't returned since.

Flynn came from the kitchen with a fresh set of clothes. Eryn's clothes were a bit too tight and long for him. He adjusted the neckline of the T-shirt. "Come on, it's noon. We've stayed here long enough."

Eryn said they'd be better off heading back to Aqueria at noon, where the sun was at its highest. It was unlikely there'd be vampires around. Not because of the sun apparently, because vampires were mostly immune to it according to Eryn. Eryn let her know some were sensitive like her, but she figured no vampire in their right mind would try to attack Marina and her friends in broad daylight.

Eryn did too good of a job avoiding Marina since last night where she only came back to tell them to make themselves comfy until tomorrow. She left with Morgan and Marina wondered if she'd see her friend again. Now that it was tomorrow, Marina found her wanting to talk to Eryn, to thank her for all she's done. She also wanted to see Morgan, but Eryn seemed to not have that idea in her own plans. She volunteered for them to use her car and leave it a block down from the beach. Marina couldn't ignore the disappointment she felt with not saying goodbye to Eryn.

The small pier Marina and her friends used to come in and out of Aqueria was empty as it always was. Too many rocks littered the water for anyone to bring in any boats or to fish. Humans preferred the pier further down the bay. Marina glanced at the houseboat and sighed. Syd, Flynn, and her headed toward the houseboat. The houseboat was small but held a lot of supplies for any merfolk coming to land. It was where she grew up with Nerissa, back when her mother was alive and would take the boat out for a trip.

She shoved my hands in her sweater pockets as she watched Flynn and Syd strip down to their undergarments. Syd stopped and turned to Marina, "why aren't you undressing?" Her heart hammered in her chest. She was afraid of Marina's answer.

"I'm not going. I have unfinished business here," Marina watched Flynn's brows furrow.

"After everything we went through? Are you joking?" Flynn snapped, his words filled with unmasked anger, "you're ridiculous." He couldn't believe Marina was doubling down. She was downright delusional. She didn't deserve to be the daughter of Mycordis.

"I wasn't never planning to leave Morgan alone." Marina couldn't stop replaying in her mind Morgan waking up being in an unfamiliar place and not knowing what to do. "She'd think we left her. This is my responsibility and I need to be there for Morgan."

Flynn chuckled dryly. "You'll be a great juice box for her when she wakes up. Be for real, Marina," Flynn balled up his shirt and tossed it to the couch. "Even that vampire told you that Morgan won't be the same. We're best forgetting about her, about all of this."