Drowning

Chapter 13

Kurt dragged his sparkling yellow tail out of the water. "No luck."
Cora's head popped out of the water. "I have no idea what happened to him."
I shook my head. For goodness sakes, it was a pool! You can't get lost in a pool. His body should at least be there!
"Where could he have gone?" I asked.
"Maybe he's... Gone. Gone gone." Cora answered.
"Obviously. No one can hold their breath underwater that long." I answered.
"It was Cora's fault. She pushed him I the water." Kurt pointed. He had legs already.
"My fault?! This is your pool!" Cora replied.
The two started bickering. I ignored them and jumped in the water. I needed to see for myself.
My silver tail appeared behind me and my sparkly blue hair floated around my face. I breathed the water in slowly.
"Garrett?" I called hopefully through the water. It was no use, they were right. I could see all sides of the pool. It was all clear and empty blue. No human in side.
I sighed. What did this mean for Cora? Since he was her soulmate, does that mean she had to find another one? Or does she not have a soulmate anymore? I pulled up on the water.
Cora and Garrett were both humans, sitting around the picnic table silently.
"Give it up, Amy. He isn't there."
"But I don't get it! He can't just disappear." I hoisted myself up on the hot cement.
"But he did." Cora grabbed her bag. "It's getting late. I need to get home."
"Bye Cora." I stood up and hugged her. "I'm sorry."
Cora hugged me back and tried to smile. "It's okay."

~~~

I sat in class with my back leaned against the chair. Cora was still smiling, even though I knew she felt bad. I've never really killed anyone before. Would I end up in jail? The answer was plainly there. Of course I would, but I didn't kill him. What would Garrett's family think? We were the ones left with him.
"Amy? What now?" Cora asked from my left. She was clearly thinking exactly what I was.
"I guess... Give up." I answered. "Just hide."
"Hide?" Cora responded. "Doesn't sound right."
"I know. It doesn't sound right to me either." I said dryly.
Cora looked down and went back to thinking.
Kurt wasn't in this class, but I would see him at lunch next hour. For once, I paid attention while the teacher talked.

I walked down with Cora to lunch. I met Kurt at the bottom of the stairs. We were all feeling terrible.
I grabbed my lunch and sat down. We were silent as we ate.
"Um... So." Cora broke the silence.
"So what?" I asked.
"So..." Cora smiled slightly. She widened her eyes as I she in a ghost.
"Cora, what's wrong?"
Instead of answering, she hung open her mouth.
Maybe Cora was just acting weird, like always. I went back to eating.
Someone sat down next to me. I turned my head.

...
Garrett?

It was him!
"Garrett!" I said, surprised.
"Hi." Garrett answered.
"You're alive!" Kurt smiled.
"Um... Yeah." Garrett nodded.
"What happened to you?" Cora asked.
"I had to go. Real quick. I forgot something."
"And you didn't come back?"
Garrett cleared his throat. "Yes."
We stared back at him for a minute. Cora smiled big and hugged him. "I'm just glad you're alive."
So it was true. Cora was actually starting to like Garrett. This was good.
Garrett awkwardly pulled back. "Yeah. Thanks."
Cora had a questioning look in her eyes, then shrugged it off.
"So... Are we going to get mushrooms tonight?" I asked.
"Yeah." Kurt said.
Garrett shook his head. "I have a lot of homework I missed this morning."
"Tomorrow night?"
"I... Think getting mushrooms is kinda a bad idea." Garrett replied. "It might not work."
"But we need to try." Cora said.
"But I don't really... Want... To go." Garrett finished.
We all stared at him once again. How could he do this to us? Just let us die? We might have almost killed him before, but we needed him!
"Garrett, I-" Kurt started.
"It doesn't matter. Poison won't kill the snake. Give up." Garrett angrily interrupted. He got up and walked away.
"Was it something I said?" Cora asked.

~~~

We were all at Kurt's house, Garrett also. We came there to sorta hang out, but it was super boring. No one dared to speak.
"Let's watch something!" Kurt smiled and turned on the television.
"Do you guys want anything to drink?" Garrett asked politely.
"I'll have apple cider." Cora replied.
"I'll have water." I said.
"I'll have root beer." Kurt said.
"I will come with you. Three glasses is too much to carry." I walked into the kitchen with Garrett.
Garrett took out three cups.
"Could you grab the water? I'll get the rest." I said.
"Sure." Garrett answered.
The doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" I heard Cora say. I saw her walk to the door.
Kade stood there. My heart started to beat faster.
"Hi. Is Kurt home?" Kade asked.
"Just a minute." Cora closed the door. Her eyes widened.
Kurt looked scared. As a matter of fact, we all did.
"What do we do?" Cora asked.
"He won't hurt us with Garrett here." Kurt answered.
"Maybe we should just wait until he leaves." Garrett suggested.
"He'll get suspicious!" Cora replied.
"Just tell him he's not home."
"He's not home." Cora opened the door.
"Then why are you at Kurt's house without him home?"
"He went on an errand."
"I can wait."
"He's not coming back."
"Why are you acting so weird?"
"Uh... My parents told me to never talk to strangers."
"I'm not a stranger! You know me!"
"But how do I know that? You might be lying!"
"I look like Kade."
"No you don't."
"Who do I look like?"
"A stranger." Cora slammed the door.
"Good job making him not suspicious." I said sarcastically. "It would have been better to let him in."
"Good point." Cora's hand touched the doorknob. She turned it.
Suddenly, the door cracked. It didn't crack open, just a large crack appeared on the door. Cora's hand left the doorknob. I ran to open the door.
Kade wasn't there, but there was a large crack on the other side of the door with two ice teeth implanted in the center.
"Yep." I said. "He knows."