Bella Marina

Chapter 1

**The present**

"Come on, Ro! Just dive in!" I yell to my best friend, Rowan. "I don't know, Bell, it looks pretty cold to me!" She says, gingerly sticking a toe in. It's the first day of summer vacation, and we're celebrating with a day at the beach. I have always loved the beach. The Ocean, the sand, the sun. I always fet so free. I could easily go whenever I wanted, because I lived in a beach house with my father, which I could see from here. Rowan loves the beach too, but she hates the Ocean. I don't understand why, but who knows. "Fine, then. If you're not coming in, then lets just sit on the beach," I yell back to her. She runs back to our little place on the beach. I slowly make my way back to the sand, when I spot a crab shell. "Yes," i mutter under my breath. One of the things I love about Rowan is that she can easily fall asleep. I could tell by looking at her, even this far away, that she was asleep on her towel. I grab the crab shell and walk over to her. I place it lightly on her chest. "Ro, wake up!" I say, shaking her lightly. "Mmph," she groans before opening her eyes. She spots the shell immediately, and screams her head off. "Get it off, get it off, get it OFF!" She screams. I am rolling on the sand, laughing my head off. Rowan was still freaking out, almost to tears. "Oh my god, Ro, it's just a shell," I say, picking it up to show her. "See, just a shell!" She glares at me, her blue eyes full of anger. This makes me giggle. "SO not funny," she mutters under her breath, "You suck Bella, you know that?" She huffs. "Yeah," i say between giggles, "I love you, too." She smiles at this. "So," she says, "I am SO excited that we get to spend the WHOLE summer together!" I am really excited, too. "Yeah," I say, "except for when you have to leave Woods Hole for a week with your parents to visit your relatives. I'll be all alone!" I say, pouting. "Oh, Bells, you'll be fine! And I'm SO sure that we will meet some guys this summer," she says, a wide grin plastered onto her face. "Yeah," i say, "Maybe YOU will. Guys love you, Ro. I treat them all like brothers," I say, blushing. It's true. Guys love Rowan, because she's perky redhead who loves volleyball. She can be SUCH a flirt sometimes, too. Guys also love her for her looks. She has long, curly red hair that falls just to her ribs. She has ice blue eyes and freckles all over her face. I've always been jealous of her looks. She has always been jealous of mine, but I didn't HAVE looks. I have chestnut-blond hair, with light blond streaks in it. My hair is about the same length as Rowans, but it was wavy. And here's the weirdest part: I have brown eyes. Not like hazel, or even light brown, but really dark chocolate brown. It was weird. Most people with my color hair had blue or green eyes. Well, not me. I had a splash of freckles across my nose. It was also true that i treat all guys I meet like brothers. I can't help it. I don't know why, but I'm always making smart remarks at any guy I meet. While Rowan is flipping her hair and all that stuff, I'm lightly teasing them. Rowan says that it's also a form of flirting, but I don't really think so. Rowan and I are not really what you would call, "Girly girls." Sure, I care about how I look, and how I dress, but I never really wear makeup. And, as I said, I don’t really “flirt”. I treat guys like brothers. I love sports, especially basketball and volleyball. But guys just love Rowan. “Yeah, but I could give you a few tips,” she says, smiling. “This is the summer, Bells, I can feel it!” “Okay, Rowan,” I say, tires of this conversation. “I gotta go, my dad’s waiting for me. See ya later!” I grab my towel and run to my house.

“Dad, I’m back from the beach!” I yell. “Up here, Bells!” He yells back. I run upstairs to talk to him. He’s in his office, working on his computer. “Hey, dad,” I say to him. “Hey there, kiddo!” he says, getting up to hug me. I’m pretty dry, since I sat on the beach for a while. “Bells,” my dad says, sighing. “Yeah?” I ask. “I have to go to New York on business for a week. It’s the same week Rowan will be gone. Are you okay being alone for a week? I mean, can I trust you?” He says, looking at me intently. “Yeah, dad. It’s fine. I’ll have my cell with me all the time, and I’ll call you every night,” I say. I guess I can read on the beach every say that week. It won’t be terrible. “Oh, Bells,” he says, looking at me, “you’ve grown up so fast. I leave tomorrow, same as Rowan. I love you, Bella,” he says. I hug him tight. “Love you too, dad.” I say. The phone rings, ruining the moment. “I’ve gotta take this, Bells. There’s Mac and cheese in the cupboard for dinner. I’ll say goodbye before I leave,” he says, picking up the phone. That’s my cue to go.

I walk downstairs to the kitchen. I am so hungry. I grab a pot and put some water on to boil. I look out the window, to the ocean. It’s so pretty. Sometimes I wish I could just escape the world, and go live down there. As I am staring, I see a dark head pop up from really far out. The…thing is swimming really fast to shore. It looks like a person, but it’s swimming too fast, and it came out of the water. I blink, really slowly. I am SO imagining this .Maybe I swallowed too much salt water or something. But I have a terrible disease called curiosity. “Dad, I think I left something on the beach. I’ll be right back!” I yell. He doesn’t answer, but I know he heard me. I grab a hoodie and put my hair in a high ponytail and sprint back to the beach. I sit there, pretending to be interested in the sand. The figure is coming closer, but it’s about thirty feet from where I am. I watch him out of the corner of my eye. This is going to sound weird, but having just come out of the water and all, I expected him to be naked. But he was wearing black swim trunks. He wades out of the water and sits on the beach. He doesn’t know I’m here. I can see from here that he is extremely attractive. He has jet-black hair and he is very built. I sound really creepy, but he has a fantastic body. He is about 6’ tall. I am 5’7, but he is tall. But, the thing about him that really takes my breath away is his eyes. They are incredibly beautiful and unnatural at the same time. They are the color of the Caribbean sea, a bright blue-green. It didn’t take much to know that he wasn’t human. Close, but not quite. He sits there, looking out at the see. He is beautiful. But it looks like he doesn’t even know it. That’s it. My curiosity takes over me and I walk over to him. It seems that he senses me, because he looks in my direction. I continue walking to him, even though he Is staring at me. Why is he staring at me? This has been a weird day. First I see this gorgeous boy come from the water, now I’m walking over to him, and he is staring at me. I reach him, and sit down next to him. Not too close, but not too far. “So, this town is pretty small, and I swear I’ve never seen you before. Are you on vacation?” I ask, even though I know the answer. He isn’t human. He just sits there, still looking at me. “Okay, dude,” I say, looking into his mysterious eyes, “you’re a guy I just met, and you’re staring at me. I’m kinda creeped out. Do you speak English?” I ask. He slowly nods, not taking his eyes off me. I decide it’s best to look away. “Well,” I say, “are you here for summer? Are you on vacation?” I press. “You could say that,” he says. His voice is deep and…sexy. Wait. What? I just met him. Stop thinking creepy thoughts, Bella. “Okay, that’s a start. What’s your name?” I ask. At this, he looks out to sea. “My name is Royal Waters,” he says. That’s a cool name. I don’t know why, but I feel pulled to him, like I’ve known him for a while and can trust him. “So, are you here with your parents?” I ask. “No, I am here alone,” he answers. Okay, a bit odd. “You haven’t told me your name yet,” he says, turning back to me. I get lost in his eyes for a second. They are amazing and unusual. I snap back to reality, blushing. This makes him smile. “And how do I know that you’re not some creepy stalker, Royal Waters?” I ask, a grin on my face. “You have to trust me,” he says simply. And oddly, I do. I feel this attraction to him that I can’t explain. “My name is Bella, Bella Kris,” I say quietly. I feel pulled to him. It scared the crap out of me, but I do. He just kept staring at me, like I was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. He wasn’t human. He came out of the water. He is gorgeous. I feel pulled to him. He is staring at me in a way no one has ever stared at me. “Stop looking at me,” I say, grinning, “it’s a little strange. Do I have something on my face or something?’ I ask. He just smiles and shakes his head. God, he is adorable. “Well, Royal Waters, can you meet on this beach tomorrow morning?” I ask. He nods and looks at me again. He looks almost…awestruck. Why? “I need to get home. It was nice meeting you, I guess. And you better not stalk me, because I find this whole situation a little creepy. See you tomorrow,” I say as I run back to my house.

I can still feel those magnificent eyes looking at me with awe, and something else I can’t put my finger on.

I am going to find out more about Royal Waters.

 Starting tomorrow, when I meet him at the beach.