Undertow - A Modern Gender Bender of The Little Mermaid

Chapter 4

                                                                           Erika
   I hadn't ever been one to be labeled a rule breaker. Weather written, unspoken, or anything in between, I had never really done anything that was not expected of me. Well, except once in the 8th grade when I brought home a puppy I had found on my way home from school. It's not like "Don't bring stray animals home from the city" was a rule my parents had gotten engraved in stone but some things go without saying. They had been out of town and really, what was a kid to do? To be fair, he followed me home. Once they returned, they weren't thrilled but when they found that our chef had taken him to get fixed and have his necessary shots, they decided it was alright.

   Max was the best dog ever. He was a large-built mutt but most of his bulk came from his long shaggy white and grey fur. I was convinced he thought he was a lap dog as he would always be sure to interrupt my reading in our penthouse by flopping down on top of me. Originally, the plan was to leave him at a kennel for the summer so I'd have less to worry about, but after my hospital visit my parents decided that if I wanted to use the beach again I always needed someone with me. Because it wasn't realistic to have Hannah practically babysitting me, they opted to bring Max to our summer home. They brought him with them and I was given strict instructions to alway have him with me. Max had been known to be a wonderful guard dog for our family and always barked at any strangers on the city streets that got too close. They had even sent him to a community dog park that had a pool while we were in the city so that made him the ideal swimming partner.

   My first few days back from the hospital, Hannah watched me like a hawk. My parents left shortly after making sure I was alright but Hannah seemed to be stuck to me like glue. It wasn't terrible though, considering my ribs were sore, at least at first. It was strange how quickly they healed and by the third day I only had mild discomfort. She wasn't comfortable with me going to the beach yet, even with Max. It wasn't until four days into my recovery, when I felt much better and had my chance. Our chef was gone on a two week vacation and Hannah had gone grocery shopping. Because it was so far away I figured I had about two and a half hours.

   Once Hannah's  car disappeared from view down our long lane, I went into the house and changed into a purple fringe bikini top and some black swim shorts. After covering myself with sunscreen, I practically shoved my feet into my flip flops and dashed out the door with Max close behind. I did my best to slow down as I went across the rocks and onto the sandy shore.

   I glanced at the tide chart my parents had ordered to be installed on a wooden sign right where the sand met the rocks that guarded it. I was not pleased when I saw it and the water. It was just as high as it had been the other day and I was not about to go through that again. I picked up some drift wood and threw it for Max, who barked playfully as he ran after it. I loved playing with my dog so I saw this as the perfect way to spend some time waiting. I had hoped that I could run into the stranger that had saved me but, I realized now that it was a little unrealistic. Once I had been there around fifteen minutes I began to think of how silly I was being. After all, our beach was private and he had probably just been passing through and hadn't known someone had bought our house. I wanted to thank him but I knew I was waiting for nothing- there was no way he would come around. I called Max, sighed and turned around. Just as I had walked by a tide pool I heard a voice behind me.
"Excuse me? Were you waiting for someone?"
I whipped around and saw him, sitting in the tide pool. I stared, dumbfounded, unable to speak.
He chuckled at my reaction, his eyes sparkling in the reflection of the sun on the water.
"Um, yes actually... I uh I was waiting for someone..." I replied.
By this time Max was barking at the poor boy and standing in front of me. I calmed him down and threw the driftwood far down the beach. He chased it and sat a little farther away, chewing his driftwood but watching the stranger.
"Really? Who were you waiting for?"
"Oh well um I was waiting for you actually," I said hesitantly, blushing. When he just cocked his head but said nothing I added "But I wasn't aware that boys who make rescuing girls from drowning a pastime, also enjoy sitting in a perfectly good tide pool. You could ruin everything in it."
He laughed "Good thing this isn't a tide pool then."
I took a few steps forward, slowly.
"What do you mean?"
"There's actually a large rock here with a tunnel that leads out under the sandbar to the reef," he explained.
I walked closer to him, to see.
"Wait," he said "if you're going to come over here you have to promise me you won't tell anyone."
My heart sunk, my mind going to the first worst case scenarios I could think of and I froze.
"Tell anyone what? You're not a rapist are you? Or a drug addict?"
He laughed a little again and said "No, no" after a pause he added " Nothing like that."
I though for a moment "Wait how did you swim through an underground tunnel that long? You're lying."
"Promise you won't tell and I'll tell you."
I looked at him skeptically and said, " Fine, so long as you aren't some psycho-rapist-drug-guy"
He nodded and rolled his eyes as he laughed.

   As I walked closer I noticed that he was telling the truth about the tunnel. A hole in the side of the rock formation of the tide pool slipped beneath the surface. I saw how it was easy to miss. As I admired the coral and little fish swimming about in their little home, I gave a little yelp as I saw the tail of the largest fish I had ever seen.  It had the most beautiful shades of blues and greens that shone in the water. As I followed it with my eyes my heart stopped. Right where I would have expected to see the rest of the fish, I saw the most defined six packs I had ever laid eyes on in my life. I had to remind myself to breathe as I looked all the way up at the boy I owed my life to. My eyes must have been as wide as saucers and he laughed again.
"The name's Carter. What's yours?"