Under the Sea *Book One* Water Trilogy

~Sixteen~

School had gone awful, again. I tried to set things right but it seemed Addison was a rumor creating machine. The next thing I knew I apparently had not only slept with Seth but I also had slept with a guy named Joel, who I didn't even know existed until that morning. He was an ugly little fella with an awkward mustache and a high pitched voice. He didn't deny sleeping with me because he suddenly went from being the creeper to the guy who scored. In a short summary, my life was hell.

Heidi and Jake seemed to be the only ones by my side. And I'm sure if they hadn't started dating, then Jake probably wouldn't be.

After school I sat down on the dock and waited for Finn like I always did. I began to get a little worried when he hadn't shown up within two hours. When he finally did it was worse than I thought. He swam slowly over to me and asked if I could get him a towel and some clothes. No one was currently at my house so I got what he asked. We did the routine change and I helped him walk to my house.

My mom and dad were off shopping at the mall, my mom liked to take her sweet time, and Ty was out at the bar catching up with some of the new friends he had made during his stay. It was safe to let Finn come inside. I sat him down at one of the leather couches and plopped down next to him. He tried to put his arm around me but hissed in pain and set it back down.

"Are you alright?" I asked and pulled myself back a little bit to take a good look at him. Now that I stopped to examine I realized he had a bruise along his jaw and a little bit of blood coming out the corner of his eye. I hadn't even noticed when we had been walking inside because I hadn't been standing to his right. But now I could see it.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." He lied. I slowly lifted his shirt to see several gashes had been stitched together with something.

"What is this," I demanded.

"A scratch."

"This is not a scratch Finn," A smile pulled at the corners of his lips. "This isn't funny! Why are you smiling?"

"I just love it when you say my name when you're all worked up."

My face blanked. "If you weren't injured I would totally smack you right now." I continued to look at his wounds. "How did this happen?"

"A shark attack-"

"Sharks!" I yelled and he winced. "What were you doing with sharks?"

"Protecting my people," I sighed and gave him the look.

"Is everyone safe now?"

"Yes-"

"Good, then stay away from the sharks."

When I couldn't look at his wounds anymore I threw a blanket on him and told him to leave it. I turned on the Television and switched it to a rerun of some old show. Finn didn't seem to have any interest in it though.

"I have to tell you something," he said next to me. I turned down the volume.

"Everybody seems to have to tell me something lately."

"I..." He paused as if he was going to change his mind. He cleared his throat and looked towards the sliding glass door. "My youngest sister, Meri, she's followed me here. She wants to meet you."

I smiled and grabbed his hands. "What!" I said a little louder than necessary. I got a little excited at the thought, not just meeting another mermaid, but meeting one of Finn's siblings.

"Yeah," Finn sounded nervous as he ran his hands through his dark hair, his green eyes were wide.

"What are we waiting for?" I questioned as I stood up. Shrugging he followed me through my house to the sandy backyard outside. I looked out at the water to see a head of silver bobbing in and out of sight farther out between the small waves. I turned around to look at Finn. "Is that her?"