Swim Away (Mermaid)

Chapter Fifteen

"I know," he whispered, catching me as I fell towards him. His eyes landed on my tail and the sparkle from my tail reflected in his eyes. 

He smiled, as if he waited all his life to see a mermaid and here I was.

"Okay, now either put me down or carry me because my tail is bending a bit weirdly." He set me down on the sand, and I made sure to lay on my stomach. I didn't think my hair was the best coverage. "I knew it. You did know, so why didn't you say anything when I was onto you?"

Noah lied down on his stomach as well. He looked down then back at my eyes, which I was pretty sure he could see the ocean blue of it. "Because, I wanted to earn your trust. If I came up to you and said, 'hey I know you're a mermaid', you'd see me as an enemy." 

I frowned because that was true. "It's okay," he said, as he moved the hair out of my face.

"How did you find out? Are you a merman?" I asked. But I knew he wasn't, he touched water before and nothing. He looked at the ocean and back at me.

"You should turn back into a human first." He pulled me forward as if the tail wasn't heavy at all. He looked back at the water. "Okay, the water's not touching you anymore."

"Yeah, but this thing takes forever to go away."

"There's another way," he shook his head. "I don't know if you're ready."

"I won't know unless I try. Tell me how." I said, sliding my hand through the sand.

He looked around then back at me. "Okay, look at your tail and focus on it. Imagine you have legs." I've tried this before, I rolled my eyes. "Now, try to think of heat or fire. Your tail should start to dry. You should start to feel this flow of heat around your tail." 

I did as he instructed but nothing happened. I tried to focus all my energy but still nothing. I looked back up at Noah. 

"Yeah, I knew you weren't ready." Noah moved next to me. He had his hands spread out on the sand. "Turn over." I glanced down at my hair. "We really need to leave before someone shows up."

If I turned over my hair would move and that was the only thing covering my chest. But we had to leave. I really didn't like being a mermaid.

I turned over and wrapped one arm around his neck. I put my other arm over my chest, even though my hair was covering well. Noah held onto me tightly as he tried to walk as fast as possible.

Noah opened the door and walked up the stairs to my room. I looked around to see if my dad was home, but he wasn't.

Noah placed me on my bed, and I rolled onto my stomach. I was facing my mirror and it was seriously weird seeing myself as a mermaid. I moved my tail up then back down. It didn't feel as heavy as before, it seemed I was getting used to carrying this thing.

Finally my tail disappeared. I was really glad, for now. I sat at the edge of my bed, kicking my feet back and forth. 

I didn't look at Noah, "so are you a merman?" I asked, again. 

But all he did was laugh. I gave him a look then his face turned serious. He shook his head, saying no. He leaned against the wall, waiting. He knew I had more questions. 

"Then what are you? Your eyes, they were like mine, and I'm a, uh, mermaid. Shouldn't you be a merman?"

"The ocean eyes mean we're from the ocean or are related to someone there. It also helps others like us to know we're alike and possibly trust the person, depending." 

"Okay, got it. But if you're not a merman, then what are you?" I didn't know why he wasn't answering this question.

He looked down, stepped forward then leaned back against the wall. "I'm your destiny." 

Then he laughed, while I rolled my eyes. I was getting tired and impatient, waiting for his real answer.

"I'm serious, Noah!" I shook my head. 

I decided to leave, since he wasn't going to be serious about this. If he didn't tell me I was sure I'd find out. 

Noah grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him. His face turned serious and his eyes were ocean blue again. 

Then he whispered in my ear, "I'm your protector."