Swim Away (Mermaid)

Chapter Eighteen

I enjoyed the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. The water would come close to me but always fell back into the water, only to come close again as another wave came. I wanted to touch the water and swim, swim away from here. 

I wished there could be a place of my own.  Maybe I should go in the water, I've seen plenty of mermaid movies, and it looked peaceful enough to me. I hugged my knees close to my chest, wondering if it was a good idea. I had school in a little bit. 

Well, a swim couldn't hurt. I wasn't too worried about being late. I only hoped I didn't get lost.

I stood up, walking closer to the water. As soon as the water came close to my foot, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I quickly jumped back, and almost elbowed the person behind me. 

I turned around, hoping it would be Noah. It would be easier to explain it to him, but when I saw the blond hair I knew it wasn't Noah. 

I jumped back.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Asher whispered, while I took a step back. I nodded nervously and pressed my lips together. He seemed to just pop out of nowhere every time. "Really, I'm sorry." I nodded again, and smiled. 

I didn't look at him. I glanced around to find a way to escape when needed. 

"It's okay, I gotta go. I'm gonna be late for school." I took a couple steps back, headed into the direction that took me to school. I felt like I was being rude to this guy. 

Continue to be rude or say something else to him? 

I took a couple more steps before I stopped again. I turned around, putting my hair behind my ear, so it would stop blowing on my face. "It was nice-"

It took me awhile to take in what was happening. One second Asher was standing there like he was a statue and the next, he was gone, like he vanished from thin air. 

My eyes caught sight of someone else, coming from a distance. I narrowed my eyes. When he came closer, I realized it was Noah, but the second he saw me, looking straight into his eyes, he stopped in his place. His confused face turned to shock and I didn't know why. I looked around then down at my feet, everything looked normal. I slowly walked toward him but his face was frozen in disbelief.

I didn't know whether to continue toward him or wait till he did something. 

"Lara?" He asked, as if unsure of who I was. I nodded, while taking a couple steps forward. His face didn't change and it was starting to worry me. Was there something on my face? I started to feel my face, and it was normal. "No, it can't be you. You're not Lara."

"Yes, I am." I looked at him confused. I didn't understand what was wrong. Was he okay? 

I ran toward Noah, hugging him. "It's me," I whispered, but he pushed me away. 

For some reason I started to panic. Why was he acting this way? What was wrong with him? I wanted to shake him. I put my hands on his shoulder, and I tried to ask him what was wrong, but I couldn't. I stood there staring at his eyes. They weren't reflecting. 

"Your eyes," I whispered. I placed my hand on his cheek, and he grabbed my hand, moving it away. He held onto my hand.

"No. Your eyes."

I quickly sat up, rubbing my eyes, and getting a feel of my surroundings. 

It wasn't real. It was only a dream. I took a minute to let that sink in. It was just a dream. Good, I thought. I wouldn't want Noah to look at me like that.

I looked at my backpack and remembered I had to be at school. I grabbed it, and took my phone out. When I saw the time, I realized there was honestly no point in going to school. I picked up my backpack anyway. I would just go home and relax. 

When I got up, I felt the water on my feet, and my eyes went wide as I dropped my backpack. Then I followed, meeting with the sand. I landed on my stomach. "Oof."

I moved to the side, staring at my tail, then at the water. How was I going to make my tail disappear? I tried what Noah told me and what was written in the book, about concentrating on the heat and making the tail disappear. But it didn't do anything again. Was I not going to get that power? I really needed that one. Ugh, the tail needed to go. I wanted to be in my room.

I placed my head on the sand, giving up. I should probably move away from the water. I started to crawl my way out of the water. I succeeded, but I was worried someone would see me. 

I looked back at the water. Maybe I should take this chance to swim, since I was already a mermaid. I didn't give it a second thought as I rolled into the ocean. Well, that was fun.

The water felt really nice, way nicer as a mermaid. It used to feel colder. But now it felt warm and welcoming.

I went deeper and deeper, and soon, I was under the waves. I looked up at how close I was to the surface, then I swam deeper. It was really amazing, I didn't want to leave, and that scared me. But those feelings didn't affect me, it was like the water was taking it away. This truly was a place of peace like I always dreamed it to be.

After swimming for some time, I got up to see where I was, and I began to panic. I couldn't see any form of land anywhere. This was what I was worried about; getting lost. I was definitely lost. I went back under the water, seeing if I recognized any areas under water, but nothing. It all looked the same to me. I tried to swim back the way I came, hoping that I was going the right way.

I got back up after some more time, and the sun was setting. If my panicking was bad before, well imagine how bad it was at this moment. I knew if I continued to panic, I wasn't going to get anywhere.

 I tried to calm myself, but it did take some time because all I could think about was that no one would find me, and I would be lost at sea forever. Lucky me, that I could breathe underwater. But that was the reason I was even in here in the first place.

I went back down and swam straight. I hoped I'd get back to land as soon as possible. 

I flapped my tail with all my might, speeding up. I was getting close to land, I could tell. I hoped it was where I first entered the ocean, or close to it.

I finally made it, popping my head out of the water. I made my way closer to the shore, trying to calm down. I continued my way out of the water until I was completely on the sand. I closed my eyes, laying on the sand. Could all this be a dream too? Please?

I was pretty sure I was close to sleeping on the sand, which I shouldn't be doing. I had to go home, but the tail had to disappear. I turned over, lying on my back. I looked up at the dark sky, hoping I could move soon. But once again, sleep was taking over and I tried so hard not to let it. I needed to stay awake. My eyes began to close but I fought to keep them open.

"Lara?" I heard a voice as I opened my eyes as they grew wide. I sat up a bit and turned to see who it was, but I couldn't make out their features. 

I was scared to reply, because I knew that wasn't Noah or my dad. They were the only two people who knew I was a mermaid. 

I looked at my tail, worried. Then I glanced at the water, and I knew I couldn't go back. I wished my backpack was by me so I could contact my dad or Noah.  

"It is you," they said, getting a good look at my face, and soon enough they would see my tail the closer they came.

They flashed their flashlight at my face, blinding me. I turned slightly so I could see if I could make them out. But before I could they already had the flashlight at my tail and all I could do was sit there, shaking in fear.

A thought came to me, and I didn't know if I should take that way out. I brought my hand and placed it in front of the ocean. I concentrated as the waves got stronger and stronger with each second. 

I quickly brought my hand in front of the person, causing the water to fly by me and towards them. I watched as the water knocked them down. I put my hand aside and crawled my way to them. They were lying still, so I grabbed the flashlight and flashed it to their face. 

When I recognized who it was, I dropped the flashlight, and gasped.