Swim Away (Mermaid)

Chapter Twenty-One

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, she didn't exactly use those words, but it was hinted! It was there!"

Noah didn't say anything, unsure of how to react what to what I told him. Even I wasn't taking it well, running my hands through my hair and pressing my lips together so hard I was sure they would merge into one.

I wish what I heard was a lie.

Noah grabbed my arm, causing me to drop my hand from head. "We'll figure this out. If you believe that's what it is, then you can't change that." I pulled my arm away and paced around my room. "Lara."

He couldn't fix this. No one could. If it were possible, my life would've gone back to normal.

On top of that, I had to meet Asher in a couple hours, but of course, Noah didn'r know about that. I told him I was going to help Ariel.

After pacing back and forth, I sat on my bed and huffed. Parts of my hair fell on my face and I pushed them back. Everything was getting worse.

My eyes landed on my clock and I frowned. It was almost time to find Asher. And all I could picture was him standing there with a huge grin on his face. He knew my secret and who knew what he would do with that information.

I covered my face. Why did this have to happen? There were so many things going on already. I wasn't used to it. My life was simplier before. Selena being a bully was the only thing I had to deal with. It was one problem and I took it.

The bed moved a bit when Noah sat down next to me. I felt his hand behind my back, lightly rubbing, trying to comfort me. I moved my hands from my face and turned to him.

"I'm fine," I said.

But really, I wanted to be left alone. Noah needed to leave.

I fell back on my bed and turned to my side, debating on taking a nap or not. There was still time.

"I'm going to go for a walk," Noah whispered as he held my hand and squeezed it.

Then he stood up and left. It was like he read my mind and decided to give me the space I wanted. Which I appreciated.

I couldn't take a nap, my mind was going in a million different directions about how the meet up would go. I tied my hair up in a ponytail and walked down the stairs not caring about my appearance.

It was time to meet up with Asher and see the outcome of this situation. With each step I took, I wished I could go back or maybe stop time. If only that could be an option.

I reached the ocean water and made sure to keep my distance. There was no way to get the negative thoughts of what was to come. I wanted to jump in the water and swim away. I knew running away from a problem wasn't going to solve anything. Well, technically, swimming away.

"Lara," someone spoke from behind me.

I jumped, not expecting him to scare me like that. He came and stood beside me, looking out at the ocean.

"Okay, let's get this over with." I kicked the sand. "Why have you called me out here?"

Asher looked down and chuckled, making me even more nervous. What did he do?

"You already know. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He smiled. "Believe it or not, you aren't the first mermaid I've seen. Many mermaids live on land. It's easy to tell when you're in that kind of world once you know about it." Asher met with my eyes. "I knew all along."

He put his hands in his pockets, looking down before making eye contact again.

I didn't know what to say. He was the second person to know I was a mermaid and not tell me about it until he found out somehow. But there was a difference between Noah and Asher. Asher had an unsettling energy. I couldn't figure out why exactly.

"I know another girl who's a mermaid." I pressed my lips together, waiting to see who he was talking about. "You know her, too." I seemed like he was waiting for me to say it, but I kept quiet. "She has dark hair, brown eyes. Can be whiney and annoying."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. My only thought was; how did he find out about her?

"Starts with an S." He wanted me to answer him.

"I know who you're talking about." I took a deep breath before I continued. "What are you? A merman? A Protector? Some other mythical creature I'm unaware of?"

He threw his head back and laughed. "Nope. I'm half merman currently. No tail for me." He shrugged then smiled. "Protectors are the weakest. They have one job, to protect, and then it's all over."

I looked down, pressing my lips together. Why didn't he tell me if he knew I was a mermaid? I didn't get merpeople at all.

Asher checked his phone and frowned. "Hmm, I should be going. We'll continue another time." He backed away, then waved goodbye, leaving me alone with the sea.

After spending a few minutes with the ocean, I walked back home. It was hard to grasp the idea of all these sea people. I couldn't believe Asher was one, too. How many more were out there?

I really wanted to know what purpose Asher had being here. Did he want something from me? Since I was important to the merpeople, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

What I couldn't grasp my mind around was why I couldn't tell Noah about Asher? What was keeping me from telling him? Even when I tried, the words wouldn't come out.

When I opened the door, I saw my dad sitting at the dining table. It felt like I hadn't seen my dad in a really long time. I smiled and sat across from him.

"Lara." He sat forward, taking off his reading glasses, and putting his phone down on the table.

"Dad," I said. "Where have you been?" I missed when he was around, even though I didn't talk to him that much, but it was nice to know he was around and that I was never truly alone.

"How are you, Dad? How's your day been, Dad?" I rolled my eyes and he laughed. "I've been talking to some merpeople. Nothing big, but there are some things they need to know about you and things you need to know about them."

"Okay, tell me."

"Have you read the journal? All of it?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as if he knew I didn't finish all of it. I was a reader, so he shouldn't think that I never read it. I narrowed my eyes, wondering how he knew I didn't get through the journal.

I shook my head. "Noah said to wait, and since he has control over what I can read, I have no choice but to wait."

My dad frowned and that got me worried.

"That's odd." My dad said, scratching his head. "Have you read anything?"

"Yeah, I only got to powers and spells, then Noah told me to stop there. I didn't know why I even listened to him. Look, I honestly don't need his protection. It really bothers me." I leaned back against the chair and folded my arms.

"I should talk to him. You should've been done by now. I wonder why he doesn't want you to continue." That was worrying me. What was Noah hiding from me? Why didn't he want me to know?

"I'll find out tomorrow." I got up and made my way toward the stairs. Lately, things had been getting out of hand and I couldn't escape. If only a place with no problems existed. Swimming away from here was looking better and better. But I knew I couldn't do that, no matter how much I wanted to.

"Goodnight, Dad," I whispered as I walked up to my room.

I picked up the journal from behind my pillow and ran my hands on the wavy pattern on the cover. I tried to open it, hoping it'd work without Noah, but no luck. What was he trying to hide?

____________________________

A lot is happening around Lara :P

What do you think Noah's hiding?

What do you think Asher wants with Lara?

;)