Captivity

Chapter 11: Are You Really There?

Sam heaved a sigh as she pulled her luggage off the carousel, turning to leave the airport like all the others returning home from the holidays. It had been a long few weeks, from having to scramble together college midterms, to putting up with her parents fussing when she came to visit for the season. Overall it had been a stressful ordeal and she was just grateful to have finally caught a breather, deciding to skip down and head home a few days early. It would be a much needed break from everything until classes started up again.

The air was still brisk when she stepped out onto the curb, flagging down a taxi to chauffeur her the rest of the way back to her dorm. She watched the scenery lazily as it passed by, half lost in her thoughts. She hadn't been able to spend much time at the aquarium since the incident, and with everything that followed, she hadn't the time to do much more than stop by to feed Danny, and with the holidays, she hadn't even been able to accomplish that. The poor mer was probably downtrodden with the lack of activity, let alone that she had been unable to console the creature since the fight.

Her phone buzzing pulled her attention from the window, browsing through the new texts on screen. It was another update from her uncle on the mer's condition and so far it wasn't looking so good. Danny was refusing to eat again and it appeared that during her absence the poor beast had slipped into a state of depression. She couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for it.

She could still hear those broken words echoing in her mind; the scared expression across his blood streaked features. Those were the first words he'd spoken, and they'd been in pleading askance for forgiveness she hadn't reciprocated from a mix of shock and loss of time. It still wasn't an excuse, whether or not life had kicked her feet out from under her with everything coming up at once. She hadn't taken the time, and now she was left picking up the pieces. She could only hope that her aquatic friend would forgive her in turn.

From what her uncle had explained, since he'd picked up feeding the mer again it had been a rather strained interaction. Danny remained skittish and apprehensive whenever he'd walked into the enclosure and would all but cower at the sight of his injured hand. Even though it was healing fine and the damage wasn't completely permanent, it seemed there were more than just physical scars to heal on the mer's part. Sam could only hope that she could set things right and get the mer to feel safe around them once again.

The cab eventually stopped and she paid the driver his dues before getting out and heading for her room. Closing the door behind her, she let out a tired breath she didn't know she'd been holding while taking in the sight of the silent tranquility that was her space. From the looks of things her roommate had yet to return, and she was fine with that, she'd come back early in order to get away from her clingy parents and have a moment to breathe before she was forced to dive back down into the tangle mess of stress.

Setting her things aside to unpack later, she flopped down upon the bed, taking in the scent of her pillow in the hopes of getting some well needed rest. Perhaps after a good nap she'd go check up on Danny; the mer was becoming almost as needy as her parents, but at least he was fine with her being who she was rather than trying to doll her up as something she wasn't. A sigh escaped her as she snuggled into her sheets, deciding to put those thoughts away for another time, letting her mind drift away into dreamland.

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Nate frowned as he watched the waters lap against the stone, no sign of its inhabitant coming up from the depths below to greet him. Since he'd entered the exhibit, the jet black mer had yet to surface and didn't appear willing to do so anytime soon. It reminded him of how his relationship with the mythical creature had started, except that instead of being greeted with aggression, the mer had taken to avoiding him entirely.