Swim Away (Mermaid)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

It had been hours since I started reading the journal. I never lifted my eyes off the page, didn't stop to react, and not even to make a comment. All that information was flowing into my mind, taking in all that it could. I was somehow holding up, shockingly. But also, it was so much that my emotions went numb. Maybe even my whole body.

The book slipped from my hands and made a thud as it landed on the floor.

"Lara!" Noah grabbed my shoulder from behind. But I didn't move, I think I lost all ability to. After, when he realized I wasn't going to turn to him, he sat beside me. I looked down and started playing with my hands. He brought his hand to my cheek, slowly moving my hair behind my ear. I grabbed his hand, holding it tightly.

"You were right. The information was too much to handle. But, you knew everything in there. Why didn't you do anything about it? Why did you let this happen?" I paused, letting go of Noah's hand and bringing my hands in front of my face. "Why is this happening?" I covered my face and brought my knees close to me.

"Slow down. One thing at a time." He didn't move or say another word, so I looked up at him.

"We're in too deep now." I rubbed my eyes to prevent the tears from coming. "I can't believe you're dragged into this." I paused, "but everything makes sense now." Noah only nodded. "I-I don't know where to begin."

I looked at Noah again. It felt different looking at him now. The things I knew about him, about us.

"You. Us." I said, still trying to get a grasp at what this all meant.

"Okay, me. What about me? I want to know what's going on in your mind." He looked worried and only wanted to help. He reached out, but then let his arm fall. He kept his eyes on me. But when I didn't answer he looked down at the journal, got off the bed, picked it up, and sat beside me again.

When the book sat between us, I took in a breath and held it. I slowly moved my hand toward the journal and touched it. Then I let out the air I was holding in. I opened the journal, "this. The flame, that's what you've been doing all this time. You've been taking in that dark energy. How does it not hurt you? And who in my family is dark?" The tears were streaming down my cheeks. The emotions were returning and I couldn't contain them.

"Yes, I've been absorbing that dark energy. But it has no affect on me. That darkness turns into light and enhances my powers." He moved his hand up and a white, water-like light appeared then disappeared. "It's what I'm supposed to do, just like all the other protectors before me."

"So does that mean..." I sniffed.

"That your mother has the same flame, yes."

"What happens if the flame takes over?"

"The journal states that you will lose yourself to your dark half. I don't know anymore than that since no one in your family has been taken over by the flame. So, I wouldn't worry about you. I promise to make sure that everything will alright."

I didn't like any of this. I thought being a mermaid was hard enough, but being a dark mermaid was something I did not expect. The flame in me was the dark part of my mermaid half. It explained the negative thoughts and energy I felt at times. I knew from now on, the flame would only continue to get stronger.

"This is only gonna get worse. But, what about us? If this is true," I pointed at what I was talking about, "then why didn't you tell me?" I wiped more tears that fell, waiting for his reply, but he only looked down and closed the journal. "Noah."

"It's been going on from the beginning. I liked you before I became your protector. So, the second I became your protector, it started."

"What do you see? What do you know?" Noah didn't answer and looked away. I grabbed the journal, opening to the page I was referring to. I brought it closer and began to read what was written, "The protector can only help the mermaid, nothing more, nothing less. The protector and the mermaid are cursed to fall in love with each other and it is his job to make sure that it doesn't happen. If the protector cannot follow through, they will both be punished." I had to stop to wipe some more tears and took in a few breaths, "The protector will know the punishment-" my voice was starting to crack, but I kept going. "-from when it begins. The punishment will haunt and hurt the protector until the time comes."

Noah closed the journal again, but I didn't move my eyes away from the journal. "Don't worry about it."

"But I am worried!" I lay down on the bed and covered my face. But, then I realized something, "wait!" I sat up and grabbed Noah's arm. He narrowed his eyes, waiting for me to continue. "Every time we kiss, sometimes you look blank or upset. When you kiss me, you see it! But, what do you see?" My heart started pounding faster as I thought back to the times Noah went blank and he would never tell me. I was worried that it was me, but now I knew, it wasn't.

"Lara, I can tell you that you'll be fine. I don't want you to worry. I told you, I'll make sure that everything will be fine, better than fine." He smiled, trying to reassure me. I still wasn't buying it.

"But, then, that means something happens to you. I don't want anything to happen to you, Noah." I frowned, "why is there a curse? What's wrong with us being together?"

He kept his eyes on me, then he looked at the journal. "Because I'm only here to protect you. To make sure you don't get taken by the flame. That's it."

"What about the journal saying us falling in love is a curse?"

"I don't think that's a curse. I'm pretty sure they believed it was a curse in the past, because it happened to every mermaid and protector. Even your mother loved the guy who was protecting her, but she wanted to follow the journal. So, she found your dad."

I wish I knew more about my mother.

"What happened to her protector?" I asked, wondering if Noah and I weren't together, what would happen to him later on?

"They move on and live a normal life as if they never knew a mermaid. It's just the way it is." I frowned and tried to hide my face with my hair. It was sad that the protector would go through all that and would have to move on with his life as if it never happened.

I assumed that a mermaid and a protector did stay together in the past, since the journal had more information on it. I wondered what their punishment was. "What do you see, Noah? I need to know."

"I told you, it's nothing to worry about." I couldn't help but lean on Noah's shoulder. For a second, he tensed, not realizing I was about to do that, since I knew what I knew. But he didn't reject it, he put his arm around me. "Lara," he whispered.

"Let's try to break the curse," I sighed, hoping there was a way to do that. "Is it possible?" He didn't answer, though. He held on tighter and closed his eyes. I looked up at his face and brought my hand to his chin. I made him face me, "Noah?"

"Yes?" He lifted one eye. I shook my head at him. Then, he sighed. "I think you've had enough for one day." I guess I had to agree with that, but I still wanted to know. There were still things left and even if I couldn't take the other information, I wanted to know it all. I was fully in it now, even if I never knew all this information, I was bound to find out somehow. That would happen with what he was hiding. It would come out sooner or later.

Now, I knew why my father had told me not to fall in love with Noah that day, but it was too late. We would face what was coming for us and I think it would be best if we went through it together, and just maybe the curse could be broken.

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Okay, I hope this makes sense haha but if anyone is confused let me know.

I had to type it since I had all the ideas finally written down.

But it is 2am and I am really sleepy so if it doesn't make sense, I apologize. I will have to go over this one more time later on, but I really want it posted, so here it is. Don't be shy to let me know if there's a mistake as well :)

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