Waters Edge

Chapter Six: The Day of Patrick

"Pathrick." He states almost firmly and smiles when it almost sounds correct. I smile back and reach out a hand wanting to touch his soft lips as they try to form the name.

"Patrick." I say softly and his eyes study my face as I wade deeper into the water toward him. He goes to jerk away but hesitates to stay in place as my hand gets closer. I hold in my breath as my hand gets so close. Then my hand lands on his warm, impossibly soft cheek and I feel a bolt of electricity shoot up my arm and my heart speeds up incredibly fast as I lay my palm flat against his face. His eyes are locked onto mine as my eyes are locked onto my own hand on his pale skin.

He is real.

I feel giddiness fill my chest and my smile gets impossibly wider. His eyes flicker to my arm as he puts his own hand atop of mine, softly pulling it away from his face and studying the cut across my hand, he then holds his own palm out flat and there are the ever so faint scars from the net he holds them side to side and studies them for a second. I stand there in the water for a long time with Patrick his hand tracing the tattoos up my arm and gently touching around the stitches on my forehead. He seems most interested in my legs which he occasionally brushes with his tail. I am absolutely infatuated with every movement he makes.

Then I realize. I have never told him my name.

"I am Pete by the way." His eyes snap away from the tattoo he is currently studying up to my face. "Pete," I say again tapping my chest and he smiles tapping my chest as well.

"Peeeete." He says and a smile lights up his face. I can't help the goofy smile I give in return. I feel like I am melting into a puddle in front of him. I wish I could spend hours looking into those eyes, studying all the colors that swirl in them like the ocean after a storm. Run my hands through his wet hair and feel just what those scales feel like under my hand. I look down at his tail and get mesmerized just how with every angle it seems to almost disappear and then reappear just like magic.

I know that soon I will have to leave him here and find a place to stay for the night, as the sun has begun to set already. We have spent almost the entire day here in the water, my fingers are beyond pruned. I know that I still have time to spend with him here before the sun disappears entirely but I feel sadness fill my chest knowing this moment will come to an end.

"Patrick, I will have to go soon," I say looking into his eyes and he frowns. "I can't get home until tomorrow and I need to find a place to stay for the night." His eyebrows furrow as he thinks for a moment, probably processing the words.

"Patrick take home." I feel my eyes widen.

"How?" I barely have time to get the question out before Patrick's arms are wrapping around my waist firmly and he falls backward pulling me underneath the water. I suck in one last deep breath before we submerge under the surface my eyes blink open as Patrick smiles. I just look at him like he is a crazy person. Then suddenly we take off, shooting through the water faster then I can even process.

I cling to him tightly my arms and legs wrapping around him tightly as we shoot through the water. I squeeze my eyes shut as I feel the water rushing around me. My lungs begin to burn as bubbles rapidly escape my mouth.

Patrick quickly takes notice and quickly flips up to the surface, still holding onto me tightly and I suck in a ragged, much-needed breath coughing a bit and wiping the water from my face. The sun is setting behind him, turning the sky into brilliant shades of orange and pink. I look around more and realize we are right where I have placed one of my crab traps, the purple bobber no further than ten feet away. I look back toward the direction we came and can hardly see the other island. I look back at Patrick in wonder, we couldn't have been underwater for more than two minutes. Who is smiling and trying to touch my wet hair.

My legs are still wrapped around his... well I mean hips maybe? I have no idea what mermaid anatomy would be. I feel heat rush to my face as the position we are in could be seen as rather... intimate. Patrick looks amazing in the light from the fading sun and I still can't quite believe that he is really here.

"How in the world," I mutter and then look around, realizing we are very close to the spot where I was two nights ago. I gaze into the distance and see the rocks and see something in the distance. "Can we go over there," I say pointing and Patrick's eyes look over and then back to me his lips pressing into a firm line but he nods. We swim over there slowly, I gasp when I see it and Patrick immediately stops, upon one of the rocks is my boat, or rather what remains of it.

The whole bottom is torn open, the rest of it is hardly being held together. I look at it sadly feeling tears prick the corner of my eyes. Patrick cringes and looks away guiltily, but this wasn't his fault, he couldn't have saved it, I can see pieces of the boat still floating around in the waves hitting the rocks as they float aimlessly in the water. I sigh and look away my chest feels heavy. Patrick puts a hand on my cheek and pushes my hair from my face.

"save you." Patrick whispers, "boat can't save." He whispers a hint of guilt in his voice. I look up at him a sad smile on my face.

"It's not your fault," I say sadly. Patrick hums softly and then looks at me.

"I help get new boat?" I look at him and he phrases it like a question but I have no idea what he means.

"How?" Patrick so quickly detaches from me I flail a bit trying to keep myself balanced in the water, I get an uneasy feeling thinking that he might have just left me here. My muscles are still exhausted and they burn in protest trying to keep me afloat in the water.

Then Patrick reappears so quickly I squeak in surprise as one of his arms wraps back around my waist. In his other hand, he holds a golden necklace. I gasp when I look at it, the delicate gold chains holding onto a pendant with a giant stone in the middle and multiple smaller gems inlayed around it. It is slightly corroded from being in the salt water but it is breathtaking none the less.

"Patrick," I whisper my fingers trailing over the gems, "This is too much. Where did you find this?" Patrick looks down at the necklace and shrugs running his thumb over the large gem in the middle.

"Big oceeaan. I find lots." He then places the necklace in my hand and wraps his other arm around me quickly taking us over to the beach where we had first spoken all those days ago. He swims as close as he can to the shore while still holding onto me, he lets go when my feet can touch the bottom. By now the sun has vanished and the beach is incredibly dark, only illuminated by the moon, which is incredibly bright... Must be close to a full moon.

I look back at Patrick. "I go now." He says sadly.

"Wait you don't have to leave just yet," I say touching his arm, he smiles and places a wet hand on my arm rubbing his fingers in small circles over the skin.

"Patrick has lots to do." He says not looking me in the eye, I sigh loudly.

"When will you come back?" I ask and Patrick answers me with a shrug and removes my hand from his arm. He looks me in the eye one last time to give me a smile before disappearing under the waves as if he was never there in the first place.

I make my way up the beach and flop down on the wet sand, the golden necklace sits heavily in my hand as I look up at the sunny sky. I throw a hand over my eyes and sigh thoughts of Patrick swirl in my mind. What is happening to me?