The Mermaids' Mate

Chapter 28

"You're home early." My dad said as I walked in. He was in the kitchen washing dishes.

"I quit my job." I sighed, flopping on the couch.

"What? Why mija? What happened?" He asked.

"Because of stupid Tasha. She said I messed up her order, and I went to grab her stupid plate, and I ended up spilling water on Damien, and when I went to clean it, I spilled more water on Damien, and on top of that. I also spilled water on Mike. And-and I had a stupid fucking panic attack. I just can't fucking take it anymore!" I buried my head in the pillow, sobbing.

"Ay Mija." He came over and wrapped his arms around me. "You're okay. Estas bien."

"No, it's not okay! I am such a fucking screw-up!" I cried on his shoulder. Why did all these things have to happen to me? Why could I find some fucking happiness for once?

"You're not a screw-up. I know you made mistakes in the past. We all do, but things will get better. You will find new friends who aren't out to kill you, or maybe you'll find that one special person." He said.

"I already found him, but I can't be with him. My mom hates him. His mom hates me, and Tasha is keeping us apart. It's not fair." I wiped the tears away.

"I may not know much about wolves and soulmates, but sometimes, we gotta find our own happiness without the help of the magical moon lady." He tried cheering me up.

"Moon Goddess." I chuckled. My dad was right. I had to go against the Moon Goddess's plan. I couldn't sit here and be tormented by this any longer. I had to move on. For Eudora and me. "Where is mom?" I asked, looking around the house. She should be here yelling at me to clean my room even though my room was spotless.

"She went to see somebody."

"Somebody? Who?" I asked, wiping my tears.

"Let's not worry about that right now. She'll be back soon."

"Back soon? Why all the mystery? Why didn't she take you?" I hated when my parents kept stuff like this a secret. Why wasn't I allowed to know?

"Because I'm not allowed to go. Do you know what sounds good? Food. Let's go eat somewhere." He said, standing up. He was changing the topic again.

"She went back, didn't she?" I asked him after she had sworn never to return.

"Your mom has some important business to attend to. When she is back, she will tell us. Now, let's go eat." He said, putting his shoes on and dragging me out of the house. "I know this great spot. It's next to the coffee shop I've been telling you about. Maybe they're hiring."

I was still trying to process what just had happened. Did Mom go home? Why all of a sudden? Did the merfolk finally catch her? I knew mermaids were banned from coming here. What if she gets arrested? Or worse, executed?

I climbed into the passenger seat of my dad's truck, and he drove towards the restaurant. I wanted to ask him what else he knew, but he'll only change the subject. "What if she doesn't return?" I bit my lip. I felt scared for her. She was so young when she left home. My mom was sometimes annoying, but she was still my mom. But if the merfolk come for me next, and she's not here to protect me?

"She went to see her mother." My dad sighed. "That's all I know. She left pretty quickly."

"She went to see her mother?" My mom has never mentioned her. I have asked her, and she always avoided the question. I didn't know if she was alive or dead. But at least now I know she's alive, or maybe she's dying? Is that the reason she went to see her? It could be the only reason. I wish she could've taken me. I would've loved to meet her.

I tried asking my dad more questions, but he started singing along to the radio to avoid answering them. I hated when he did that. I stared out the window on our drive to the restaurant.

When we arrived, we parked out back. The coffee shop and the restaurant shared the same parking lot. I jumped out of the truck and stretched out my legs which had fallen asleep. It was about a 30-minute drive.

There was a car about four parking spots away from us with a flat tired. "Ouch, that has to suck," I told my dad. I could see there was a girl inside yelling over the phone.

"Why don't you help her out?" He asked.

"Me? Why me? Why don't you?"

"She'll be more reluctant to accept help from a girl." He said, pushing me towards the car. "Go on!"

I swallowed hard and lightly tapped on her window. She looked at her confused and rolled down her window. "Yes? Can I help you?" She said, almost with a sassy tone of voice.

"Can I help you?" I repeated her words, not realizing how stupid that sounded.

"What? You're the one who tapped on my window."

"With your tire! Can I help you with your tire? Sorry, I didn't mean to come out like I'm weird."

"Well, you are." She snapped. "And I got this handled. I'm trying to call my idiot brother, but he's not answering. Thanks though."

"I have tools! I can do it for you real quick." I insisted.

"Will that get you to leave me alone?" She asked. I nodded, smiling. "Whatever. I'll grab the spare tire from the trunk since I don't trust you."

"Yeah, that's fine with me. What if you have a dead body in there or something." I awkwardly laughed, rubbing my arm.

She looked me dead in the eye without smiling and said. "Not yet." I gulped hard and stepped out of the way so she could get out of her car.

~

"Alright then," I said as I tightened the last lug nut. "Just make sure you do a star pattern and not circle when tightened; otherwise, it could loosen the nuts or, even worse, break, causing the wheel to come off," I explained, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand.

"Wow, you know your stuff. Where did you learn all this?" She asked. She was sitting on the curb, sipping coffee and watching me change her tire.

"My dad. Fixing cars is our hobby."

"Look at you. Not depending on a man." She winked at me. "I like that."

"It's the only thing I'm good at. I seem to fuck up everything else." I muttered, putting my tools back in my toolbox, remembering what happened today at work.

"Well, I, for one, am thankful that I ran into you. I am being saved by such a beautiful independent woman. " oh, gods. Was she flirting with me? It sounds like flirting. "And can I say how gorgeous your hair is! What are those? Box braids?"

"Yes. Thank you! My mom did them for me." I blushed, running my hand through them.

"Well, they came out great! I like the color you choose. I've never seen dark red braids before. Thank you for changing my tire. I work at the coffee shop here. I can hook you up with free coffee if you like?"

"I'm a coffee addict," I admitted. All thanks to my dad. "So that would be wonderful."

"Then it's settled—free coffee for helping me fix my tire. Your dad can have free coffee too. I've seen him come in a lot." She smiled at me.

"I'm sure he's going to appreciate that. He talks about this place all the time." I chuckled.

How about I take you out for lunch sometime? It's the least I can do." She asked.

"Oh. Um. Sure. Lunch is good. Lunch is delicious. What- what is your name?" I asked, stumbling over my words. No one has ever taken me out, not since Byran.

"Amelia. Here, text me." She handed me a piece of paper with her name and phone number. "What's yours?"

"Nexy."

"Well, Nexy, you got yourself a date." She said, blowing me a kiss as she got back into her car. Holy shit! She was flirting! I could feel my face turning red. I waved at her as she drove away, stunned at what happened.

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