Eyes of the Sea

Chapter 7

Heather took one look at my face and sat down on my bed, sensing that I was about to tell her something important. She looked up at me with her deep brown eyes, which caused me to wonder why Heather wasn't a daughter of a sea too. I mentally stored that question to ask Coral later.

I got up and sat beside Heather on the bed. I wasn't sure what I should tell her and how I was going to explain everything, so I just said what first came out.

"Remember when Mom died?" I whispered. Heather nodded. I knew she wouldn't forget. None of us could forget what happened. It was only a year after it happened and we were still grieving. I was fifteen at the time and Heather was only thirteen. We were home alone, as my parents were out eating dinner together.

It was winter at the time, and the roads were slippery. My dad was driving when a drunk driver came racing down the wrong side of the road. As a last attempt to save themselves, my father swerved away and lost control of the car. The right side of the car ran straight into a tree. My father came out with only a few bruises and one broken wrist, but my mother was killed on impact.

I can still remember the harsh knock on my front door. I was watching a movie with Heather, when the knock came that would alter our lives forever. I opened the door to reveal two police officers, holding their caps in their hands.

I couldn't understand the sorrow look on their faces. Heather appeared behind me, and I held her hand protectively. They told us the news with pity in their eyes. Our mother was dead and our father was in the hospital.

"There must be a mistake," I had cried out desperately, "You've got the wrong people. Our parents are out eating dinner! They'll be home soon."

The officers just offered a sad smile and escorted us to the police car and drove us to the hospital. Heather was deathly quiet during this time, and I was worried about her.

It was only when we arrived at the hospital and saw our father on a hospital bed, passed out cold, did we break down. Heather and I held each other in a tight embrace as we sobbed into each other.

My father was never the same again. He blamed himself for his wife's death, despite the countless times we assured him it wasn't. He was more distant these days, as if he was living in a daze.

He loved my mother more than he loved himself, that was evident, and without her, he was lost. It broke my heart seeing him like this, but I couldn't do anything. I had to let time heal his wounds.

Now, looking at Heather with tears in my eyes, I told her everything. I told her about my dream, about the daughters of the sea, about Coral and Will, about the prophecy, and about our mother. I was afraid she wouldn't believe me, but she did.

Ever since my mother's death, Heather had aged. Her eyes were a bit too troubled for a fourteen year old. I felt guilty bringing her into my problems, but we had made a pact a month after my mom died: we would never leave each other. I promised her I wouldn't, and that includes this.

If I were to go searching for my mother, there was a chance I wouldn't come back, and I wanted her to understand that.

Heather looked at me with vulnerable eyes and then she wrapped her arms around my neck and held me close. "You're so lucky I don't think you're crazy right now." She joked. I laughed, grateful for the lighter atmosphere.

"I think I want you to meet Coral." I said hesitantly. I watched her reaction, but her eyes lit up and she nodded her head.

"Yes! I really want to meet her too! Can you show me your cool powers too? Can you make things out of water! Oh my gosh, this is so cool!" Heather bombarded me with questions. I shook my head in wonder at how fast the atmosphere changed. That's fourteen year old girls for you. But I was glad at how well she was taking this. I just had to make sure of one thing.

"Heather." I said which caused Heather to stop her endless stream of questions. "You can't tell anyone, not even Dad, okay?"

Heather pouted, and opened her mouth to say something but I cut her off. "No one. Do you understand? Not Dad, or your best friend, or even your diary." I said sternly.

"Hey!" Heather argued. "I do not keep a diary!" But her face was getting red. I grinned and ruffled her hair. It felt so good to confide in someone. Other than Coral and Will – who I wasn't about to go and spill all of my secrets to anyways – Heather was the only other person I felt normal around.

We grew up together, and I had a strong surge of protectiveness over my little sister. I wouldn't let anyone hurt her. If Cain Onyx apparently has the power to make my mother try and kill me, he could make her do the same thing for Heather. I would not let that happen.

I got up and walked towards the window. Looking out, I started at the forest in the distance and made a silent vow to take down Cain and protect Heather.

I turned to Heather and really looked at my little sister. She was so strong during the period shortly after my mother died, maybe even stronger than I was. She put on a mask of bravery and acted tough on the outside, but on the inside, I knew she was hurting too. For such a small girl, she felt as if she needed to act bigger to be noticed.

I shook my head slightly, and smiled softly down at her. There was a comfortable silence between us, and I found my thoughts drifting to Will. We had been hanging out every day since I had the nightmare, and I had to admit he was probably my best friend.

Sure, I had other friends but none of them felt as close to me as Will did. We've only been hanging out for about a week now, but I felt so normal around him. I guess that's my issue: I trusted people too openly, whereas Heather is paranoid about everyone.

"Who are you thinking about?" Heather asked, startling me out of my thoughts. I raised an eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes. "Oh come on. I can see the look in your eyes. You were thinking about that boy, Will, weren't you?"

I laughed, feeling my cheeks go red. Heather's eyes flashed with victory. I swear, teenage girls notice way too many things. "Alright, alright. You caught me." I admitted reluctantly.

"Tell me all about him!" Heather exclaimed. She patted the spot beside her and I sat down.

I told her about how we first met, how he looks like, and funny incidents between us. Heather eagerly took in all this information, like we were discussing someone I actually had a crush on.  "We're just friends." I added hastily.

Heather nodded knowingly, and I slapped her arm lightly. "Whatever, Heather. I need to work now and you need to do your homework, young lady." I said, clearly changing the topic. She glared at me and stalked out of the room. Gosh, teens could over exaggerate, that was for sure.

Now that Heather was gone, I took out my laptop and continued what I came up here in the first place. Opening up Google, I searched 'daughters of the sea'.  Nothing useful came up; just articles about mermaids.

Desperate, I clicked on the second page of Google. After scrolling through some sites, I found nothing on who my mom was. It was what I figured, but I still felt disappointed.

Suddenly, a website caught my eye. I clicked on it and swore under my breath at my slow internet. Finally, the page loaded.

My eyes widened and I gasped at what I saw.

Hey everyone! There was more back story in this chapter because I wanted you guys to know more about Hazel and Heather. Oooh, I wonder what Hazel saw on her laptop! I guess we'll have to wait and see. :)

-Bookworm9173