The Vanishing

Chapter 8

"Nina?" I asked.

I could hear her sobbing from the other side of the door.

She unlocked the door.

I slowly walked in and saw her sitting in the corner of the shower with her knees bent and her head resting on the backs of her thighs.

I tested the water and shivered. She was sitting there, fully clothed, with ice-cold water beating down on her.

From the glassy look in her eyes, she looks like she's about to go into shock. I turned the water to room temp and she softened a little. She got up slowly and turned off the water. I grabbed her towel from the hook and wrapped it around her.

"I feel so... Violated." She said as she started shaking and wrapped the towel around herself tighter.

I didn't know what to say, so I just sat with her and let her rest her head on my shoulder for a while.

"They stole my tail." She said finally.

"What?" I blurted.

"Sirens can turn whenever they want, but I can't anymore." She said.

"What are you saying? You don't have any powers?" I asked.

"No, I'm saying I can't transform. I still have my voice." She said.

"So they stole some of your powers but not all of them?" I asked.

"Yeah, guess I'm not a mermaid anymore. Just a siren." She said solemnly.

We sat in silence for a while as the horrifying news that whoever took her was stealing powers sunk in. I'm only getting used to these powers, I can't imagine having them taken away. It really would be violating.

It had been hours of us just sitting there on the bathroom floor, and we had both dozed off.

She finally woke with a start "What time is it?"

"I don't know." I said through a yawn.

"We should get ready for class." She said.

Normally, I'd say she should take the day. However, she seemed confident, so I went with it.

We got up and changed into our uniforms in silence.

"Oh, hey, I have something for you." She said.

"For me?" I chuckled.

"Yeah. I have this necklace with this long chain. I think it would look better with a short one." She said.

I wasn't following so I just let her keep going.

"So you can hide your necklace silly! We can just swap chains." She said.

Feeling dumb, I said "Oh. Thanks, Nina. That's so much better. I've been getting tired of hearing about the damn thing."

She mustered half a smile and handed me her extra long chain and I handed her my regular one. I slipped the pendant onto the chain and the necklace over my head. After tucking the pendant into my button down shirt, I realized you can't even see it. I turned away from the mirror that hung on the back of my wardrobe and flashed her a huge grin, which she couldn't help but return.

I walked Nina to her first class, which made me a little late for mine. I guess I'm just worried about her. Yesterday was traumatizing, and I can't believe how cool she's being. I wish I had that kind of resolve.

I strode into my history class as quietly as I could.

"Ah, how nice of you to join us, miss Montgomery. Please take your seat." Ms. Adams said with a hint of a smile. I may be late, but at least Ms. Adams likes me.