Hart of the Sea

Chapter 6

I propped my elbows up on the edge of the dock, the beginning of my tail just under the surface of the water. I had to be careful; one wrong move and my scales would be exposed.

Talia sighed, folding her hands in her lap. "Let's just say, my family situation is really screwed up. I don't want to go into too much detail, otherwise I might...start craying again," she said, holding back a giggle as she eyed me playfully. I smirked, but felt my cheeks warm up with embarrassment. "But, basically, my dad's a terrible person, no matter how badly he tries to convince me otherwise. And I hate having to live with him now. Heck, I've even considered running aw-,"

"Talia? Where are you?" I heard a man's voice call from further back on the beach. "Oh my god, there you are!" She instantly tensed up.

"Go now, before he gets to us," she whispered, but I stayed still. I was frozen; I couldn't move, but I didn't know why. All I knew was that with each passing second I stayed put, her irritation only grew. "Come on! If he sees me talking to you, he'll ask too many questions." When I still didn't move, she gave me one last desperate look before I let myself fall back into the water. Once I was fully submerged, I looked to the surface and saw her apologetic eyes staring back at me; her face warped by the ripples passing through the water. As soon as she appeared, she had vanished, leaving me staring dumbfounded at the rippling late-morning sky.

#

"Hart? Where in the world have you been?" Dad - who was so angry that his seaweed-green fluke flared out to its full size - thundered once I rounded the corner of the cave at the rescue site. "Mrs. Nettlegrass said she saw you take off, an hour ago. Would you like to explain yourself, son?" He grabbed my arm and dragged me around to the front of the cave to see all the Rescuers and their family and friends all staring at me; some relieved and others, relieved but quite irritated. "He's fine, everyone. And he's also grounded."

My face felt hotter than the lava from underwater volcanoes. "I'm sorry, Dad, I,-"

"Save it," he growled. "Do you have any idea how big of a deal it was for the captain to get the king and queen's permission to let us bring people along today? What you did was a slap in their face. I hope you're pleased with yourself."

Since the rescues were over for the day, we immediately began our swim home. My dad didn't even look in my direction the whole time, just occasionally mumbled at me to stay close.

When we got home, Mom had a hopeful smile on her face. "How'd the rescues go today, boys?"

Dad smiled tightly. "Just fine, Coral. A few hatchlings were injured, but they're going to be alright." He glanced at me, his expression saying it all: Well, aren't you going to tell her what you did? Then, all too quickly he disappeared into their bedroom.

Noticing my downcast expression, she swam over to me with her arms outstretched, but I pushed away from her. "Hart...what's wrong?" She asked, crossing her arms. I told her what I did, excluding the parts about going to the shore and talking to a human, of course.

"And Dad said I'm grounded, so I should probably go to my room," I mumbled, staring at the floor. Mom, understandably shocked and upset, moved over to let me pass.

"Yes, you should. Don't come out until dinner's ready, either," she whispered.

Now I know I really can't tell them about Talia, I thought to myself as I shut my bedroom door behind me. If they got that angry about me sneaking away from the rescue site, the fact that it was to talk to a human would get me kicked out of the house, I was sure.

Since I had nothing better to do while I waited for dinner, I sat up on my clamshell bed and looked out my light blue-tinted sea glass window, watching as schools of fish swam this way and that. It reminded me of when my friends and I would swim together, like the time we went to watch our favorite local band, the Screaming Shellfish, perform in the palace's spacious courtyard. It was a long swim from all of our houses; it was in the very heart of the kingdom, nowhere near the outer villages.