UNDER THE PIER

CHAPTER 6

I ran all the way home. My heart and mind racing with fear and confusion.
I felt horrified with what I had done but even more so with what I had seen.
What was that thing?! Did I imagine it? Was it a scuba diver that saved me instead and I imagined a tail???
When I got home, I quickly opened and closed the door, not caring if I woke my father. I locked the door and leaned up against it.
The lights on the house were off and the TV was silent.
My father had must've gone to bed after a while and presumed I was in my bedroom this whole time.
My heart still raced as I slowly walked to the bathroom.
There is an explanation for this. Surely....
Yet as I washed the seawater off me, I could think of no explanation. I felt terrified of what happened tonight.
I left, tried to drown myself and then a... mermaid came to save me?
But what kind of mermaid was that? It was no mermaid I was fimilar with. And on top of it, I didn't Believe in mermaids and stuff like that.
At least, I didn't...
Before I could even make sense of it, the rush of trembling and tears escaped me.
I quickly took a knee in the shower and cried to myself.
My mind escaped from the creature for a moment and only for a moment.
I returned to what happened here last night.
My father had horribly beaten me. He had belittled and hurt me. And on top of it, he had forbidden me to return to the one place I found any ounce of happiness and peace in.
He had driven me to killing myself.
I had done the unthinkable and....
I knew it would have worked if I hadn't been saved by whatever it was.
I closed my eyes and cried in the shower. My sobs drowned out by the noise of the water.
I.... still wish I died.
After sitting in the bathroom for some time, I got out and dried myself. I placed my wet clothes in a bag and placed it in my laundry basket.
I felt somewhat sad that I had lost my shoes on the water but it couldn't be helped.
Before getting dressed, I took a long look at myself in the bathroom body mirror.
I hadn't forgotten that all my previous injuries had disappeared.
Not a single bruise was left on my body. Not even on my face. The bruise from the slap from days ago was completely gone. My busted lip was completely healed and looked perfectly normal. I was perfectly normal.
I placed on clean pajamas and went to my bed.
I placed my thick comforter over my head and practically cocooned myself in it's thick purple material.
The comforter made me feel protected and hidden from the world.
Despite everything that had happened, I still felt strong about my own feelings.
I wish I could disappear. I wish no one would notice I was gone and be even happier in their lives. I wish my father would be happy as well.
I closed my eyes. My eyes felt too sore and tired to cry anymore. I felt like as though I had cried all the tears my body could summon for the time being.
I dreamed I was in the water again. The creature I had seen was approaching me again. His bright yellow eyes seemed to look right through me. His long arms and hands stretched out towards me as I once again sank into despair.
When I woke, I felt rather disappointed that I truly was still alive.
I slowly took my time getting up and emerging into the hallway.
Entering the hallway, I heard commotion. A slight bang of pots and pans.
I turned the corner and saw my father cooking breakfast on the oven. Scrambled and fried eggs sizzled on the stove. A milk jug half full, sat nearby on the counter.
He looked over at me, looking hungover as usual.
"Good morning Cadence." he said.
"Good morning." I said quietly. I turned away and was going to go back into my room when he stopped me.
"Hey, wait, what happened to the chair?"
I turned around and looked back around the corner. I looked at him confused.
My father then turned around and pointed to our kitchen chair.
the very one I had sat in last night and now displayed a large crack in its backboard. I recalled him trying to punch me and I had dodged.
"What happened to our chair?" he asked me. He shook his head and looked back at the eggs. "I drank way too much last night and I dont remember a thing."
I stared at him baffled. Did he seriously not remember?
If he doesn't remember hitting me then he doesn't remember him forbidding me to go back to the beach.
I then thought about how this could benefit me.
I wasn't too willing on going back to the beach but I didn't also want to be forbidden ever going back to a place we lived so close to.
"Oh... um, we were eating dinner last night and I leaned back into the chair. It cracked under my weight for some reason." I lied.
I felt nervous as I could see my father digest this story. After a moment, he shook his head and scooped a fried egg off with a spatula.
He placed it on a plate and then handed it over me.
"Well, these chairs are pretty old anyways." he said. "Take a seat. I'll make another fried egg for you."
I said nothing and gently took the plate.
I did an inward sigh of relief, glad he had believed the lie I told.
It's better than telling him he had swung on me last night and missed ...
For the next two days, I stayed home. I dared not leave the apartment at all. I didn’t even go to the beach.
I mostly stayed in bed, thinking long and hard.
My mind constantly thought back to the creature I saw. He appeared in my mind so much, I drew him on a sketchpad to the best of my memory.
He seemed indeed like a mermaid. But except for a fishy bright tail part, it was instead a terrifying long black eels tail.
Yet… it saved me. Why?
My mind remembered seeing Little Buddy when drowning. Did Little Buddy have a way of communicating with the creature? I figured so since they were both eels after all.
On the third day, I dared to go out to the beach again. This time I didn’t go under the pier but on the pier itself. Today, the weather was actually a little warm. I dared to wear a dull gray crop top and black leggings. I wore my sneakers since my slip ons had been lost in the ocean. Luckily my father hadn't noticed my missing shoes and had said nothing yet.
Arriving at the pier, I saw Officer Dean all by himself. Upon seeing me, he waved me over.
He wore his usual black hat with Pier Police on white letters. On his face, he had his black shades on.
It came as a surprise to me that he was waving me over.
I looked at him puzzled but obeyed.
“I need to ask you again where you found the wallets.” Officer Dean said.
“I already told you. I found them under the pier.”
“All of them?” he asked.
I nodded. “Offer Dean, do you not believe me?” I asked, feeling more puzzled.
“No, Cadence, I believe you. Its just….” He started but stopped. He looked around and pulled me closer to the entrance and to him. “Those wallets that you found... they all belong to missing people.”
I looked at him surprised. I couldn't find any words to say.
"They're reopening cases of missing people because you found their wallets. Apparently some of these people have been missing for over 15 years." he said to me.
I finally had the words in my mouth. "Why were they all found under the pier? Do they think these people drowned or something?" I asked.
"We don't know anything yet. Just that you found their wallets."