Deep Water | Neteyam

10.

Neteyam pov

"Neteyam!" I felt how he grabbed my arm, stopping me from moving any further.

"What, Khalo? What?" I turned around, pushing his hand off. "What do you expect me to do? I told you that I know what my duty in this family is. From the beginning on, there was no point in our story, or what ever this is" I said, pointing in between us. "Where you didn't know what I would do for my siblings." I finished.

"But you knew that he was the chiefs' son. You knew in what trouble it would get me in. And you could've helped your brother without punching mine!"

"Lo'ak is my brother. All my parents expect from me is keeping him save!"

"But this isn't about Lo'ak or your parents! It's about us!"

"Why all of a sudden it's about us? You know what my life looked like! So start acting like you should!"

"Oh, I should just accept that you can ruin my family?"

"Excuse me?"

"All you do is-" He paused shortly, taking a breath. "All you do is talk about how you must protect your brother and what your parents expect from you. You don't give a shit what you do to mine! Punching my brother, getting him in trouble. Taking me to a place where I fall asleep, forgetting the time, getting me in trouble."

I said nothing. I looked at him. Searching for a little bit of the Khalo I knew a few hours ago.

Who didn't blame me for things we did together.

"Are you seriously blaming me for the things we messed up."

"Not we, you! I didn't have anything to do with that fight."

So now we are talking about the fight again.

"Right, I'm sorry Khalo. Of course it was my fault." I said ironically.

"See! All you do is think about what's good for you!" He had tears in his eyes.

I once again stood in silence. I didn't want to see him cry.

"Since you and your family came, everything's messed up!"

I said nothing.

"When you weren't here, when Lo'ak wasn't here, everything was right! Now that you're here, we all have to fear being

attacked by the sky people." The tears left his eyes, running down his cheek.

I looked how it fell. From up his cheeks, the way down to the ground.

Like we were right now.

"I wish you never come here! Maybe Ao'nung was right, you-"

I stopped listening. Because I didn't want to hear what he would say next, but also because Ao'nung came over to us.

"Uh guys." Khalo looked at him, whipping his tears away.

"We took Lo'ak out with us for hunting."

Lo'ak. That was all I needed to hear to forget about Khalo. Or at least pushing him out of my thoughts.

"And we left him, as a joke of course, we expected him to be back by now but.." Ao'nung continued, looking ashamed at the ground.

"Where's Lo'ak?" I asked in panic.

"He hasn't returned yet, he's somewhere out the reef."

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!