The Ocean In His Eyes

Chapter 15

--- Raiden's POV ---

Rob swept the floor, and Kayla refilled the flower vases with fresh water. Dad came downstairs, wearing his best tie.

"Everyone ready?" Rob clapped his hands. Out of all of us, he was the most excited for this dinner. I was mostly nervous, but Mom and Kayla were calm and composed. Dad was almost as nervous as me, he was just hiding it behind a serious face.

The doorbell rang, and we all froze. Dad cleared his throat and stepped forward to open the door.

"Hello, you must be Aither." I winced at his grim tone.

"H-hello, sir." Dad stepped aside so Aither could come in. He shuffled inside, his light coat paired with a scarf.

"I brought chocolate. Thank you for having me." He handed my father a box of Ghirardelli. I sent him a wide grin, and he smiled back anxiously.

Dad patted him on the shoulder, and Mom came out of the kitchen, carrying the chicken. "Are you ready to eat?"

A couple minutes later, we were all seated around the dinning room table. Rob had a pile of food on his plate and was eating heartily. "You did a great job, Mom!"

Aither agreed, and I held his hand underneath the tablecloth, squeezing it encouragingly.

Mom smiled and thanked him, patting her mouth daintily.

"So, let's address the elephant in the room." She rested her hands on her lap.

Aither gulped.

"You know about our secret, yes? That we're mermaids?" Aither's eyes widened.

"Uh, yes, ma'am. I found out after accidentally staying after school."

I sweated when Dad shot me a look.

"Let me tell you the truth. This dinner is to see if you are worthy of knowing our secret. And worthy of my son's love." Aither paled but looked resolute.

"Okay. Do I have to take a test or something?"

"No. Just relax and enjoy the dinner." She smiled at him warmly.

"Okay." He looked at me from the corner of his eyes. I took another bite of chicken.

"Have you guys kissed yet?" I choked. Aither patted my back.

"Yes." He said it firmly, but when I looked at him his face was red.

"Kayla! That's not something to ask our guest," Mom said, but when I finally stopped choking, I saw her shoot Kayla a wink. So that's what they're doing.

They did something exactly like this to Rob's ex-girlfriend. The old good cop, bad cop routine. The bad cop fit Kayla's personality perfectly. Suffice to say, Rob broke up with her soon after.

"Sorry, Aither. But I just want to make sure that we can trust you." Kayla shrugged.

"You can. I haven't told anyone, not even my best friend."

"Cross your heart?"

"Cross my heart."

This whole time, Dad was silently eating his casserole. Suddenly, he stood up. "Come with me, Aither."

Aither stood up from the table, excusing himself. Dad walked over to the basement door, and opened it wide. The stairs descended into darkness. I stood up as well, planning to follow them, but Dad shook his head.

He flicked on the light switch, and let Aither go down first. He followed, not looking back.

I fisted my hands. I had no idea what Dad was planning, and I was afraid for Aither. I couldn't sit still, legs bouncing. Kayla kicked me in the shin, scowling.

I glared at her and sullenly took another bite of chicken.

"...What do you think about Aither?" I didn't look at them.

"He's cute," Kayla said. "Reminds me of a parakeet."

"A parakeet?" She must have finally gone crazy.

"He's a nice boy, and he cares a lot about you. And I can see that you love him too." Mom chuckled.

We talked casually for a couple minutes, and Aither still didn't come out of the basement. Dad came up, but he wouldn't tell me what happened with Aither.

"I'm going after him." I pushed back my chair.

"Raiden, he's fine. What danger could he get into? As long as he can swim, he's fine," Dad said.

Swim?

I gritted my teeth but stayed in my seat. We finished eating, but Aither still hadn't come out. Rob volunteered to help me with the dishes, and right when I was drying the last one, I heard a small sound from the basement. Mom and Dad were talking quietly in the hallway, and Kayla was watching TV, so I snuck over to the door and opened it a little.

Aither was laying still in a puddle of water at the bottom of the stairs. He was naked except for his boxers, but I didn't think about that.

I sucked in a breath, and quickly hurried down. I shook him slightly but he didn't respond.

I pressed my ear to his chest, and was relieved to hear his heartbeat and slow breath. I hefted him onto my back, and climbed up the stairs.

"Dad! Come here!" He came around the corner. His eyes narrowed when he saw Aither's limp body. He helped me carry him to the couch. "What's wrong with him? I saw him at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious."

Dad checked his torso, tilting his head from side to side. He pointed out a purple-ish blotch on his forearm.

"It looks like he was stung by one of the fish."

"Was it Foofie?" Kayla named her. "She gets startled easily."

"Uh-huh. Go get the antidote." I scampered into the kitchen and grabbed the jar from a lower cabinet and a popsicle stick. I slid into the living room, and quickly twisted the lid off the jar.

The strong smell made me gag. I scooped a bit a of the pink paste and lifted Aither's head up. I put the popsicle stick in his mouth, and clamped it closed.

Waiting a couple seconds so the paste could dissolve, I felt sweat trickle down my back.

Dad held up Aither's arm, and I sighed in relief as the ugly blotch faded, until disappearing into his skin entirely.

Opening his mouth, I took out the popsicle stick and screwed the lid back onto the jar. I noticed that one of Aither's hands was clenched into a fist.

I pried it open, and a diamond ring laid in the middle of his palm. I lifted it up, it glittered in the light. It's beautiful...

"That's why he was in the pool." Dad said quietly. "I told him that he needed to retrieve that ring from the bottom of the pool."

I stared at Aither's face, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes. The pool was built to be like a lake. It went down to 35 feet in some parts. Which I don't think is legal...

He coughed, and I lifted him to a sitting position. "Raiden?"

"Are you okay?" His hazel eyes looked into mine.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He laughed. "This reminds me of when you saved me in the pool."

"I wouldn't have to save you if you stopped getting in trouble." I kissed him gently.

"Sorry. I had to get the ring for you." He looked at his hands, biting his lip.

"You're more important than me to some dumb ring." I hugged him.

"Raiden. Come over here." I flinched, and stood up slowly. I ruffled Aither's hair, and walked over to Dad.

"We've decided." I couldn't read his expression. I held my breath, and crossed my fingers.