The Fighter (Book 1)

Chapter 2

I gave Zack the directions to one of my favorite beaches, folding my hands together in my lap and toying with the two, tight bracelets on my wrist: one a seashell and the other a treble clef. How fitting, right?

When we pulled up, the boys didn’t hesitate to rush out of the car, leaving me breathing heavily in the passenger seat. Whatever I was about to do, I sure as hell wasn’t ready for it, but I climbed out of the car anyway. I pulled off my floral T-shirt, leaving my in a black tank top which I was thankful to have put on this morning.

I threw my shirt at Zack, mumbling softly, “Hold this.”

Zack folded the shirt perfectly, flattening out any creases, and laying it in his lap after he sat down on a nearby picnic table. Taylor joined his side, and I stripped off my black sneakers and low socks, setting them on the table between the two.

“Are you two not coming?” I asked, figuring they wouldn’t with the whole wing thing. Sure enough, Taylor pointed over his shoulder as he rested his elbow on his knee and his chin in his palm. Somehow he looked both bored and excited at the same time, and I thought that was when he truly looked like an angel.

“I’ll go,” Zack shrugged, rolling up my folded shirt and tucking it in one of my shoes.

“Dang it,” Taylor mumbled, prying off his tennis shoes. “I’m only going knee-deep though.”

“Wimp,” Zack faked a cough, pulling his shirt over his head and leaving him in a black tank. I frowned, pondering whether he was self-conscious or not.

“Well, we all can’t be gifted with the demonic empowerment you were, now can we?” Taylor kicked his foot at the sand. “Wait,” he stopped. “We’re the exception. Just forget what I said.”

“Lead the way, sweetheart,” Zack held out an arm. I’d need a crutch probably while I got used to being submerged in water again. I looped my arm through Zack’s, finding his skin to be much warmer than mine. “You’re freaked out about the heat,” he laughed quietly. “It’s a demon thing. No biggie.”

Waves rolled over my feet, washing off skin cells and replacing them with scales of navy blue and royal purple. Scale color depended on age, and I had mostly blue scales since I was mostly sixteen with a long time until turning seventeen.

“Aren’t your clothes gonna be wet when we get out?” Zack asked quietly, and I saw him blush out of the corner of my eye as I looked out over the blue and green majesties that for so long were my home.

“Yep,” I looked up at Zack and he turned full-scarlet. “Catch me if I fall, ‘kay?”

“Without a doubt,” he looked up. “You were talking about the water.”

“Sure,” I trudged through the water with Zack at my side, ready to keep me balanced if things were to go awry. By the time the water had reached my knees, my scales started stitching themselves together. I never understood the slightest bit how any part of being a mermaid worked, but I could easily pretend I knew.

“Come here,” Zack scooped me out of the water since I couldn’t exactly walk anymore. “Problem solved,” he grinned, walking effortlessly through the ever deepening water. Taylor started complaining once he got knee-deep because his wings were too long. I wiggled my toes, holding on tightly to Zack’s torso.

He trudged out as far as he possibly could without the weight of his water-laden wings drowning him, placing me into the water with great care. Scales stitched together up my legs, leaving me to feel exposed. I pulled my hair forward over my shoulders, trying not to blush.

 “Do your thing, kelp-for-brains,” he grinned. That didn’t make it easier. “You know, I’ve never actually seen a mermaid swim before,” he said with a crease between his eyebrows.