The Golden Mermaid

By carolinegraced

1.3K 21 12

When Sydney survived an accident she definitely should have drowned in she knew something was fishy, but she... More

𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅
𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆
𝒐𝒏𝒆
𝒕𝒘𝒐
𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆
𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓
𝒔𝒊𝒙
𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏
𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕
𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆
𝒕𝒆𝒏

𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆

77 1 0
By carolinegraced

"Look, I can't just let you sit around and waste my summer away. It's been long enough for you to heal. Now we gotta get back to the party."

I laugh, "Your summer?"

Claire's voice rings through my phone again. "Yes, my summer. I'm going to college in the fall. I need as much time with you as possible before then."

"True, very true." I say through a spoonful of cereal. The rising sun shines through the kitchen window, and I can already tell that it's going to be a hot day.

"So, I'm coming to pick you up in less than 10 minutes. We are going to stroll and shop and have a blast, okay? You can't argue. This is happening no matter what you say."

"Okay, well I guess I'm not allowed to argue." But I wouldn't anyway. I need this really, something to get my mind off everything.

In a whopping eighteen minutes—late per usual, Claire's mustang pulls into the driveway. The two of us walk down the boardwalk, walking into gift shops just to window shop. It's great, being able to forget about all the craziness of my life and just be normal with my best friend.

When both of our stomachs start aching with hunger, we decide to get lunch at Vixi's, the hotspot for locals. "Hey, look it's JW and Kyle." Claire says as we survey the little restaurant. She points and my eyes land on JW, his bright smile calling us over.

When we sit Claire and JW start off in their own little world, leaving me and Kyle sitting awkwardly trying to spark a friendly conversation. Kyle is one of JW's friends and Claire has tried many times to hook us up, but it never worked. Now, it's just awkward around him.

After lunch, JW suggest taking Claire riding on his new boat—just the two of them. Kyle leaves, having taken JW here in his car, to meet up with some more friends.

JW and Claire get up to leave, JW paying everyone's bill beforehand. Claire looks me over before we walk out the diner. "I can take you home before we go." She suggest, but I shake my head.

"No, really. I'm fine. It's only a 20 minute walk. It'll be good for me, I promise."

"You sure? I can totally—"

"I'm good. Go have fun." With that, we say our good byes and I'm off. As my feet trek against the sidewalk, dodging bicycles and tourist, my mind drifts back to the events of the weekend. It's still hard to believe, but I know it's true. I try to push down my memories, though. I pull out my headphones and slowly calm as music drifts into my ears.

"Hey, Syd!" Ollie waves at me from literally the middle of the road, a huge smile plastered on his face. He pulls his gray-blue car to the side, sticking his arm out the window coolly. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, God no." Ruby's voice mutters from the passenger side.

Ruby's curls hide her face, but Ollie smiles at me quirkily. I can't help but smile back at the cute little gap between his front teeth. "I'm about to take Ruby to the sea glass beach. I don't know if you'd want to come, but..."

A dog barks in the backseat. I recognize the brown and white mutt, but can't place a name. "Shush, pup!" Ruby says to the back seat. It's the first time I'd ever heard her sound remotely nice.

I smile back into the car. Why not? I think to myself. It's fine if I just walk on the sand—no water. I need to get out, it's not healthy being locked in that little house all the time. I argue with myself for a few more seconds before nodding at him. "Sure, I'll come."

Ollie's smile gets bigger, his black eyes creasing at the corners. "Oh, okay. Great. Um," he unlocks the back door and I open it a crack, shoving the dog away as it licks at my face. "Brutus, stop!" He yells at the dog, pulling it by its collar. "His breath stinks. Just slap his nose and he'll stop. I didn't want to bring him, but Mama kept on and on about how—"

"It's fine, really. He's okay." Brutus continues to lick at my face, his too-big paws digging in my thighs. I try to wiggle away from him, pushing at his fur, but he persist.

Ruby stares at me, amused. "You know," she says, a small smile crawling up her lips, "if you'd just pet him he'd stop. You got a problem with dogs?"

"No," I grunt. "I've never had one."

She turns back to face the road, but continues to speak. "Seems like you got a problem with dogs to me."

The car ride consist of Brutus's continuous licking and Ruby belting out just about every song on the radio. Ollie and I barely get a word in. He only ask me (very awkwardly) how my dad is doing.

"Fine, I guess." I reply, still trying to shove Brutus off.

His charcoal eyes glance at me through the mirror. "Is he still the dog catcher man?" He says, something we'd always called my dad when we were younger.

"Yes," I answer. "Or at least part-time. He works at the aquarium now, too."

Ruby holds up her hand, chewed fingernails covered in chipping black paint. "Hold up a minute." She turns back to look at me, pulling her big hair out of hazel eyes. "Your dad is a dog catcher? No wonder you don't like dogs. Your dad kills them."

"My dad doesn't—"

Ruby's voice chimes over my own, "What is your mom? A vet? She's fixes all your dad's mistakes?"

"No," I reply, my mouth filling with bile at the awkward situation.

"Rue—"

She continues even after Ollie's protest, "Well then what is she?"

A mermaid, I think to myself. I hadn't given my encounter with my mom—however it happened, much thought. I'd shoved it in the back of my mind, but now it was all rising to the surface.

"Simple question," Ruby shrugs and turns back around, unbothered. My cheeks are red with rage and embarrassment. I look out the window, watching as the trees turn into cattails and the cattails into sand dunes.

After about five minutes of silence (other than Brutus's licking and whimpering), Ollie finally speaks. "We're here," he pulls into a gravel drive. A huge sign sits to the right: LOTTSBURG COUNTY'S FAMOUS SEA GLASS BEACH. Underneath it swirly writing it says, LOOK, DON'T TOUCH.

"You aren't allowed to take any? What's the point, then?" Ruby unbuckles herself. Only four cars sit in the parking lot, unusual because this is a tourist hot spot.

Ollie steps out and opens the door opposite of me. Brutus rushes out and jumps all over him, wagging his nubby tail. Ollie kicks the dog down, ruffling his hair. "To look, Rue. Just look."

"That's stupid."

We make our way to the beach. Rays of heat burn through my clothes and onto my skin. I dig in my bag for sun lotion, smearing it over my nose and cheeks. I rub it on the back of my neck. I noticing Ollie staring and smile, handing it to him. "You want some?"

"No. I don't burn." He says. "I crisp."

I laugh, looking at his slightly browned skin and then at my own, freckles dotting my pale arms. "Yeah, sunscreen is my best friend. It's not so easy being a ginger." We both laugh and it's silent for a minute. "Your mom is Native American, right?"

"Yeah. She moved off the reserve when she married Dad. My grandmother is still there, though. We visit a lot." He explains.

"So, Ruby's part Native, too?" I question. She'd trudged ahead of his, her black hair crowning her face. Her skin is much darker than Ollie's, and her hair curly instead of straight. I'm guessing she has African American in her too.

"No, her mom was my dad's sister. I've never met her dad. He left before she was born."

"Oh, okay."

The beach is littered with glass—in a good way, not bad. Thousands of colors glint in the sun. Blue, green, clear, brown, and even red pieces cover the sand like a blanket. Ruby kicks off her worn flip flops, amazed at the sight.

"I suggest you keep on your shoes. Some of it might not be fully worn. It could cut." Ollie says and Ruby shoves her shoes back on her feet moodily.

"Okay, Dad." She says sarcastically, looking down at the glass as she trudges along the shore. "This is actually kinda cool." Her voice is quiet but I still hear it. Ollie looks at me and smiles triumphantly and I can't help but think he does kind of act like a father figure for her.

After a few moments of silent walking, Ollie huffs. "Do you have a hair tie? I can't see through this stuff."

I start digging through my bag, "I might. I don't really use them anymore."

All attention goes to my hair. It barely makes its way past my ears, even after months of growing. Ollie laughs, "I see that. Why did you cut it all off, anyway?"

I smile, readying myself to tell the story. "A few months ago Claire—you know, my friend who's quite the character?" He nods. "Well, she was taking cosmetology and she wanted to practice on me, so I let her dye my hair black." I snort a laugh. "And it turned out green, so I just shaved it all off." I run my finger through it, the short bangs falling into my face. It'd finally begun to curl back up, regaining its texture. "Oh, right. Hair tie." I start digging in the bag again, having completely forgotten. After a few minutes I come up with one and hand it to him. He pulls his dark hair into a bun.

"Ew, man bun alert!" Ruby yells, coming up from behind and yanking at his hair. "Liver, that is so unstylish." The statement reminds me of Claire and I laugh.

Ollie rolls his eyes and pulls the bun tighter. "Whatever. Hey, look. There's some over here." He walks closer to the water and I stay behind warily. Ruby follows, skipping. "You coming?" He says and I follow, moving briskly and keeping my eyes on the water.

What if there's a wave? What if it pulls me in? I push these thoughts to the back of my mind and close my eyes, trying to calm myself.

Ollie looks around worriedly, remembering something. "Hey, where's Brutus?"

I look only to find the dog barreling at me, tongue hanging out of its mouth and spit flying. My life flashes before my eyes and I think, "Yes, Ruby, I am scared of dogs. Dogs are terrifying." Just before he hits me. I go flying back, not even fully grasping whats happening before I'm falling into the water in slow motion. But something happens right before I make impact. As if I'd willed it to the water rushes back, forming a half circle around me. I watch in amazement before getting up and stepping away completely dry.

"Oh my God, Sydney! Are you okay? Bad boy, Brutus! Bad!" The dog grunts as Ollie knees his chest. Ollie wraps an arm around me protectively.

"Hey, why'd you do that, Ollie?" Ruby tugs the dog away, patting him on the head and cooing at him. "I'm sorry, BB. He's a rude boy, isn't he? You were just excited..." Brutus replies with a wag of his tail and a lick on her face. Ruby smiles, "Oh, good boy."

I look back at the water, which is now completely normal and unbothered. "I'm okay." I reply.

On the drive back Ruby screams to a rock song, and when she gets bored of that she switches to a country station and sings every lyric of each and every cowboy love song.

"Do you want to eat dinner with us?" Ollie suggest and I politely decline.

"I need to be home when Dad gets home. He doesn't want me staying out late." I leave out the part where he told me that hanging out with friends was probably a bad idea, with me being part mermaid and all.

"Okay, maybe next time."

He drops me off at the yellow house, saying goodbye and promising to text me later. I tell Ruby goodbye, to which she ignores. I wave one last time at the grey-blue car as it pulls out of my little neighborhood.

Continue Reading

You'll Also Like

6.3M 195K 31
Do you know what mermaids love? The open water, swimming with their fish friends, laughing all day long.... You know what they hate? Being caught. Es...
2.2K 316 103
Are mermaids real? This is the question that 16 year old Mila keeps asking herself. It's something she never thought about... that is until she visi...
459 23 22
Britta Merritt has never been normal. Raised in a foster home for as long as she can remember, fitting in was never easy for her. But being an orphan...