My Weird Secret Life

Chapter 23: The Truth Spills Out

      Kai soon slowly decreased his speed until it became almost nothing more than a push of the tail. "What are you doing? I was having fun," Kai turned around and saw me stick my lower lip out making me pout. He chuckled,"That's adorable, but I wanted to ask you something." I slid off his back and swam beside him, then nodded and braced myself for the worst. I had a bad feeling about this.
"Is it your first time being a mermaid or have you been lied to?" I just stared with wide eyes and acted like I hadn't just failed the mission my aunt had sent me on to possibly save her life. "What do you mean?" My voice came out higher then usual and Kai shook his head," Come on, tell me." I looked down once again, there was no point in lying,"How did you find out?" "There's no such thing as floaticity," Kai said smiling at his non-funny joke. "When I said that I meant it as a joke. And when you seemed confused for a second I thought you were from around here, but you aren't. Are you?" I felt like I was about to cry for like the hundredth time that week! I looked down, biting my lip as usual, and started fiddling with my fingers. "Don't worry your secret is safe with me. I promise." I collapsed into Kai hugging him and crying at the same time,"It's all my fault, Kai. It's all my fault." Kai pulled me away from him even though I wanted to feel someone's embrace and he wasn't exactly being the most reassuring at the moment. "It's alright. Though I do need more context." I hugged him again, though he didn't hug me back. It was partially comforting.
"I'm also the princess," I muttered. Kai pulled me away again. Man, when I confess, I confess hard. "What?" he asked. I closed my eyes not wanting to see Kai's reaction when I repeated my statement. "I'm also the princess," I said a lot more loudly. I peeked through one eye and Kai floated there, smiling. Not the reaction I expected, but . . . ok. "You aren't scared? Or surprised?" I questioned. Kai burst into laughter. I frowned, this wasn't funny. So I told him that,"This isn't funny! I really am." He rolled his eyes,"No point lying to me. I can see the truth." I crossed my arms,"Liar." "Am not." "Are so!" Kai started swimming away,"You're demented and delusional." I took offense and punched his arm. "Hey!" He said vigorously rubbing his arm trying to erase the pain and the bruise that was sure to follow. I stuck out my tongue,"I'm not kidding, I've actually never been more serious." Kai smiled again,"Don't think I knew that?" He asked, I frowned. "How did you know?" Kai looked ready to burst into laughter again but glanced down at my fists and changed his mind,"I almost didn't recognize you, but besides for the color of your tail and hair, spitting image of your mom. Attitude of your dad." I sighed, I was that much of a problem? I couldn't go unnoticed anywhere I go, can I? "I should have told you, I'm sorry. If we are friends can we stay that way?" Kai did a small smile, I could feel it.
Then I could feel something else, something stirring in me that Kai had said. I racked my brain for what was bothering me. As I was about to give up, his words pieced together and they rang clear in my head. "Spitting image of your mom, attitude of your dad."
I jerked away wide eyed. "What did you say?" He opened then closed his mouth,"We're almost at our destination." He turned around and pointed across to a dark purple home embedded in a huge rock that could possibly be part of an island cliff. "What did you say, Kai?" I said not really giving him an option. He didn't look at me,"We're almost at our destination. Want me to do some flips with you on my back again?" I glared,"This isn't over. And no, I prefer to carry myself." "Not everything is for you to know, Zayana." My hair flared up with anger, but I ignored it. "It is if I have a feeling it's about me, or my parents!" I said, my voice raising,"You're keeping things from me and there is a distinctness between personal and a subject about other people entirely." I stabbed a finger in Kai's chest,"Learn the difference." Kai looked down at me seething with fury. His eyebrows furrowed together and his lips tightened into a thin line.
Had I taken it too far? Sigh. Classic Zayana, always messing things up with my big mouth. I spoke up when unnecessary sometimes and it had cost a few friendships. Una and Luna were the only ones who really understood my insecurities and my fast-pitched anger to anyone who tested me.
Kai whipped away from me angrily. I fiddled with my fingers. Neither of us said a word. Then Kai appeared as if he was about to say something but he shut his mouth quickly. I swam beside him having nothing to say either.
Time slowed and neither of us woohooed or laughed and Kai swam slower than previous happier moments. I knew I should've been relieved to have someone I could trust to talk about all of this crazy stuff and I was, but Kai wasn't telling me something and that made me not want to trust him. "You're not telling me something." I finally managed,"Why?" Kai didn't answer all he did was grit his teeth, annoyed. But it didn't seem like he was mad at me, it was more like he felt bad because he couldn't tell me something, something like super secret. Or maybe, I just wasn't trustworthy like how I didn't tell him I'd been a human my whole life. "Fine, don't tell me, but this is exactly why I nev-" Kai cut me off,"We're here." I glowered at Kai, crossing my arms and muttering to myself about floaticity.
We swam inside the dark purple house and my first impression of it was: it was musty. You could smell the mustiness. You could also tell it was old and it had formerly been a home to a family. Pictures that hung on the wall tilted, a coffee table had questionable stains, and somehow the place was dusty. On the floor there was a dirty, ripped stuffed animal in the shape of a clam that had probably belonged to the little girl in the picture with the nice looking family. The picture was in a frame lying flat on a coffee table. A little girl about 3 years old with big, blue eyes smiled and wiped her frizzy orange hair out of her eyes. She held the clam that lied on the floor. A little boy maybe eight with purple hair like the house and the same big smile and eyes sat beside the girl. The mom had identical wavy, purple hair to the boy as the dad did the orange hair like the little girl. I smiled and then frowned thinking of how the children that must have lived here suffered.
I swam over to the couch where Kai was and sat down,"Who are you kids?!" I screamed and grabbed Kai's arm, raising my hand to blast whoever it was. Kai put both of his hands up too and got ready for . . . an old woman? The woman had dark purple hair and empty white eyes. She looked mad or surprised like she hadn't expected visitors, like she hadn't had any in a long time. Looking at the house I could see why. I slowly lowered my hands and tilted my head,"What? What are you talking about?" The woman swam forward,"I'm Kelpiana, but as the kids say, Old Woman Kelpiana. Nasty kids don't know what they're talking about. I'm not old, just," the woman looked for the right word and smiled deciding on,"aged." I swallowed and swiftly yanked my hands away from Kai's arm. "I'm Zayana, my friend who thinks I'm untrustworthy here," I gestured toward Kai who was looking out the window whistling like he didn't know what I was talking about,"is Kai and he said you could answer some of my questions. I had a few about-" The woman named Kelpiana put her hand up,"I know you want to know about the Witch and some other things too," she very subtly gestured toward Kai and I clenched my fists. Embarrassed, but also mad. I didn't want to talk about Kai, I wanted to talk about what he knew. About what he was holding back. I just stared,"How did - but I didn't - what -" "Are you going to come inside my room or just stand there and mumble like a mental?" I shut my mouth and swam inside a tiny room like the kind of room that a . . . oh! She's a fortune teller! She can tell and see the future! That makes so much more sense. Well kind of, there are real fortune tellers all of a sudden?