Dakota just transferred to a small town in Ireland after finally sprouting gills senior year. Dakota thought they were in the clear but sprouting gills might seal their fate to the ocean wrecking everything they worked for on land. 1/4 Selkie, 1/4 M...
Laughter spilled from the open window as I stepped onto the patio. Some tension eased away at the sound of Emory's laugh. She must've been feeling better. See, she just needed space.
Mom and Emory sat in the kitchen with a pot of tea and two cups between them. Mom even made her little tea cucumber sandwiches and the second Emory's eyes hit mine, her smile shrank.
"Dakota." Mom beamed at me and offered me a sandwich. "Come join us." I glanced at Emory as I took a seat and accepted mom's offering.
"How's it going?" I direct my question to mom and just hope Emory will answer after her. Mom just waved her hand.
"How was the party last night?" she asked. "My little kid, all grown up." She stares at me, eyes softening around the edges. A hint of mocking in her tone, but the truth in her eyes.
"Guess you get to see all your hard work into fruition, huh?" I bit into the refreshing sandwich and chanced a look at Emory but, again, the second she met my eyes she dropped hers.
"I'll be back." She pushed away from the table, abandoning her tea and the rest of her sandwich. "I've gotta go... call... someone."
"Tell your mom I said hi." Mom called after her, but Emory was a crap liar and she barely bothered trying at all. Mom stared at me for a few seconds. "What happened?"
I shook my head.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I shook my head again and nibbled at the crust of my sandwich, the onion chive cream cheese the only good thing about that moment.
"I'm here if you want to talk." She reached over and patted my hand. "But I'm not going to try to drag it out of you."
"Thanks." I took a sip of her tea and rested my head on the table. Maybe she just doesn't want to be stuck with me anymore. A cramp dug at my thighs and ribs. It couldn't be time to submerge again. I had barely been out for an hour.
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Mom and dad went out for groceries, mom wanted to make a big dinner for all of us, including Bay's dad, Bay, Sean, me, Emory, and if I had anyone else, I wanted to invite I could. Honestly, that was the largest group of people I had ever had to invite over. I sat on the couch and flipped through my phone, barely paying attention to what was on the screen. Staring at the staircase was getting stale, and the cramp dug at my ribs and twisted my thigh muscles. I changed my mind.
I could not be patient.
I walked up the steps and knocked lightly on the door. "Emory," I called.
"I've got a headache." She called back.
"I'm coming in." I pushed open the door and found Emory sitting on the floor, her back pressed against the bed and her knees drawn to her chest.
