Swim Away (Mermaid)

Chapter Thirteen

"What do they want?"

"I have no idea."

I turned over, waking up from a dreamless sleep. I barely heard those words in the state I was in. I started rubbing my eyes and turned over again.

Two seconds later, I met with the ground. Oof.

It suddenly got quiet, and I could feel his eyes on me. Who was Noah talking to? When I looked over at the kitchen, Noah had his eyes right at me.

"Morning," he said. I nodded toward him as I got up. I didn't care that he was here at the moment. I just wanted to go to my room and take a nice long shower.

"Good morning, Lara," my dad said. I waved at him and began my way up the stairs.

I entered my bathroom and undressed. I turned on the water, stepping in. The water met with my skin.

A few seconds later, I began to feel that numb feeling. Before I could process that a tail was going to pop, I already fell over.

I admit, I actually forgot I was a mermaid. Could you blame me? I was half asleep.

Honestly, I was not used to it. I wanted to believe that it was all a dream. I wished this wasn't my reality, but here I was, a mermaid. Hopefully I would be able to adjust to what has become of me.

Sometimes I wanted to wake up and find out that Noah wasn't really in my life.

"Lara, are you okay?" My dad asked, while knocking on the door.

When I didn't answer right away, he began to shake the door knob. He asked again, his voice shaky this time.

I tried to move to a comfortable position, but I was stuck laying on my stomach.

"I'm fine!" I shouted, while I struggled to move. But I wasn't getting far, so I gave up. I put my head down on my arms.

Eventually, I managed to take a bath. It was actually relaxing, but I still hated that I had a tail. I kept staring at it, willing it to go away, but it stayed put. How do I even clean myself if I turn into a mermaid every time I touch water? Were mermaids naturally clean?

I narrowed my eyes at my tail.

When I finished, I walked out to my room, wrapped myself in a towel, and tried to find an outfit. I grabbed one of my summer dresses and threw it on.

I walked back downstairs to see that Noah and my dad were still talking to each other. It was like they've known each other for years, it was creepy.

When I got all the way down, they began to whisper. What were they talking about that I wasn't allowed to hear? Was it about me? Of course it had to be about me if they were staying quiet when I was around.

Since they didn't want me here, I went straight out without a second thought. I slammed the door. I dragged myself on the sand until I reached the street. I continued to walk with no destination in mind.

I stopped when I saw the yogurt place and decided to walk in. It was crowded like usual. When wasn't it filled with people? I felt uncomfortable when there were a lot of people in one place. There were a few other places that most people in this town hung out at. I avoided the others because it was way worse than here. Plus I loved frozen yogurt.

I grabbed a cup and started filling my favorite flavors. I paid the cashier then sat down at the corner by myself. I watched everyone while I was eating. This time, not only did I feel left out, I felt like I wasn't even part of their world. I didn't belong here when I was human and now as a mermaid.