Restless Waves

Chapter 31

Rowan watched Kaerius from his window. He waited until the Thalassic Mortal returned to the sea before packing his bag and going downstairs for breakfast. He was surprised to see his mother sitting at the breakfast table with a big plate of toast, untouched.

"Rowan," she said and connected her fingers. "Join me at the table, or I'll lock you in the house until you do."

Rowan clenched his jaw to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He sat down and stared at her carefully. She hadn't seen Kaerius, which meant that she wasn't sleep deprived. Rowan wondered why some people saw him and not others.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"To have breakfast with my son. Is that too much to ask of you?"

Rowan didn't break the eye contact, trying to melt the icicles staring back. "You want to talk about what's wrong with me, so I'll tell you." He picked at the toast. "I almost died. I thought I was going to die, so excuse me for wanting to go away by myself for a bit. How can you not understand that? What I went through was traumatic. Did it occur to you that maybe I'm not bouncing back like you do?"

Mandy listened, and to Rowan's surprise, her frown loosened. "You can drop the attitude," she said, and Rowan reflected on his words. He was quite snappy that morning. "And yes, it has occurred to me that you're struggling. Making friends with Thalassic Mortals proves that you're not coping well. They're dangerous. You can't trust a word they say."

Rowan swallowed the toast, and his throat was too dry. "I know that," he said quietly, thinking about how stupid he was to trust Kaerius.

"Can you make a promise to me that you won't go near them again, not without me there?" she asked, leaning over the table to rest a hand on his arm.

"I'm not going on another hunt with you."

"I wasn't implying that."

Rowan stared at her. It was physically impossible for him to stay away from Kaerius, but he was going to try his damn hardest. "I have to go, I'll be late-"

"Rowan," Mandy said. Her voice was soft, but her eyes were still sharp and alert. "Trust me when I say this-

"I have to go." Rowan pulled away, and his eyes left hers. He didn't look at her again because he didn't want her to see his tears. Rowan didn't trust her, he didn't trust anyone, not even his father, not anymore. When Rowan left the house, he kept thinking about how it was possible to feel so alone in a world so full.

A person's mind was the loneliest place of all, yet quietly muttering in the depth of Rowan's thoughts was Kaerius's voice, keeping Rowan a stitch away from falling apart.

* * * * *

"Rowan Solar. Nice of you to join us," the tutor said when he walked through the door. Nobody else heard, and she had said it quietly to not embarrass him, but Rowan still turned a little red.

"Sorry. I had a bit of a... family related emergency and illness," he said, scratching the back of his head. She was a short woman, making Rowan look like a giant.

"That's alright, but in future, please email when you won't be attending."

Rowan nodded and turned to find a seat. The only available space was next to a guy who did not look happy to see him. "Jack," Rowan said, slowly sitting next to the guy who was in his group project.

Jack pushed his glasses up his nose and crossed his arms, successfully ignoring Rowan's existence.

"Um, you said you'd message me on Facebook to arrange meetups. I didn't get a message," Rowan said and pulled out a notebook. He had so much to catch up on.