The Golden Mermaid

𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆

"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."