Crossing the Water

Chapter 10

Mal sighed as she looked over at Jay. Jay tilted his head slightly, as if asking Mal if they should tell them. Mal shrugged softly in return. There really was no point in keeping it from Evie or Carlos.

Carlos had been under the crew's protection back when Mal and Jay had been with Uma and Harry, and really Evie should know too considering the number of times they had pelted her with smoke bombs.

Though to be fair, Evie probably blocked that part out, Mal thought. After all, between Uma and I pelting her with smoke bombs, Maleficent basically putting her mom and her under house arrest for failing to invite me to her sixth birthday and what happened to her dad, it's likely she doesn't like to think about that part of her life.

"E...it's kinda a long story," Mal said softly. "But...I know you know Uma and I used to know each other."

"It's not really something I like to think about," Evie nodded. "But M...you never tell people when your birthday is."

"Yeah well, when you're part of a crew, it's different," Mal said with a sigh. "Uma, Harry, Jay and I ran the Isle."

"So what changed?" Carlos asked. Mal could tell that he was a little taken aback by that fact but was taking it in stride. Then again, after finding out in the first viewing that Mal was half God, Mal doubted that anything could phase the dog loving boy. "You and Jay always seem ready to rip their throats out. Not that would be a bad thing, I don't really like how Hook keeps looking at Jane."

"You know Jane can take care of herself Carlos," Jay chuckled. "Plus Ben and Chad would probably pound Harry to a pulp if he even breathed around her. They consider her a sister plus you're one of the Tourney mates. The entire team would jump at the chance to back you up in a fight. Not to mention what Uma would do."

Mal shook her head before sighing. "To answer your question Carlos, we had a falling out when we were nine and Jay was ten."

"Must have been big," Evie said softly.

"Considering Mal almost died, that would be an understatement," Jay muttered. "Or at least she probably would have if she wasn't you know part God. Something she never told me by the way!"

"Jay, technically I never told anyone," Mal sighed. "The only reason Evie knew was because she brought my food to the clubhouse that day you couldn't back when I was about twelve or thirteen. She'd gotten a look at Hades, a look at me and she said she knew. No offense E, but I thought it might be safer to bring her in the gang than risk her blabbing it to the wrong person. If Freddy or Zevon found out...Plus Hadie was the one who blabbed it to the entire school in the first viewing."

"Wait, go back to where you said Mal almost died," Carlos said, holding up his hands and Mal softly shook her head.

"Carlos, do you remember when you were probably about seven or eight? The day in November when you and your mom got pelted with the smoke bombs?" Mal asked and Carlos nodded slowly. "Well...Uma and I were the ones to throw the smoke bombs."

"I gathered that from the purple and blue smoke," Carlos said gently as Jay rested a hand on Mal's shoulder, as if to remind her that he was there.

Mal chuckled lightly before sighing. "Well, with smoke bombs, they cover the whole area with smoke instead of fading instantly. Uma and I were running back to the Lost Revenge but I...I couldn't see the dock. I slipped off the edge into the Cove."

"But...Mal, you can't swim," Evie whispered, her eyes wide from shock and worry, and Mal nodded.

"I struggled to stay afloat," she said softly. "There was a bit of flotsam and jetsam in the waters that I could grab but nothing I could keep a firm grip on. But as I was struggling...Uma was laughing."