by E. L. Todd
“His dog died. He wanted something to remember him by.”
Henry nodded.
“So, when was the last time you had sex?” Sydney asked.
He laughed. “I don’t remember discussing this before.”
“Well, we are friends, right?”
“A few months ago.”
“Do you want to score tonight?”
“Not really. I’m just not there right now.”
“You’re going to find someone that you love way more than you ever loved me.”
He said nothing for a long time. “I know, Syd.”
“And if things were different, I would have given you a chance.”
He groaned, covering his face with his hands. “Please stop.”
“What?”
“That just makes me feel worse. If I had made a move before Coen, you could have been mine. Now I feel nothing but regret.”
“But I don’t think I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you, Henry. We are just too good of friends. So no, you don’t have to regret anything.”
“That makes it a little better.”
“I’m glad.”
He floated in the ocean then dived under the water. When he surfaced, he was holding a crab shell. “Look at this little guy.”
She swam to him then held the small crab in her hands. “He’s cute.”
“We should paint his shell.”
“No. Then he’ll be more visible to predators.”
“Or they’ll think he’s poisonous and badass.”
She smiled. “He’s beautiful.”
“No. Badass crabs aren’t cute and beautiful. They are ferocious and aggressive.”
The crab walked across her palm at the speed of a snail.
She raised an eyebrow. “He seems pretty harmless to me.”
“Well, the smaller crabs should be afraid.”
She touched the outside of the shell with her finger then returned it to the water. “I’ve always wanted to see seahorses in the wild. I’ve only found a few and they usually swim away.”
“They are pretty hard to see.” He looked around in the water then glided across the surface, his head down. There were a few rocks and underwater plants they could hide in. Without moving his head, he waved her over. Excited, she swam to him then glided beside him. Near the plants were two seahorses sitting on the stems of the seaweed. Their tails were wrapped around one another. She stared at them for a long time until she needed to breathe. She lifted her head then took a deep breath before she ducked back underwater. One of them looked bigger than the other, swollen in the belly. They had tiny fins on their heads that helped them move or sit up straight. Their tails remained tangled together, locked like they were holding hands. It was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. When Henry lifted his head for a deep breath, the movement scared them and they scurried off.
“That was amazing,” she said.
“I like how their tails were locked together.”
“They’re so cute.”
“You think everything is cute.”
“I don’t deny that.”
He smiled. “It’s one of the reasons why I love you.” She looked at him, her smile fading. “As a friend,” he added quickly. “You are kind to those who don’t deserve it and you would give your life to protect an innocent creature. It’s very honorable.”
“I’m glad you don’t think I’m crazy.”
“I never said that. You’re definitely insane. But I like it.”
She smiled again.
“Coen is a very lucky guy.”
“Henry.”
He looked up at the sky again. “I should get going. I have to wash the smell of salt from my skin.”
“You should sleep with her,” she blurted.
“What? Why?”
“It will help.”
He walked up to the beach then dried himself off with a towel. “Not to make you uncomfortable, but I can’t do that because all I’ll think about is you.”
She said nothing.
They walked back to the house and Henry grabbed his clothes from the porch.
“I’ll see you later,” he said as he walked away.
She waved to him. “Bye.”
He disappeared from the driveway. He didn’t hug her anymore. It was something she noticed immediately. She was glad it wasn’t an issue anymore. It would just make everything awkward. Before she went inside, Coen’s car pulled up. She smiled when she saw him. She sprinted toward him, smiling the entire way, until she jumped in his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.
“It’s only been a few hours,” he said with a laugh. He walked toward the house while he carried her then entered through the front door.
“I know. It was agonizing.”
He laughed. “I like it when you do that.”
“What?”
“Run at me, like I’m the only thing in the world that matters to you.”
“You are the only thing that matters.”
“I know that isn’t true,” he said as he placed her on the couch. “So, how was it with Henry?”
She shrugged. “We’re getting there.”
“I hate to be blunt but it will never be the same between you. You were never friends to begin with.”
“Yes, we were,” she said defensively.
“On your part, yes. On his part, no. It will never be what it once was.”
She looked down at her hands and stared at them.
“I say this so you don’t get your expectations up. You can be close friends again but the relationship will be different. Don’t try to recreate what you had. Try to become different than you used to be.”
She nodded. “You’re right, Coen.”
“I know I am.”
“We talked about you.”
“And what was said?”
“I told him that we’ve had sex and that I love you.”
“And his response?”
“He seemed to be okay with it. I asked about his personal life. He’s slept around but no one interesting has caught his eye.”
“Does he want to get laid tonight?”
“He said no.”
“He’ll get there eventually.”
Her eyes lit up in delight. “We saw seahorses.”
“Really? That’s so cool.”
“There were two of them. Their tails were wrapped around each other. It was so adorable.”
He wrapped his finger around hers. “You know seahorses mate for life, right?”
“I know. That’s so amazing.”
“Yeah.” His pinky was wrapped around hers. “Just like humans.”
She smiled. “Do you want to be my seahorse?”
“I assumed that I was already.”
Her eyes watered. “That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
He rubbed his nose against hers. “And my seahorse is the most beautiful one in the world. I’m just glad that you still have to carry the babies.”
“That isn’t fair.”
“You’ll look hot being pregnant. I could never pull that off.”
“I’ll be fat and round.”
“Only your stomach will be. And it will be so sexy.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“I do.”
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s go to bed.”
“What? I don’t get dinner or attention? You just want to go straight to home base?”
“There’re pancakes and eggs for days in the refrigerator.”
“Wanna go out to dinner?”
“No. I want to stay home with you.”
“Whatever my seahorse wants.”
She pulled him to his feet and dragged him to the bedroom.
6
Sydney pulled into the parking lot and grabbed her backpack from the backseat. When she jumped down, she saw Audrey looking at her from the sidewalk. After she smiled at her, she walked toward the science building. Sydney’s blood turned ice cold. It was just a smile but
it was definitely frightening. She was grateful she couldn’t read that bitch’s mind.
“You okay?” Henry asked as he approached her.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Did Audrey say something to you?”
“She smiled at me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is that a good thing?”
“In the girl world, that’s a death sentence.”
He shook his head. “I’ll never understand women.”
“Neither will I.”
Coen slid his arm around her waist and kissed her on the forehead. “Hey, seahorse.”
“Hey.” It was a nickname that stuck. He called her that almost every day. She loved hearing it because it was the sweetest thing she ever heard. They were life partners, mates for life—at least that’s what they wanted. Henry didn’t comment on the odd nickname.
The past month seemed to pass by like a blur. She spent almost all of her time with Coen exclusively. She felt guilty for bailing on her friends and skipping a lot of parties, but would much rather spend time with Coen, seeing him naked, than be around a bunch of people that she felt indifferent to. Audrey hadn’t bothered her again, but after that smile, she suspected something horrible would happen.
Coen kept his arm around her waist as he walked her to the building. Henry kept his hands in his pockets as he walked beside them. He seemed to accept Sydney’s relationship with Coen more as the days wore on. He told her he was fooling around with the same girl for a while. That had to be good news. He obviously wasn’t in love with her, but at least he was starting to picture himself with other women.
The fire between Coen and Sydney didn’t seem to die down even though they had sex more than any normal couple should, but it increased even more. Even when she was on her period, they both had to have it. Oral sex wouldn’t suffice for either one of them. When they stopped using condoms, Coen couldn’t last as long as he normally did, so they spent an entire weekend doing nothing else but sex. By Monday, his threshold had increased substantially.
The more time she spent with him, the more in love she became. She wondered how she had lived without him for so long. He was perfect for her in every way, her other half, her seahorse. He didn’t mention her horrific past, but she didn’t think about it as often anymore. And she hadn’t had a single nightmare since he started to sleep at her place every night. She felt whole and complete for the first time in her life, like she belonged somewhere. She had a family—Coen was her family.
Coen looked at her sundress. “You look lovely today.”
“Thank you. I know this is your favorite.”
“They are all my favorite,” he said as he dug his fingers into her side, feeling the fabric.
When they entered the building, they walked up the stairs until they reached the hallway where their zoology class was located. When Audrey and two other girls walked past them, she knew something horrible was about to happen.
They passed without incident. But it didn’t slow her beating heart in any way.
When Henry opened the door for her, she felt hot syrup pour on top of her head, streaming past her eyes and down her clothes. It was so sticky and thick that she couldn’t breathe. She had to rip open a hole in the goo so she could suck in a breath. Henry shut the door and turned around, glaring at Audrey, who was laughing hysterically. Her two friends laughed along with her.
Coen pushed her against the wall, making her laugh stop immediately. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Henry pulled Sydney’s backpack off so she wouldn’t ruin her belongings or her phone. He took her in the bathroom and helped put her head under the sink. Henry helped her wash the syrup from her hair but it hardened as soon it touched her strands.
Sydney tried not to cry because she knew it was stupid to cry. She choked it back and concentrated on cleaning herself up. Coen was still in the hallway and she hoped he finally convinced Audrey to start acting like an adult. She had never been bullied in school before. Only when she got home did the violence start. This was nothing compared to that. She kept reminding herself that she would never feel that pain again. This was just a stupid prank that hardly anyone saw.
Coen burst through the doors then came over to her, helping them both wash the goop out of her hair. “You okay?” he asked as he placed his hand on her back.
“I’m fine,” she said with a strong voice.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Coen.”
Henry stared at him with a hard expression. “Did you get her to apologize or agree to stop?”
He was quiet for a moment. “No.”
“I’ll do it, then,” he said quickly. “Chivalry is dead. She fucks with my friend, then I fuck with her.”
Sydney grabbed his arm. “Let it go.”
“No,” he snapped.
“It’s not worth it.”
“She’s just going to keep doing this to you, Syd.”
“No, she won’t. She’ll stop.”
Coen rubbed her back. “I already threatened to kill her. That should be enough for now.”
She turned off the sink then squeezed the water from her hair. It was still a little sticky but she managed to get rid of most of it.
“You wanna go home and shower?” Coen asked.
“No. I’m not skipping class because of that bitch. She’ll have to do worse than that. I’m not obsessed with my hair like they are.”
Even though it was inappropriate, Coen smiled. “You’re amazing.”
“You already said that.”
“You keep surprising me.”
She grabbed some towels and dried her face and her neck. She stuck her head under a hand dryer and dried the damp strands of hair. She rubbed it with her fingers then straightened out the knots. “Good as new.” She walked out with the two boys following behind her. They went to class and listened to the lecture then took their quiz at the end of the period.
After their next class, they went to the cafeteria. When they sat down, Sydney spotted Audrey glaring at her from her table. She smiled at her then grabbed Coen and kissed him hard on the mouth, wanting to piss her off as much as possible. When she broke their kiss, Audrey was even angrier.
“What was that for?” Coen asked, his lips still slightly open.
“Audrey.”
“Wait. What?”
“She was staring at us. I wanted to give her a reason to stare.”
Henry glanced at her. “If she tries anything, I don’t care what happens to me. I’m going to teach her a lesson and make the bitch cry.”
Sydney grabbed his hand. “Promise me you won’t.”
“No,” he said as he pulled away.
“Henry,” she pressed.
Coen looked at him. “She’s right. Let it go. She’s my problem. I’ll handle her.”
“Then nothing better happen to Sydney again,” he snapped, his eyes wide with venom. “If you can’t take care of her, I will.”
Sydney was shocked by the anger in his voice. Henry never got angry. And she’d never seen him challenge Coen like that, blatantly saying he was better for her than he was.
“I got it under control,” Coen snapped.
“It doesn’t seem like it.”
“I didn’t know she was going to dump a tub of syrup on Sydney! She snuck up on you too.”
“But Sydney isn’t my girlfriend. If she were, believe me, I would have noticed.”
Sydney didn’t like where this conversation was headed at all. “Knock it off—both of you.”
Coen glared at him.
“I mean it,” she said. “It’s no one’s fault. I’m fine.”
Henry looked away. “It better stay that way.” He looked at Audrey again. “She’s twice your height.”
“That won’t be a problem,” she said. She hadn’t told Henry about the level of her training so she didn’t want to bring it up now. It was better left unsaid.
Coen stood up. “I’ll go deal with her right now.”
“Just leave it alone,” she said but Coen was already halfway across the room.
“This is total bullshit,” Henry said. “You’re being harassed. Go to the dean or something.”
“We aren’t in high school anymore. It doesn’t work like that.”
“Then go to the police.”
“I’m not doing that either. It stays between us.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not a pussy,” she snapped.
Henry raised an eyebrow, shocked by her expression.
“I can handle her. Don’t worry about it.”
Coen returned a few minutes later and dropped into his seat with a heavy sigh.
“So?” she asked.
“She said she won’t stop until I break up with you.”
“And what did you say?”
“That I don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
Sydney chuckled. “That’s a perfect description of what she is.”
Nancy shook her head. “I seriously want to beat this bitch’s face in. I fucking hate her.”
“Don’t worry about her,” Coen said. “I’ll watch out for her.”
“And I’ll walk you to your classes when Coen can’t,” Henry said.
“I appreciate it but you don’t need to do that—either of you. I can take care of myself. She just caught me off guard today.”
“I know you can but it still gives me peace of mind when I walk you,” Coen said.
“Coen, no. I refuse to live in fear.”
He stared at her, silently communicating with her. Her past was something she struggled with her whole life. He knew this wasn’t any different. She wanted to fight her own battles and stand on her own two feet. He couldn’t take that away from her. “Okay.”
“Thank you.”
Nancy glanced at Audrey then turned back to Sydney. “When’s the trip out to sea?”
“In a few days,” she said with a smile.
“Are you excited?” she asked.
“And nervous. I just hope I don’t piss him off. People who have a PhD are always weird.”
“Don’t you want to get your PhD?” Coen asked with a laugh.
“Yeah,” Sydney said. “I admit it. I’m weird.”
“Are you missing school?” Nancy asked.
“Just Friday. When I told my teachers what it was for, they were supportive.”
“Cool,” Henry said. “Just be careful. You won’t be by the coast anymore.”