Underwater

by Doe, Anna B.

  The realization of what that means dawns on me.

  I failed.

  I didn’t break the curse.

  I’ll never see my family again. I’ll never watch TV shows or get ready with Noel. I’ll never see Ty smile. I’ll never get to kiss Caleb.

  Nymph taps her chin with a finger, tsking. “Did you really think you stood a chance?”

  “Are you here to gloat?” I cross my arms over my chest. “I thought by now you’d be out of here, enjoying your new legs.”

  “I will,” she snickers. “In a moment.”

  “You’re one vile creature.” My comment makes her laugh, but I ignore her. “You think you’ll be happy once you get back on land? Legs or tail, you’re too selfish, too petty, to ever truly be happy.”

  Her laughter intensifies with every word I say, but that’s not what makes me stop and tilt my head to the side.

  Mar… risa…

  A whisper? Is somebody calling my name?

  It quiets almost as fast as it appears, but for some reason, I can’t stop waiting. Waiting to hear it again.

  … risa…

  There it is. That noise. What is it? It sounds like a whisper.

  Mar…

  Is it?

  It feels almost like…

  “Don’t be judgy, little girl. You’ll become just like me soon.”

  Marissa…

  “Cold and heartless. That’s what living at the bottom of the ocean for centuries does to you.”

  There it is again.

  Mar…

  Calling me.

  “What is that?”

  Her green eyes narrow at me. “What is what?”

  “That whisper…” I listen carefully. “I can hear somebody calling my name.”

  “You’re imagining things.” She waves it off, but there’s something about her stance…

  I narrow my eyes, looking at her carefully. “I’m not imagining anything.”

  “You are. There’s nothing…”

  Marissa… Please, Mar, wake up…

  “There it is again.” I point my finger at her accusingly. “I know I’m not imagining things. Somebody is calling me…”

  Mar…

  “That voice…” I whisper, trying to concentrate. It’s so hard to decipher the voice, to understand the words.

  Mar!

  “Caleb…” I breathe.

  Caleb is calling me.

  “NO!”

  Nymph’s claws come to get me, but it’s already too late.

  Suddenly, my lungs fill with water. My lungs burn. There is so much water. So much I can feel it roll in my lungs, making it impossible to breathe. Bile rises from my stomach and it feels like I’ll throw up, and then the coughing starts.

  Hard and all-consuming.

  “That’s it, baby,” somebody whispers, pushing the wet hair out of my face. “Get it all out.”

  I cough and cough. Fighting to breathe while at the same time wanting to get rid of everything that’s inside me. It feels like forever, but I still don’t stop.

  More water comes out of my lungs. So much water, you’d think I have a small ocean hidden somewhere inside me.

  Slowly, the coughing and dry-heaving subside. Not completely, but enough so I can start noticing what’s happening.

  Like the hands wrapped tightly around me, holding me close and caressing my sore back reassuringly. The warmth coming off of Caleb’s body and slowly creeping into mine, warming up my icy skin.

  “C-Caleb?” I call his name. It’s barely audible, because my throat feels so raw, and just whispering causes me pain.

  “Shhh…” His lips kiss my forehead. “It’s all okay now. You’re safe.”

  His arms tighten around me, and I let myself enjoy the feel of his touch, the warmth of his body. I want to snuggle closely into him, but I can’t.

  My eyes fall down to my tail.

  “I didn’t do it.” Tears gather in my eyes again. “I didn’t break the curse.”

  I cover my mouth with my hand to stop the sob from escaping.

  It’s all over now.

  I’m a mermaid.

  Forever.

  I’ll never see my family and my friends. Never help my mom in Azure Pearl. Never graduate from high school or go to college. Never have a night out, or more likely in, with Noel. Never get to hold Caleb’s hand as we walk down to the beach.

  So many nevers…

  I try to get out of Caleb’s arms, but he holds on to me tightly.

  “I don’t care.”

  “How can you not care?!” I yell, still struggling to get out. I have to go. I can’t be here. Not like this. Not knowing I’ll never be able to get out of the ocean again. “Dammit! Let me go, Caleb! Now!”

  “I don’t care,” he repeats, his hands cupping my cheeks and holding my face hostage until I look at him. Green eyes so light, so big, look at me with a tenderness I only got to see a few rare times.

  “Caleb…”

  “I love you, Marissa,” he whispers, his eyes boring into mine. It’s like he wants to transmit all of his feelings with one simple look. “I love you. And I don’t care if you get your legs back or if you stay a mermaid forever, I’ll always love you, Mar.”

  “Cal…” I let out a sob.

  I’ve been holding it all in for so long. The secrets. The lies. All of these unresolved emotions swirling through my heart.

  His lips brush against mine softly, almost tentatively.

  My lips tremble beneath his, but I don’t let it stop me. My hands dig into his hair, and I hold on to him. Softly, I return his kiss.

  Our mouths part, breaths mingling together.

  “I love you, Mar. No matter what,” he whispers against my lips, and I can’t take it anymore.

  I crush my lips to his, needing to feel him again, my tongue swiping into his mouth and mingling with his. I sigh at the first touch.

  It’s been so long.

  So long since I’ve kissed him.

  Caleb groans, the painful sound coming from somewhere deep within him.

  “I love you, too.” I whisper against his lips before I kiss him again.

  It’s long and deep and hard.

  All-consuming.

  Hectic.

  Perfect.

  “I love you so much…”

  We keep kissing, until there is no way for us to breathe. I kiss him with all of my heart. All of my soul.

  “What the…” Caleb breaks our kiss, his breathing hectic.

  Dazed, I look around, searching for what drew his attention away from me. From this moment.

  “What?”

  “Your legs.”

  “My…” My gaze falls down to my lap. “Oh my…”

  I jump out of his lap, completely ignoring the fact that I’m naked, and one at a time, I lift my legs in the air.

  I look over my shoulder at Caleb. “I have my legs.”

  I wiggle my toes, looking between his amused eyes and my feet. “I have my legs. While I’m in the ocean.”

  “You have your legs.” He comes closer, his hands wrapping around me from behind, pulling me closer to his chest.

  “But how?” I look at him over my shoulder. “Ty…”

  Caleb’s lips kiss me fiercely. His fingers dig into my hair, holding me still as he kisses me as if his life depends on it. I can feel all of his anger and frustration in that one kiss, but I welcome it.

  Once we break apart, his hot eyes full of promise and something else, meet mine.

  Something that looks a lot like possessiveness.

  Something that looks a lot like love.

  Caleb loves me.

  His hand wraps tighter around my waist as he leans his chin against my naked shoulder. “Because it’s not Ty who owns your heart. Maybe once upon a time, but not anymore.” His lips brush against my cheek.

  “It’s you…” I whisper, finally saying out loud what was hidden in my heart for a while now. “Somewhere along the way, you became the one. The boy who
owns my heart.”

  “And I don’t plan on letting it go. You’re mine, Mar. Only mine.”

  MARISSA

  “I don’t want to,” I protest, taking a few steps away from the ocean. Only I don’t get far, because Caleb is right there behind me, pushing me softly forward.

  “You have to.” He chuckles lightly in my ear.

  “I’m not ready yet!”

  “You’ll never be ready, Mar. But, it’s time. You know it’s time.”

  It’s been a week now. A whole week since prom. A week since Caleb found me drowning in the ocean and saved me. A week since he said he loved me.

  A week since we said it.

  Because I love him too.

  I’m in love with Caleb Lawrence.

  We’ve been talking a lot about what happened that night, trying to figure it out. Because the real full moon was the night after prom. I checked it on every website possible. And the answer was the same everywhere.

  The moon was almost full that night, almost but not quite.

  What did that mean?

  The most likely explanation is that the nymph decided to use my emotional breakdown to pull the spell into motion early. Because as it turns out, you have to die in order to be born a full-blooded mermaid. Fun, right?

  And I’m not even joking. I can’t be a hundred percent sure of it, obviously, but I did find some legends saying that in order to become a mermaid, the ocean has to take your life or some bullshit like that.

  Hopefully, I’ll never know for sure.

  “I’m scared.” I look over my shoulder at him.

  Caleb is so beautiful. The sun brings out different shades of brown in his hair and makes his eyes twinkle.

  So beautiful.

  And so mine.

  His lips press against my nose in a teasing kiss. “I’m here.”

  Just hearing those words makes me breathe out in relief. I didn’t even know how much I needed to hear them.

  Caleb nuzzles more into my neck, his lips brushing against my ear. He whispers softly, “Tail or legs, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, Mar.”

  I nod my head, pressing my lips against his hand holding mine.

  “Let’s do this.”

  Together, we run toward the ocean. I want to stop at the edge. After all, for three months I couldn’t come near it if I didn’t want to risk exposure, but I push the fear away and let my legs touch the water.

  The curse should be gone by now, but I didn’t dare come near the ocean for a whole week. In that week, I didn’t feel the usual signs of ocean withdrawal. There wasn’t any burning or itching feeling, but it was still hard to believe it was gone.

  Poof.

  Just like that.

  Gone.

  Caleb tried to draw me to the beach for days, but I kept putting it off. Well, no more.

  I stand in the shallow part of the ocean, water barely coming to my knees.

  I wait.

  And wait.

  And wait.

  “It’s really gone,” I say in wonder, lifting my gaze to meet Caleb’s.

  “It’s really gone.” The corner of his lips moves in a knowing smirk.

  “I’m not a mermaid anymore.”

  “No more tail,” he agrees. “No more scales or talking underwater…”

  “I’m human again.”

  Caleb laughs, the light sound floating through the air and filling my heart with happiness.

  “We’ll see who’s better now.” He starts stalking toward me, a mischievous glimmer shining in his eyes.

  “Caleb?” I ask tentatively, taking a step back. Whatever he’s planning to do, I’m not sure I’ll like it. “What are you doing?”

  He smiles, wiggling his brows playfully. Then, without warning, he starts running.

  I shriek loudly, running away from him, but I’m no match for his speed. His arms wrap around my waist as he lifts me into air and keeps running with me in his arms.

  Laughing, I try to wiggle out, but his grip is strong.

  “Caleb!”

  When we’re deeper in the water, he lifts me higher in the air and tosses me into the ocean.

  It takes me a while to get back to the surface, and when I do, I’m spitting water out of my mouth and rubbing the salt and my hair from my eyes.

  In the distance, I can hear Caleb’s laughter and it irritates the hell out of me.

  “Oh, it’s so on!” I threaten.

  “If you can catch me!” he sing-songs, swimming casually.

  “You just wait,” I murmur to myself and dive in after him.

  The rest of the afternoon we spend on the beach. Later, our friends join us, and Caleb even drags me into the ocean with a surfboard, intent on reintroducing me to surfing.

  We laugh and tease and kiss. Yes, there is a lot of kissing involved, too. And for the first time in months I feel… happy.

  As the sun falls down over the horizon, coloring the world in a pallet of vivid colors, I stand in the shallow part of the ocean looking at the horizon. The sounds of nature surround me, as well as the laughter of my friends, and I feel complete.

  Being a mermaid was amazing, but this?

  This is my life.

  My future.

  My safe haven.

  My home.

  I spot something in the distance. Fins diving out of the water. Shielding my eyes from the sunlight, I narrow them to see better.

  Strong hands wrap around my waist, pulling me back into a hard chest. “It’s Flipper and the squad.”

  Proving Caleb correct, soon I can see all of them play on the surface. When they turn around and spot us, I slowly I lift my hand and wave at them.

  One by one, they jump in the air before they dive in and disappear from sight.

  Tourists around us ‘ooo’ and ‘ahh’ as they watch them play, some taking pictures and videos.

  “They came to say hello.” Caleb’s chin touches my shoulder.

  “You think?”

  “I’m sure of it.”

  We fall into silence, holding on to each other just like that, my gaze not moving from the now-empty spot.

  “I love you, Caleb Lawrence,” I whisper softly.

  No matter what life throws at us, I know I can always depend on Caleb and his love.

  Strong as a northern wind.

  Warm as a summer sun.

  The love we share is endless like the ocean.

  He turns me in his arms, his lips brushing against mine in a soft kiss.

  “I love you, too, Marissa Davenport.”

  CALEB

  One year later

  Slowly getting out of the ocean with the surfboard attached to my side, I run my fingers through my wet hair, pushing it out of my eyes. It’s getting longish again, and I should probably cut it, but Marissa likes to run her fingers through it when I kiss her or pull at it when we do naughtier stuff, so I’ve been putting it off.

  And just like that, she’s on my mind again—not that she’s usually far from it—and my eyes scan the beach in search of her golden hair.

  Mar wanted to visit her grandpa, but after a while, I decided to go to the beach and leave them alone for a bit. I had to practice anyway if I wanted to be ready for my competition in just a few short days.

  The last year has been amazing. I finally started entering more serious surfing competitions, and so far I’ve been doing great. So great, I had some sponsors knocking on my door, my surfing drawing their interest. I’ve loved every second of it, but what I’ve loved even more was the fact that I got to go to college with Marissa and see her every day. We only had a class or two together since we didn’t have the same majors, but we spent all our free time together. We’re even looking into some apartments so that next year we can live together off-campus.

  Now it’s summer again, and I could tell just by looking at her that she was ready to come back home and see her family. Having all our friends back isn’t a hardship, either.

  My eyes finally see her coming down the b
each, her long dress swirling against her legs as she walks toward me. Smiling wider, I get out on the sandy shore, leaving my board on the floor as I wait for her to reach me.

  Her aqua-green eyes take me in from head to toe. Since it’s summer, I decided to ditch the wetsuit, and instead I’m wearing regular swimming trunks. Her eyes roam my body, her heated gaze taking a second longer to appreciate my abs.

  I’ve always been cut, but the last year made my body even more ripped than before, making my abs and V more visible.

  Wetting her lips, Mar finally lifts her eyes to meet mine, smiling sweetly. “You done yet?”

  Nodding my head, I take her outstretched hand in mine and kiss her thoroughly on the lips. “I was just about to come get you.”

  “Were you now?”

  I wrap my hands around her waist and pull her back closer to my chest.

  “Mhmm… see if you want to join me for a quick swim.”

  “Just a swim?” She wiggles her brows, giggling.

  Rolling my eyes, I nuzzle at the soft skin of her neck. “Insatiable. That’s what you are, Marissa Davenport. Insatiable.”

  Throwing her head back, the soft laughter fills the space around us. I love to see her this carefree and happy. After all the ugly things that happened to her, to us, we both deserve it.

  “I’m not that bad.”

  “No,” I agree, pulling her even closer. I love to feel her body next to mine. The way we feel against each other is pure perfection. “You’re worse.”

  She elbows me in the gut, but I don’t loosen my hold. We laugh together, looking at the late afternoon sun coloring the sky and the ocean.

  Once the laughter dies, the peaceful silence surrounds us. There aren’t many people here, with it almost being night. Only a few are left, and most of them are farther away from us, giving us an illusion of privacy.

  “Do you ever miss it?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Being a mermaid…” I expand, softly kissing the top of her head. “Do you miss it?”

  “Sometimes.” Sighing contently, she leans into me. “I don’t think there will be anything quite like it ever again. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being just a regular girl, having friends and family and having you… it’s more than enough. You’re more than enough, Caleb. Your love, care, compassion, strength… I’d rather have all that, even if just for a second, than all of the magical powers and abilities for a lifetime.”