by Taylor Ryan
He fought against the searing pain, refusing to turn back. Away.
Chapter 26
Casey didn't remember much of what happened after he'd set off his collar—only the agony of his heart breaking outweighed the burning searing his neck. And that he needed to get away from everything threatening to drown him. He knew he must have finally given in to exhaustion and floated on the turbulent ocean currents that slowly pushed him back towards the shore. When he finally focused enough from staring at the clearing night sky, he could tell dawn would be approaching soon, probably in another couple hours. He had actually drifted past their island, a little farther to the south and had to swim back to their dock.
Shifting back to fully human, he hoisted his exhausted body up onto the dock. He'd never felt so drained, not even when Thomas passed away. Dragging himself up the path, his mind slowly focused from the fog of fear and loss enough to realize that his uncle still had not come looking for him. It was easier to dredge up anger right now than dwell on the loss of Shawn and how much that hurt.
Dripping wet and shivering slightly from the cool early morning breeze, he tried the front door, only to find it locked. Martin had never locked it until Shawn had shown up on the island.
"Uncle Martin!" He banged on the door. It was quiet inside, which only fueled Casey's rage even more.
He stomped around to the back deck, figuring the deck doors were probably open, since he never locked them himself and Martin probably wouldn't think about them. Yanking the back door open, he stormed through the house, impervious to the swamp of water, sand, and dirt he was tracking over the pristine floors.
"Uncle!" he yelled as he started up the stairs to his uncle's bedroom. A thump from his uncle's study stopped him, and he stormed over to the heavy wooden door. He stopped only long enough to grab a towel from the small bathroom nearby and wrap it around his waist. Not that his uncle hadn't seen him naked many times before, but facing him naked right now would make him feel vulnerable, and he was in no mood to let his uncle make him feel that way.
He whipped it open, shocked to see his uncle still in his clothes from last night sprawled out on his small couch in the corner, an empty bottle of bourbon—apparently having fallen from his hand—lay on its side on the small area rug next to him. A small wet stain pooled under the bottle. The man looked like hell—his beard scraggly, his clothes wrinkled, his hair stood up on end like he'd continually run his hand through it, his eyes (at least what Casey could see of them) looked red and bleary with dark smudges under them.
His uncle had sat up here drinking? While he was locked in the cave?
"What the fuck?!" he heard himself yelling, causing his uncle to startle and fall from his precarious position on the edge of the couch to the floor.
"W-what? Casey..." His uncle muttered incoherently as he blinked several times, trying to focus.
Casey stalked over and grabbed the empty liquor bottle. "You sat up here getting drunk?" he raged, glaring down at his uncle. "You son-of-a-bitch!" He slung the bottle at the wall, causing it to shatter. His uncle jumped, shocked by Casey's rage and stared at him wide-eyed. "I was fucking drowning in the cave!"
"Drown—? What? I don't under—" Martin staggered to his feet apparently unable to comprehend what was going on. He grabbed his head, and Casey was glad the man's head was probably pounding with a hangover.
"Of course you don't understand. Because you fucking slept through the storm that came through last night!" Casey intentionally pitched his voice louder, relishing the wince in his uncle's face.
"Storm? But it wasn't supposed to come until..."
"Well, it rolled in early," Casey said snidely. "You're supposed to be monitoring me when I'm in there. You should have been down there letting me out at the first hint of a storm. What the fuck were you thinking?"
His uncle apparently regained enough of his senses to finally face Casey with his usual dominance and distain. "Don't you dare talk to me like that, boy," he growled. "This is still my house, and you will show me some respect. And, not that it's any of your business, but last night was our anniversary."
That brought Casey up short. Thomas and Martin's anniversary was yesterday? Crap. That explained the drinking, but still...
****
Martin raked his eyes over the boy, lingering on the series of bruises and cuts that indicated what the lean body had been through last night. Fuck. If a storm had come through like the boy had said, it had to have thrown the boy around the cave like a battering ram. If he'd hit his head and passed out, or if the waters had risen too high... Damn it, he could have lost his live specimen. And with the boy as angry as he was now, there was every possibility that he'd take off if Martin didn't appease him somehow.
He dropped the annoyance and anger from his own voice. "But you're right. I put you in danger. I should never have done that."
Casey's shock that his uncle had actually admitted his mistake shone on his face; it wasn't like him to admit fault. But then Casey had rarely stood up to him before, and Martin hadn't has so much invested in needing Casey alive and placated before either.
"Damn it, I even set off the collar and you didn't even notice," Casey sighed.
Martin's eyes shot to the reddened area around the boy's neck, then glanced down at the controller on the floor next to him. It was blinking red indicating it had indeed been set off but wasn't alarming anymore since Casey was back within the perimeter confines.
"You—? How did you—?" he stammered, realizing abruptly that Casey had been locked in the cave.
For a second, he thought he saw fear and hurt flit over the boy's features, but then the blond head turned to the side, hiding his face in the damp strands. "How did I get out?"
"Yeah, it was locked."
"With a crappy lock, thank god," Casey finally murmured. "I...I was able to break it with a rock."
"And you... you swam out too far apparently." Martin waved at the marks left on his neck by the jolts from the collar.
Casey rubbed his sore neck tenderly. "Yeah."
"But you came back after... you set off the alarm," Martin surmised.
"No, actually, I didn't. I fought like hell to get the damn thing off and just keep going," Casey snapped back at him. "I finally blacked out, and the tides pushed me back toward shore."
Martin's eyes widened. Oh, shit. He'd almost lost the boy to the open sea. Thank God the collar reigned him back in. Fuck, maybe he was going to have to move up his plans even sooner than he thought.
"Look, Casey, I'm sorry..."
"Save it." Casey held up a hand, looking suddenly exhausted and resigned. "I'm done. I'm going up to get showered and sleep for a bit."
The boy slipped out of the room, leaving behind a puddle of seawater and a pile of broken glass. Martin stared at the door after him.
"Fuck!" he cursed his own stupidity. His error in judgment had forced Casey to rail against him instead of run to him for reassurance and safety. He flopped down on the couch, rubbing his hands over his face, scratching at his beard. He waited until he heard the shower running upstairs before dragging himself to the kitchen for coffee. His stomach roiled at the thought of much else, but he managed a bit of toast before downing some aspirin as well.
He needed to clear his head, stop letting his emotions get to him. Thomas was gone. All he had left was to restore his credentials as the renowned marine scientist that he'd once been. And hopefully make some money while doing so, since his savings were nearly gone now.
And Casey, CAS-134, was the key to doing it.
****
Casey just grabbed a bagel and a juice and stepped out on the back deck, ignoring his uncle. He'd managed a couple hours of sleep before nightmares of Shawn dissecting him like some scientific anomaly plagued him, waking him in a feverish sweat.
A warm breeze washed over him and he breathed in the tang of the salty air. Even though there were a few fluffy white clouds looming on the horizon, the sun made the water sparkle like
glitter. As Casey chewed his bland breakfast—well, brunch—he wondered if Shawn was on his deck as well watching the swelling currents and tides of the ocean and his heart ached at what Shawn must think of him.
"I think you might be right," Martin stated from close behind Casey, scaring the crap out of him.
"What?" Casey jumped, nearly spilling the juice bottle that he'd rested on the deck railing, trying to make sense of his uncle's words.
Martin pointed out to a spot off shore, and Casey noticed the reef shark milling around in the shallows again. "I'll bet it's a female, looking to give birth soon. Probably any day now."
"Maybe," Casey murmured, not in the mood to talk to his uncle after last night. The man had ruined everything. Not only had Casey almost drowned, but now Shawn knew exactly what he was. And he'd never forget the look in his lover's eyes at the sight of his tail as he'd tumbled out of the cave.
He squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to let his uncle see his hurt.
"Well, I'm going to go to the clinic now," Martin mumbled, obviously still chagrinned at his mistake.
Good, he ought to be, Casey thought snidely, squeezing his eyes closed to force back the tears threatening to spill out. Hopefully, the man would leave him alone, and he could wallow in his misery without an audience.
"I'll be back in a few hours. I'll bring something back with me for dinner."
Casey hid a resigned smile at the thought that his uncle was trying so hard now to placate him. "Fine."
He waited until he heard his uncle move back into the house and the front door slam and lock before he went in himself. He found himself locking the door to the deck behind him, locking himself away from the world, from Shawn.
****
"Oh, crap," Shawn groaned as his neck protested moving. He moaned when he tried to sit up from the deck chair and all of his muscles objected to the movement. He collapsed back into the chair for a moment, rubbing the sleep from his face as he tried to focus.
Casey.
He sat up with a jolt, ignoring the stiff muscles from sleeping in the deck chair. His clothes were still damp from the night's excursion and his body felt gritty with the dried saltwater.
His eyes instinctively darted over the ocean, searching again as he had last night for his... well, for Casey... or whatever he was. He struggled to wrap his mind around what he'd seen.
Fuck, that wasn't possible, was it? Casey was a... merman? That just wasn't real. No fucking way.
But damn... he could swim like a fucking fish. And hold his breath underwater like he lived in it. But that didn't mean.... Could it?
The image of the sleek gray-blue tail trailing after his lover's lean torso as he'd darted out to sea was burned into his mind. There was no way he'd imagined that.
It was beautiful. Graceful, even in the turbulent waters. But, hell... a merman? How the hell did that even happen?
Did it matter? He loved Casey. Knowing Casey was... different, did it change anything?
Was he in love with a merman?
Casey's chiseled features swam in his mind—laughing, smiling, moaning under him...
Hell, yeah, he grinned to himself. He was in love with a merman.
Chapter 27
"Casey!" Shawn pounded on the front door. Martin's SUV was gone so he knew that Casey's uncle wouldn't be answering and most likely driving him away. It was probably better that way, since Shawn was sure he might tear the man's head off knowing Martin had to have been the one to lock Casey in that damn cave.
He was certain now that this was the true reason that Martin hadn't wanted him around, but he wasn't sure yet of the man's intentions. Was the man really just trying to keep Casey safe? Or keep him to himself? That thought just spurred his anger even more. He knew he looked furious, but he couldn't help it. He was angry at Martin for what he suspected the man was doing to Casey, and angry at Casey for letting the man control him.
Of course, he wasn't even sure that Casey was in the house. But he wanted answers. He needed to see Casey, to understand what had happened last night.
He tried the door but wasn't surprised to find it locked. He called out several times before deciding to walk around to the deck. Maybe the back door was open. Maybe Casey couldn't hear him.
He yanked at the back door to no avail. "Casey! Come on, man! I need to talk to you! Are you in there?" He pressed his hands against the glass to peer inside, but other than a coffee mug on the table, he couldn't see anything else.
He was truly beginning to think Casey wasn't there, but that begged the question of just where he had gone. He turned to stare out over the ocean. Had he not come back after swimming off? Was he scared of what Shawn thought of him?
Damn, if that was true, he really needed to find the man. But, fuck... he didn't even know where to begin looking.
A noise above him drew his attention, but from his current vantage point, he couldn't see anything. Yet he knew Casey's room was up there. Maybe his window was open, and he had heard Shawn calling.
Then why the hell wasn't he down here opening the damn door?
"Casey! I hear you up there!" he tested. "Get down here! We need—"
"I saw enough last night. You saw enough last night," Casey's strained, hoarse voice filtered down to him.
"Casey—" But he was cut off by the distinct sound of a window slamming shut, and seconds later music boomed loud enough to be heard outside. "Fuck, Casey! Come on!" he yelled up in frustration even knowing the man wouldn't hear him.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it," he cursed, stomping off the deck. He circled the house several times, trying to think of a way to get through to his obviously hard-headed boyfriend, but finally had to give up.
Sulking all the way back to his cottage, he decided maybe Casey needed a day or two to cool off. He'd come to his senses. Casey had to know that he was just in shock last night. That they would need to talk about what had happened, right? Casey couldn't think that he would abandon him without even talking to him, would he?
Shawn finally dragged himself upstairs to his shower. A much needed one. The heat from the shower soothed his aching muscles, but his heart still hurt. Casey's refusal to talk to him seared his soul. Collapsing into the bed, he eventually dreamed peacefully of soaring through rippling turquoise waters chasing a beautiful blue-tailed merman.
****
Casey let the music drown out Shawn's voice. He couldn't bear to listen to it. Not now. Not when he was sure he'd hear the censure and distain in it, or even disgust and horror like he'd seen last night.
He could live locked away up here. Shawn would eventually go away, leave him, probably trailing tales of a monstrous freak of nature he'd seen that no one would believe. Hopefully.
He sat cross-legged in his papasan chair, wishing he could just sink into it and never emerge. He tried focusing on the words of a book, but his eyes just kept blurring, refusing to work, knowing all they wanted was to see Shawn's smiling face again.
But that would never happen now. And he couldn't stand the thought of Shawn looking at him with the same sneer that his uncle sometimes did.
He suddenly wished he hadn't fought so hard in the cave. If he'd just let the waters take him then he wouldn't feel like he was dying now.
****
Damn that man, Shawn thought, fuming as he paced restlessly across his deck. For two days, Casey had refused to acknowledge him, ignoring his demands that they talk. He was sure the man hadn't even heard anything he said since every time he tried yelling at him from outside all he could hear was the thumping bass of AC/DC.
He could be stubborn, that's for sure. But Shawn wasn't ready to give up. The man had to come out of the house eventually. He was a merman for god's sake. He had to swim in the ocean sooner or later, right?
He rolled his neck on his shoulders. The aches from over extending his muscles the night of the storm had faded, but he was feeling restless with inactivity. He'd gotten used to swimming or running or just generally horsing around with C
asey every day, and his body craved it. It craved Casey.
He needed to taste that sweet man's lips again, his slightly salty skin.
Damn it. He needed release.
He yanked his swim trunks on and grabbed a towel. Maybe a long swim would work out his restlessness. If nothing else, he'd tire himself out enough to maybe sleep longer than two hours at a time.
He clambered down the path, scraping open one of the cuts on his leg from two nights ago in his haste. He swiped at it, wiping away the small smear of blood before dropping his towel on the rocks. He wasn't in the mood to drag out one of the lounge chairs today.
He crashed through the surf, hissing slightly at the sting of the salt water on his cut. Good, it would give him something to focus on rather than the pain of Casey's rejection. When he had waded far enough out, he dove into the waves, fighting the pull of the tide until he was well past the breakers. Then he just swam. And swam.
****
Two days. He'd managed to ignore Shawn's shouting and yelling for two days. Although this last time, he hadn't sounded quite as angry so much as...pleading? But it didn't matter, Casey refused to leave the house, barely leaving his room except to get food. Fortunately, his uncle assumed that he was just still mad with him for letting him nearly drown, so the man didn't question his isolation.
Right now, Casey couldn't face either one of the men. Both of them had hurt him, and he wasn't willing to pretend it wasn't tearing him apart inside. So it was better to just keep to himself.
He'd spent so much time in his room the last two days, reading, staring out the window, hoping to see Shawn from a distance even if he couldn't face him—that he'd actually witnessed the birth of the baby reef shark yesterday.
It was the one bright moment he'd had. It was rare to see a shark giving birth, and he marveled at the sight. Of course, then he wondered if he'd been born like that and it only reminded him of what a freak of nature he was. He watched sadly as the mother disappeared into the deeper ocean, leaving the pup to fend for itself along the shore.