Seafoam //Completed//

Chapter 15.2

Lulu climbed the stairs quietly, not looking back to Liam. When she reached Zac's room, the door was slightly ajar and she could see only a dim light coming from within. Getting closer, she could begin to make out his tall figure, pacing about the space, a phone up to his ear.

With a huff, he slammed the phone shut and tossed it onto the bed at the same time that Lulu placed her weight on the door, causing a loud creak to echo through the room.

"Who's there?" his head snapped instinctively towards the door. Lulu cringed and almost turned and ran when he spoke again.

"Liam?"

She grimaced before taking a bracing breath. "No, it's Lulu," she said apologetically.

"Oh," was all he said and walked over to the door she expected would slam in her face. Instead he opened it wide and said, "Come in."

Sheepishly, she stepped into the room; the familiar blue duvet was ruffled upon his bed and on it, she could see his phone was starting to light up and buzz with a call from Selene.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you, Zac. It's just, you haven't been to school and Ms. Denisov left us a load of work and I really can't do it all on my own and—."

"It's okay. Really," he interrupted her rambling. "I'm sorry for not having been there. I meant to go today, actually, but," he shrugged, not finishing.

He gestured for her to sit on the bed as he walked towards his night table and pulled something out of the top drawer. Once again, she marveled at the grace with which he moved, despite his condition. He turned back to her expectantly and she could only stare back. Only now did she realize he was shirtless, his long hair mussed over his right shoulder in a tangled mess. He ran a hand through it and cleared his throat.

"Oh," she blinked rapidly, "wait, do you mind if we turn the lights on?" she half laughed awkwardly.

"Right," he turned to reach for the switch, and as the room flooded with light, she gasped loudly and stared at his back.

"What is it?" he asked, looking startled.

"You..." she pointed and felt ridiculous when he only stared back, unseeing.

Shaking herself, she said, "You have a tattoo. It just surprised me," she finished lamely, her voice growing small.

Much to her surprise, he let out a soft chuckle and turned his back on her so she could better inspect it. Moving from the bed, she walked up to where he was by the door and as she got closer, she could see what looked like blue-green scales beneath the tangle of his hair, upon his left shoulder.

Absentmindedly, she reached up to move his hair to the side to better inspect the ink. Her fingers brushed his skin and she felt him go still beneath her touch but she didn't move away. Mesmerized, all she could do was stare at the mermaid resting upon his shoulder.

A sleeping siren, her tail languidly touched the sea foam crashing against the rock she rested on. Her back was to Lulu, her long hair flowing in a breeze Lulu couldn't feel. It was beautiful.

"Amazing," she breathed.

"Thanks," he cleared his throat again, and sat back down on the bed, breaking her spell. Lulu stood there rather awkwardly before going back to sit on the other side of the bed.

After a rough start, she managed to explain the assignment to him and pulled out her from her bag and began reading the chapter in which Elizabeth received Darcy's letter.

"'The situation of your mother's family, though objectionable, was nothing in comparison of that total want of propriety so frequently, so almost uniformly, betrayed by herself, by your three younger sisters, and occasionally even by your father. -- Pardon m...me...'" she trailed off as she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Looking at Zac's fingers lingering just above a page on the book on his lap, she shut her eyes as realization washed over her.