If my burning lungs weren't so unignorable, I'd probably be self conscious about running barefoot and soaking wet in public. All I can focus on is keeping up with Luca, who's about two feet in front of me. Man, boys are fast.
We're at the end of my street. I can see my house.
We skip onto the sidewalk and cut through sandy grass beside my house and into the back.
"Uh... hey," A voice says. I stop dead in my tracks. "What's the rush?" April looks up from the sofa on the porch, foot on the coffee table next to a bottle of nail polish. The brush hovers over her toe.
"April-" I rush. But what do I say? This is kind of a crazy situation and we're kind of in a crazy rush. I turn, squinting against the setting sun. The waves sparkle, the glare makes it hard to see.
"You guys are soaked. What, did someone push you in a pool?"
I turn back to her. "Remember when I asked if you believe in mermaids?"
"What?" She puts the brush back in the bottle and stands. "You're dripping all over. Don't go inside until you dry off. I'll get you some towels."
I look at Luca. "They're not in the house, April would've seen them."
"Maybe not. You did manage to hide Sebastian last night."
I jog closer to the water, searching the lapping waves.
"Where are they?"
"Are those hand prints?"
I look down, and sure enough, there are gouges beside linear trails in the sodden sand.
"It's them. Their tracks," I realize. We walked right over them.
"They were dragging themselves toward your house."
"Come on," I urge, following the imprints with my eyes. They get less noticeable as the sand gets dryer, but they're there.
They stop next to the porch steps. I crouch down and look under the porch.
Eyes look back at me. The girl- the mate- leans on her side, arm around the little girl, who I realize I've never seen in person, yet feel a strong protectiveness toward. Sand is congealed in their hair and coats their bodies.
"Those aren't raccoons," I turn around. April stands with her head cocked, looking under the porch from behind us and hugging two towels to her chest.
YOU ARE READING
Beached
FantasyWhen a girl swims out to sea to rescue a figure in distress, she quickly realizes that the reason as to why he was in distress was quite different from the reason she had in mind. He wasn't drowning. Julia finds herself tethered to the mysterious st...
