Chapter Five

Thursday morning I found Mom sitting at the kitchen table with a chunk of photos and papers spread out in front of her. There were dishes piled inside the sink and the linoleum floor felt sticky beneath my shoes. A piece of burnt toast was lying uneaten beside a half cup of coffee with excess creamer forming a layer at the top.

I’d have no choice but to intervene once Mom left the kitchen. Eventually.

She was staring intently at a blurry photograph inside her hand and didn’t notice me when I leaned in to sneak a peek.

“That’s a pretty color for a fish."

Mom jolted in her seat, pressing her free hand against her chest. “Goodness Carly,” she breathed out. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” I shrugged and turned toward the fridge. “What kind of fish is that?” Knowing Mom, she’s convinced the brilliant royal blue scales belonged to a mermaid or a trendy-looking lake monster.

“It’s not a fish. This, my love, is a mermaid,” Mom said.

I knew it.

Doing my best not to roll my eyes, I responded “Mom, I’m pretty sure that’s just a large type of fish.”

“Fish with these kinds of patterns on their scales doesn’t exist. I’ve done some extensive research on them and local fisherman have seen this so-called fish. It has the upper body of a human.”

“Dad told me the fisherman around her likes their whiskey."

Mom groaned. “They weren’t drunk when I talked to them.”

“Maybe not.” I snagged the carton of milk from inside the fridge, thankful it had been properly restocked and cleaned. “But were they sober when they saw this half man-fish?”

“Carly, don’t start.” Mom placed down the picture and picked up another one. “Look at this one and tell me they were lying.”

Of course another traditional muzzy snapshot. On it was more of that royal blue tail attached to a torso of a man. “Photoshop?”

“I was there when it was developed. These were taken on a disposable camera. Not digital, so they can’t be manipulated.”

I considered it for a moment. “Did you know they sell mermaid tails on Wish?”

Mom looked at me. “What is Wish?”

“It’s like Amazon, an online store.”

Mom nodded. “Do these look like fake fins?”

I had to admit she had me there. The tail didn’t look even a little bit fake, but I knew there had to be some kind of explanation for it.

Not knowing what else to say, I turned to grab a coffee cup and poured milk into it.

“Oh, honey, I need to ask you a favor.”

“Yeah?” I turned to look at Mom.

“Could you take care of all the weeds up in the front yard?” Mom stacked the photos on top of each other. “It looks bad. Hector already had a proper fit of how crummy our side looks.”

“The old man next door?”

“Yes,” Mom’s expression soured. “You might have been right about that man. He’s not exactly a ball of sunshine.”

“He complained about what, exactly?” I asked. “The weeds?”

“That, and everything else,” Mom sighed. “Proceeded to tell us we should get off this—you know what?” Mom glanced up at me, forcing a smile. “It doesn’t matter. But Carly?”

“Yes?”

“It’s best if you don’t go near them. Not as friendly as Lachlan claimed them to be.” She picked up a pile of papers. “You can still hang out with your friend, but best not over at their place, you know?”

I nodded. “Okay.” I didn’t bother to tell Mom about my unfortunate encounters with Kayn. She already had more than enough pressure on her as it was.

Not willing to allow the negative side of our neighbors to get to me, I decided I was going to make a day out of the garden and clean out the kitchen when I was done with the garden. I grabbed the most comfortable shorts I owned and a loose-fitting shirt with a large daisy on it, kicked on my flip-flops, and headed outside.

It was cloudy— the air humid and uncomfortable. I started on the one side of the house, working my way around slowly toward the front. Two hours in and feeling gross with sweat and dirt, I noted Kayn and a woman in her mid-forties heading in my direction.

She was beyond gorgeous, with long silky raven hair and wearing the kind of clothes Mom would approve of. Black pencil skirt and a tailored blouse, her lips painted a notable, cherry red.

Unlike Kayn’s disgusted expression, she was smiling.

I quickly wiped the sweat from my forehead, hoping I didn’t leave any dirt smears behind and straightened my shirt. Most of me were covered in dirt and I realized there was no way I was going to get clean before they got here, resulting in me dropping my hands to my sides and accepting defeat.

“You must be Carly?” The woman smiled, sticking out a hand. “I’m Adriane. This brat’s mother.”

I stifled a laugh, holding both my hands up in the air and wiggled them. “I’m a bit dirty.”

Kayn snorted and his mother pinned him with a glare before she looked back at me.

“I understand,” she lowered her hand. “Ember told me a great deal about you.”

“Hopefully good.”

“Most definitely,” Adriane acknowledged. “She also told me how rude this one—” She slapped down a hand on Kayn’s shoulder and squeezed it. Kayn pulled a face and I had to bite down on my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing. “How rude this one had been to you.”

I shrugged, not sure what to say.

“Look, I understand my son has been...problematic. So has my father-in-law. I know apologizing for them won’t do much, but I am sincerely sorry for their behavior,” she took a deep breath. “Our family has been dealing with a lot the past year, including grieving the death of my eldest daughter.”

Adriane closed her eyes for a few seconds before she reopened them. “They’re simply afraid there would be a repeat of what had happened to Aria.”

Kayn glanced in the direction of the field, an intent look on his face. Suddenly, I felt bad for the prick.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said. “If there’s ever anything…”

“Thank you,” Adriane smiled faintly. “I can see why Ember took a shine to you. Your mother, is she here by any chance?”

I pointed toward the cottage. “She’s in there. I can go get—”

“It’s alright, I can go to her myself. I can see you’ve already got your hands full over here.” She threw a glance toward Kayn. “If only my son was nearly half as motivated as you. Your mom wouldn’t mind swapping kids with me?”

Kayn snorted loudly and his mom elbowed him in the side.

I glanced away to hide my smile.

“You know what? I know Kayn would love to help you with all this work.”

“Mom—” Kayn started to protest.

“Come to think of it, he’s good with nature. Aren’t you, son?” She pinned him with the kind of look Mom gave me when she was daring me to overstep my place. “I knew you wouldn’t mind. Why don’t you start with the weeds?”

I would have insisted against the idea of having him around because I did not doubt for one second that he would use any opportunity to make life difficult for me. However, seeing him in such a vulnerable state was too precious to go to waste.

He wasn't so tough with mommy around.

When Adriane turned I made sure Kayn could see the pleased expression on my face. He scowled at me, before turning to snatch up the half-filled bag of weeds and carried it over to a massive bush of weeds sprouting out against the porch.

He dropped the bag beside his feet, muttering under his breath, and began plucking weeds.

It took twenty minutes of unnerving silence before Kayn spoke. “How is this your idea of fun?”

“Never said it was,” I responded gruffly, tugging on a large weed that refused to budge. I glanced into the front door, curious about what Mom and Adriane were talking about.

They’ve been in there for a long time.

“Then why are you doing this? Pocket money?”

“No,” I gritted as I attempted to pull on the weed again. “I’m doing this because your grandpa felt the need to belittle my mom on the state of our garden.”

Kayn glanced at me for a moment, before resuming his mission to pluck out weeds.

A few minutes passed before he spoke again. “You should tell your mother she’s wasting her time over here.”

I paused, both hands gripping a bundle of weeds and my feet planted firmly on either side. I still couldn’t get them out. “So Ember told you what she did for a living?”

“No,” he answered. “I overheard your mother talking to mine the other day.”

“She doesn’t listen to me.” I tugged again. “If you think you can convince her otherwise, be my guest. You’ve made sure I hate it here even more.”

He sighed, turning around and wiping his hands on his jeans. “Look I’m not—” He frowned, watching me trying to tug out the stubborn weeds.

“What?” I snapped. “You and these weeds have something in common.”

He blinked. “Yeah?”

“You're both stubborn as hell,” I gritted, dropping the weeds and giving in to defeat.

Kayn shook his head, the corners of his lips tugging upward. “Here, let me.”

He firmly gripped his hands around the weeds, the muscles on his arms flexing as he gave one solid tug and they were out. “There.”

“My hero,” I rolled my eyes. “How can I ever thank you?”

“You could leave this place.”

“What is your problem with me? Seriously?”

“I don’t have a problem with you. I’m trying to help you.”

“And how is that helping me?” I asked, standing up from the ground. “I don’t get it.”

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Can you just take my word for it?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I scowled. “You're expecting me to believe you, of all people, are trying to help me and then take your word for it? You know drugs are bad for you right?”

He moved so fast I didn’t even notice he had moved until he gripped both my forearms, staring down at me. “This isn’t a joke, Carly.”

That was the first time I heard him say my name and for some reason, it took me off guard completely. I flushed, my skin feeling hot where he touched me, my face even hotter.

It had to be hate. Hate made you feel hot, right?

“Then tell me what the problem is,” I snapped. “Otherwise I can’t see it any other way than a big joke, Kayn.”

Now he was the one looking taken aback. He stared at me for a long moment and I could feel my heartbeat picking up its pace.

“You want to know what the problem is?” He moved closer and I think I stopped breathing. “I like you. No wait,” he shook his head. “I don’t think that’s the right word for it.”

“You...like me?” I sputtered disbelievingly. “You have one shitty way to show it.”

“I’m trying to help you by making you want to leave,” he insisted. “Believe me when I say it’s in the best interest of us both. For you more than for me, because if I got what I wanted…” he moved even closer and then paused, staring at my lips.

I blinked, completely gobsmacked. “Kayn…”

“We could both get killed.”

“Killed?” I paused. “A bit dramatic don’t you think?”

“You have no—”

“I’m so glad to see you two have made your peace!” Adriane exclaimed and we jumped apart.

“Carly,” Mom appeared beside Adriane. “I need you to get a few things in town for me. And guess what, Adriane said Kayn happens to be going that way too so he can keep you company and show you around.”

“I do?” Kayn looked surprised.