Fins(46)

Trouble



Time passed quickly and soon it was December. I spent every day with Thayde. We were only apart for the time I was at school.

Everyone knew Thayde and I were together. The human high schoolers thought it was cool I was dating a gorgeous guy from university who picked me up every day in his black Ferrari. The merkids couldn’t have cared less. The only interaction I had from them was Akin and Herra’s murderous looks, but they stayed away, and that was comforting.

Tiesa had fallen in love with Ezen and I hardly saw her anymore. When I did, I had to endure listening to her tell me everything she knew about him and what they did together. It was nice to see her so happy, but she had started missing a lot of school. Mom warned me that if I didn’t graduate, she’d be very disappointed and I’d be throwing my life away. I promised her I’d finish, but after that, I planned on spending my life with Thayde.

Thayde stopped staying at my house, much to my disappointment, and had returned to Neridia each night. Every morning, at seven on the dot, he returned to take me to school. He had taken a break from university to stay with me until I graduated. I didn’t want him to prolong his school for me, but it was wonderful having him there.

Naira was growing at an alarming rate. Mom and Tammer agreed to hire a private tutor to start schooling her in the spring. I spent as much time with Naira as she wanted to spend with me. She was a funny little thing. When she wanted to be alone, she simply left. If she wasn’t happy, she’d voice her opinion to anyone who’d listen. Mom was usually her sounding board.

Tammer was spending a lot of time hunting and wreck diving. He was always leaving early and coming home late. Occasionally, Mom went with him, but most of the time she stayed at home with Naira. She didn’t mind me spending most days with Thayde. After a while, she just expected Thayde to stay for dinner. I think she liked having him because he always complimented her on her awful cooking.

My eighteenth birthday was coming up on December fifteenth. I was looking forward to it but had a sneaking suspicion Mom was going to go overboard. When I confronted her about it, she simply laughed and said I was being paranoid. Hardly.

For my sixteenth birthday, she’d given me an emerald bracelet that at the time I knew easily cost a few thousand dollars. Later, when I had asked her about it, she had told me the emeralds had been found in a Spanish shipwreck just off the coast. She’d taken them to her personal jeweler and had the bracelet made. It didn’t cost a fortune; it was priceless. I was glad I’d never worn it. Knowing me, I’d have lost it.

It was Friday again. I loved the weekends. They let me spend more time with Thayde. Today, Tiesa was actually at school and I’d agreed to meet her for lunch at the gyro shop down the road. Her class before lunch was pottery and they had it off campus.

Stuffing my light sweater into my backpack, I grunted as I heaved it onto my back. Even though it was winter, it was still warm and very humid. I wasn’t really looking forward to the walk, even though it was less than a mile. I really needed a car.

The only things that made the walk nice were all the trees and flowers that lined the road - it was one of my favorite things about Florida. In this part of Vero, the trees grew tall and wide, covering many of the roads in a gorgeous green canopy. Orchids liked to grow on the branches among the moss that lazily drooped down the trunks.

I stopped, inhaling some jasmine that had taken over a picket fence. The fragrance was overwhelming and I closed my eyes enjoying it.

Moments after closing my eyes, I was grabbed from behind. A hand covered my mouth and I was dragged backwards, across the road and onto the golf course grounds.

I was so shocked I couldn’t think straight. My mind instantly flew to Akin and sure enough, when I was released, it was him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I snarled.

“I’m going to say this once and then I’m not going to warn you again.” He shoved me away from him. “You need to leave Vero.”

“Says who? You? I don’t think so.”

“We don’t want you here!” He exclaimed.

I laughed at him.

“I don’t give a damn what you or your father wants. It’s a free country and I’ll stay or go as I want.”

He took a menacing step toward me.

“You’re opening a can of worms that you won’t like. If it’s a war you want, it’s a war you’ll get.”

“Is that so?” I took a step toward him. I could feel The Fire starting to course through my veins.

“All I’m doing is minding my own business. You and your family are a bunch of prejudiced, pompous, self-righteous jerks. You think you run this place? Go to hell, Akin.” I was livid and sick to death of being bullied.