The Bad Boy And The Mermaid

Chapter 14

Blue

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was reach for my phone. My finger’s hovered over Hunter’s phone number. He had told me I could call him but only if I was in a major crises. I was just missing him; I missed waking up to the warmth of his large body, tracing those tattoos on his arms and even running my tongue over it when he was fast asleep. I missed that little apartment, and the aroma of breakfast that he prepared for me. I missed Leslie.

My eyes were suddenly moist as I remembered every single detail. I hadn’t realized that someone had been calling out my name.

“Blue.”

The door barged open and Hannah walked in. I tried to wipe away the tears but she’d already seen it. Her expressions softened. “Oh, honey...” she sat down on the oversized bed. “You miss Hunter, don’t you?”

I gave her a nod. “Why can’t I go back to him?”

She ran her hand through my hair. “I’m so sorry, Sweets, but he says it’s for your own good.”

Hannah handed me a stuffed Panda that Hunter had gotten for me. He had even left my favorite toy here and that explained he’d walked away from me for good.

I hugged the Panda to myself as the tears continued to graze my cheek. It was all my fault. I’d told him that I wouldn’t stay here forever, of course he didn’t want to continue a relationship that didn’t promise a future.

Stupid human tears. I swiped at them furiously.

“Breakfast is ready downstairs. Would you like me to bring it here in your room?”

I shook my head. “Ill come downstairs.”

The dinning room was quite big and elegant. The house looked like it was probably a hundred years old but restored in a modern way while keeping the old essence. It was a lovely home.

I sat down at the table for breakfast. The old lady, that everyone called Nana was a great cook, and yet I missed Hunter’s cooking. She had a nice smile too. I ate the sumptuous food and then Hannah said she had to go to college so I was left alone in the empty house. I explored the garden outside, tried to play with the house cats Mister Whiskers and his wife Miss Pudding who didn’t like me for some reason. I think they suspected I wasn’t from around here. Mister Whiskers started getting comfortable a few hours later, but Miss Pudding still had a grudge against me, maybe she hated how her husband was flirting with me as he sat in my lap.

* * *

Hunter

It’s been four days since I left Blue in Hannah’s care. The first few days I had called Hannah every two hours to check if everything was alright and it seemed that Blue had been insisting on coming back to me but had eventually stopped whining two days later.

I had mixed feelings. I was a little glad, but I was majorly disappointed that she wasn’t still asking for me. I mean, if she had at least called me once, I would have gone to get her. Screw the staying-away- from-each-other plan.

I was playing Tekken on my PlayStation and loosing a lot of matches because my mind was not in the game.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I was mad that Blue had peeked into my mind, seen a part of my past that I usually liked to keep hidden. From the look in her eyes, I knew she pitied me. She felt bad for what had happened and I hated that look.

I didn’t need anyone’s pity.

I took a long drink from the chilled beer can, crushed the can and tossed it into the trash can. I reached for another can from the six pack and opened it.

Maybe I was just sexually frustrated, not having gotten laid in months or maybe staying celibate for so long was fucking with my head.

When my cell phone dinged, I picked up the phone to check who was messaging me at such a late hour. I suspected it would be my friend, Fred or perhaps the security guard.

Blue: I’m sorry. I miss you.

I stared at the message for a long time, wondering if I had imagined it. She was obviously apologizing about the little fight we’d had the other day.

And goddamn if I didn’t want to text I miss you back. I needed to keep my emotions in check. If I wanted Blue to go back to her world without being heart broken, I had to remain strong.

My heart hurt. I was too damn lonely and miserable. I didn’t know what I was doing with my life, what future awaited me and if I would ever be successful enough to walk past my father’s shadow. I was twenty-three, dropped out of one college, thrown out of one and looking at the way things were going now, I didn’t think I would last in this University either.

I closed my eyes and thought for once why I deserved someone as sweet, caring and pure as Blue and my mind went blank.

Because the answer was right there. Blue deserved better just like Barb in Stranger Things deserved better. And I wasn’t going to ruin her life by forcing her to be with me when she could be out in her world doing whatever mermaids did, getting married to that childhood Mer-man friend and watching cute blue haired kids grow up.

The thought of her with another man disturbed me but there wasn’t anything I could do other than sit and let it happen. I couldn’t ask her to betray her own kind.

Wait, how did mermaids even have sex? Did Mer-men have...?

Three more days later, I got a call from Hannah.

“Hunter, where are you right now?” She sounded agitated.

“I’m in class. Why, what’s wrong?” I was completely on alert. Hannah wouldn’t call unless there was an emergency.

“Can you please drive home and check on Blue?” She asked.

“What happened? And why isn’t she with you?” I asked it so loud that most of the classroom had turned their heads towards me. I excused myself, climbed to my feet, stormed out of the room.

“Well, I hope you’re not forgetting, I do have classes too, duh. And we had an educational tour today so I’m at the museum. If I leave here right now, it would at least take me forty-five minutes to reach home. You’re relatively closer.” Hannah said.

“Where’s Nana?” I asked about our housekeeper.

“Nana’s at home but Blue wouldn’t talk to her or the other maids. She’s been asking for you. When I tried to ask her on the phone I couldn’t understand a word she was saying because she was mostly just

sobbing. I’m worried, Hunter. If this wasn’t such an emergency, I wouldn’t have bothered calling you.” She said the last part with a lot of venom. I wondered what warranted it.

“I’ll be there in fifteen.” I was already walking towards the parking lot.

When I reached the mansion, I made a beeline for my old bedroom, one that was now occupied by Blue. Nana stood outside the bathroom and was talking to Blue on the other side, and the door was shut.

“What’s going on?” I asked her.

The old woman shook her head in a concerned manner. “I’m not sure, dear, she’s been crying for a long time and now she’s stopped crying which has gotten me even worried, I hope the poor girl is alright. Why don’t you try to talk to her, Hunter?”

“Thanks, Nana. I’ll take it from here. She’ll listen to me. If there’s anything, I’ll call you.”

Nana smiled and walked out of the room. The tray of food lay on the mattress. There was the roast chicken, egg rolls, meat pie and some fancy salad. My mouth watered and my stomach growled reminding me that I hadn’t had a proper breakfast since morning, just bread and butter (A common man’s basic food)

I knocked on the bathroom door once. “Blue, it’s me, Hunter.”

There was no response from the other side. “Open the door, sweetheart. I’ll help you.”

A moment later, I heard her sweet melodic voice call, “Hunter?”

“Yes, love, it’s me. Open the door.”

Thankfully, the door unlocked and I saw a much disoriented Blue, her usual wavy hair was a mess and so was the green dress. She launched into my arms and hugged me, holding onto me tightly. She broke into a sob. I stroke her back lightly. “What’s wrong?”

She pulled away a little to look at me. “Hunter, I think I’m going to die soon.”

I stared at her in confusion. “What?”

“I went to use the bathroom in the morning and I saw...” she cried, “I saw that I was bleeding. I thought it would stop but its gotten worse. I think I’m going to bleed to death.”

“Where...where are you bleeding from? Did you hit somewhere?”

She shook her head. “That’s what I don’t understand. I’m bleeding from here...” she touched her crotch area. “Am I going to die, Hunter?”

I looked heavenward. I understood she was trying to tell me.

“No, sweetheart, you’re not going to die.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathroom.

I opened the tap and filled the tub with warm water. Next I poured some liquid for bubble bath into it. I told her to strip and get inside the tub. She obeyed like a good girl that she was.

“Give me two minutes, I’ll be back.” I closed the bathroom door behind me and texted Hannah.

Do not freak out about me asking you this. Where do you keep your feminine hygienic products?

Han: Is it for Blue?

Me: no, it’s for me.

Han: whoa! When did you grow a vagina?! I always thought you were a dick.

Me: Jesus, Han, how old are you? Of course it’s for Blue. And I don’t think Mom would approve of you speaking to your older brother like that.

Han: whatever. You can go to my room only if you promise not to touch anything else.

Me: Trust me, I’m not eager to go into your bedroom. I just need the feminine hygienic product.

Han: how difficult is it for you to just say ‘sanitary pads’?!

Me: just answer my question.

Han: Check my bathroom, in the last drawer on the left side. And there are also some meds that would help her with the cramps.

Me: thanks.

I stormed into Hannah’s room and tried not to move my eyes around too much. The room was a mess. This girl needed a lesson on how to keep her things in order. Then again, she was my sister; there was no ‘organized’ bone in her body, just like me.

Despite of myself my eyes landed on the open magazine on the bed and I saw the pictures. Those images couldn’t get scrubbed out of my mind with the best detergent money could buy.

What else had I expected?

Hannah was not a snotty kid anymore. She was a teen, and she found men attractive. I ignored the magazine and walked into the bathroom.

I had to see a YouTube video to learn how women used a sanitary pad so I could explain it to Blue. I told Blue what she was supposed to do and asked her to come sit with me when she was done with her

bath. She walked out wearing a yellow colored baggy t-shirt that read ‘Chick’ with a picture of a chick on it. She was wearing that over denim shorts.

“What’s wrong with me?” She asked as soon as she was out of the bathroom, her eyes swimming with tears and her cheeks were pink from the hot bath.

I patted the space on the bed beside me. “Come sit with me.”

She climbed onto the bed and sat down. I pulled the covers over her legs, took her hand in mine and kissed her knuckles. “I don’t know how this happened to a mermaid but it did so I’m going to explain you what it means. You’re not going to die, Blue. Does it hurt anywhere?” I asked.

“My tummy hurts a little.” She said.

“Lie down.” I said without thinking.

Blue complied without much thought. The scent of strawberry body-wash entered my nose. I pulled her t-shirt up slowly, and kissed her stomach. I continued kissing her there until I heard her giggling.

“It tickles.”

She made my insides warm. If she asked me to rip my heart out so she could make a hot stew out of it to have for dinner, I’d probably be standing in the kitchen with a butcher knife and a cutting board going through the recipe.

I was a lost case.

I loved her to bits.