Tangled Ripples Page 3

  “Is it like a tattoo or something? How would you get the same scratches on both sides of your neck?”

  This time Britney stopped brushing Arista’s hair and frowned. Arista looked at their reflections in the mirror. Could she actually tell the truth?

  “I actually got them only a day ago.”

  “What? But how? Did someone hurt you?” Britney asked.

  “No, I got them when I came out of the water.”

  “Like an animal scratched you? What in the lake could cause that?”

  “No, when I stopped living in the water and I came to the surface for the first time,” Arista said, her breath catching in her throat.

  Britney stopped staring into the mirror and spun Arista around to look her straight in the eyes. “You were not living in the water. People don’t live in the water,” she said, losing some of the color from her cheeks.

  “Well, I’m not a person…” Arista started, but Britney burst into laughter.

  “I can’t believe I fell for that. I mean, you said your name was Arista, not Ariel,” she responded, trying to stifle her laughter.

  “Who’s Ariel?”

  “Well, you know, the mermaid,” Britney said, picking up the brush to finish her hair.

  “So you do know about mermaids! That’s exactly right,” Arista said. She was so happy to have someone understand what she had been hiding.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have anything else to drink,” Britney said with another laugh.

  Once they finished in the bathroom, they walked back to the beach. The party had emptied even more, and Arista debated leaving but she still had no place to go. As she looked at the small groups of people drinking around the fires, she felt uneasy. If only she had stayed snuggled under the warm covers in Gavin’s home. Maybe she could find her way back.

  Britney grabbed herself another drink and got Arista some water. They found Chris, who was in worse shape than the girls. He was sitting on a log by the fire, talking to two women clearly not interested in anything he had to say. They leaned in closer to talk with each other, scooting farther away from him. In turn, he inched closer towards them, kicking clumps of sand toward the fire. Britney and Arista watched from across another fire pit as this kept up for several minutes.

  That is, until he slumped over too far and dropped his drink. The alcohol cascaded onto the girl sitting closest to him. She yelled and jumped up from the log, frantically wiping at her clothes to keep the liquid from seeping in.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she screamed, shoving him as hard as she could, knocking him over the log and into the sand.

  “Hey now, hey now. Be cool,” Chris said, throwing his hands in the air and wobbling on his feet. “I only wanted to talk to you, that’s all.”

  He took a few more steps towards her and she shoved him against the log again.

  “Leave us alone. We don’t want anything to do with you,” she said, turning to grab her friend. But Chris lunged forward.

  “Now, it’s not nice to ignore people like that,” he slurred, grabbing her elbow to spin her back around. As soon as that happened, Britney grabbed Arista and pulled her towards the growing argument. A guy sitting by another fire also noticed and jumped in.

  “Chris, why are you being such a punk? Just leave her alone,” the man said, moving in next to the girl. Chris released her arm, but stood his ground instead of leaving.

  “I don’t think this involves you, Tyler,” he muttered, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.

  Britney and Arista hovered at the edge of the group. Chris turned and bent over the log, appearing as though he would be sick. It caught everyone by surprise when he whipped around with a drink in his hand and threw it at Tyler. Tyler held his hands up to protect his face as the girl screamed. Chris lurched forward while Tyler was off-balance, delivering a solid blow with his fist to the side of Tyler’s head.

  “Chris, stop it! This isn’t worth it,” Britney yelled, throwing all her weight against Chris’ arm, trying to pull him back. He flung Britney away and she fell backwards, hitting her head against a log. Arista rushed to kneel next to her.

  By this time, the rest of the partygoers had gathered around and more men joined the fray. The scuffle grew until it involved a dozen people, all pushing and shoving each other. Although Britney was conscious, the two girls were still on the ground when several people tumbled over them. Someone kicked Arista in the jaw and it started to swell instantly. She looked around at all the fighting and regretted ever joining the party in the first place. She thought about running away, but felt guilty abandoning Britney there on the ground.

  It wasn’t long before flashing red and blue lights appeared between the trees at the edge of the beach. Several people ran at the first sight of the police, but those most deeply involved in the fight couldn’t stop. Arista tried to pull Britney away but, by the time she got her to stand, officers were breaking up the party. They quickly stopped the fight and handcuffed Chris after he took a swing at an officer. Since the two girls were still in the middle of it all, the police prevented them from leaving.

  As the officers put out the flames, Arista and Britney were left sitting on a log in front of a smoldering pile of ash-covered sticks. Arista’s head pounded, from the alcohol fumes and smoke. Everything kept getting blurry. She could see the officers walking in front of her, a wash of blue and black before her eyes. There was a sniffling noise next to her as Britney began to cry.

  “I can’t get arrested, not again,” she said, visibly shaking. Britney became even more upset as one of the officers walked towards them.

  “Well, ladies,” he said. “I’m gonna need to see your identification.”

  Arista turned to Britney with a confused look on her face. Britney fumbled around in her purse before finally producing her license for the officer. After studying it, he handed it back to her and glanced at Arista. She shoved her hands in her pockets and shuffled her feet, unsure how to handle the situation. She looked to Britney for help, who only mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry’ back at Arista.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” Britney said. “But you might want to question her some more. She’s not from around here and has been acting weird all night saying she’s come out of the lake and stuff.”

  With that, Britney walked off to the bathroom, not to return. Bewildered, Arista watched her leave.

  “Maybe you should come with me to the station while we sort this out,” the officer said. Arista turned away from him, crossing her arms across her stomach. Her heart pounded and she closed her eyes, trying to block out the world around her.

  Why didn’t I stay in the water?

  “Come on, that’s not necessary, Dave. She’s not causing any problems, is she?”

  Arista blinked tears out of her eyes as she looked towards the source of the familiar voice. Gavin had found her.

  “Gavin, hey man. I didn’t know you were back in town,” Dave said, reaching out to shake his hand. “You know this girl?”

  “Yeah, friend of the family. She’s been staying at my place. She’s never had anything to drink before, so I’m sorry if she got into trouble. But I’d appreciate it if you’d let her go. I’ll take her home and make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Gavin said.

  Dave frowned and glanced over his shoulder to make sure the other officers weren’t paying attention.

  “I guess I can let her go with a warning this time, but make sure this is the last time. I can’t help if she becomes a repeat offender. And another thing…”

  Dave took Gavin by the arm and walked him a few steps away, leaning in close to whisper to him. Gavin frowned and glanced back at Arista, before responding. A few minutes later, he returned and wrapped his jacket around Arista’s shoulders.

  “Ok, let’s get out of here,” he said, putting his arm across her back to lead her out to his waiting truck.

  ˜

  { Chapter 4 }

  They drove back to Gavin’s house in silence. Ari
sta didn’t quite know what to say, and had no idea what Gavin was thinking. She still felt sick to her stomach and every bump in the road threatened to bring her drinks back up. Gavin parked his truck in the driveway and left without saying a word. Arista sat frozen with her seatbelt on, unsure whether to follow. Gavin walked down to the beach, where the water lapped against the shore, and sat in the sand.

  Several minutes passed without either of them moving. Finally, Arista unbuckled her seatbelt, carefully avoiding the swollen bruise on her jaw. She made her way across the beach to Gavin and sat in the sand next to him. The cool water washed up and ran across their feet. Without looking at her, Gavin reached over and placed his arm lightly on her shoulders.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

  Arista wiggled her toes in the sand and water for a moment before answering him. The particles of sand clung stubbornly to her dirty socks.

  “I feel pretty sick, but I think I’ll be alright.”

  He nodded and stared out at the water, his eyes clouded with a troubled expression. She followed his gaze to the lake and saw a gull riding on the edge of a wave.

  “How did you find me?” she asked to break the silence.

  Gavin gently patted her back as he answered. “Well, you’re not quite as stealthy as you think. I woke up to check on you and realized you were gone. You couldn’t have made it far without taking my truck. I walked here to the beach, saw the direction of your footsteps, and then followed along on the road. Once I spotted the fire, I figured you’d be there. Only the cops beat me to you.”

  He shook his head and chuckled to himself. “You definitely have a knack for getting into trouble.”

  Arista was still puzzled. “But why would you come after me?”

  “Because I know you’re alone,” he answered, locking his eyes with hers.

  They were both quiet after that, watching the water run up against them. Gavin pulled his arm away from her and lowered his hand, passing grains of sand between his fingers. He was deep in thought and Arista felt an anxious knot twist in her stomach. She knew what he would ask next and she still didn’t know how to answer.

  “What’s really going on?” he finally asked. Her cheeks flushed bright crimson as he turned his intent eyes toward her. “I want a straight answer this time, too. Are you running away from something?”

  “Well, I’m not exactly running away,” she said, pausing to choose her words. “It’s more that I’m looking for something than running from anything.”

  Gavin was thoughtful again for several minutes before continuing.

  “So where did you come from? How did you end up in the middle of the lake? And remember, I want the truth.”

  “I don’t think you’ll believe me…,” she said, taking a deep breath. “But I came from exactly where you found me.”

  “But you said you didn’t fall off a boat,” he said, even more confused than before. “Dave, at the party, said something to me — that you claimed you came out of the water.”

  “It’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth… I didn’t fall from a boat, and I didn’t travel from anywhere else. I came out of the water and swam to where you found me,” Arista said, hesitating. “I’m a mermaid.”

  Gavin laughed loudly, rocking backwards in the sand. “No, you’re not. Seriously, what’s the story?”

  “But I am serious,” she said, looking at him with such intensity that his laughter ceased. “I am, or was, a mermaid. Look,” Arista pulled back her hair and pointed to the scratches on her neck.

  “That’s how I used to breathe underwater,” she said.

  As Gavin stared at her, his mouth tightened into a frown and his eyes turned darker.

  “Arista, that’s not funny. You need to stop lying about this and tell me the truth. I rescued you from the lake, took care of you, and put myself on the line to get you out of trouble tonight. Yet you still can’t trust me?”

  “But I am telling you the truth,” Arista argued.

  Gavin wouldn’t hear any more of it. He stood up to brush the sand off his pants and startled the sea gull that had been sitting close by. The gull cawed and flew into the trees at the edge of the beach. Gavin stormed off along the walkway leading to his house. Arista jumped up to follow, but her legs ached and her feet dragged along the wooden path. Ragged splinters pierced through the bottoms of her socks and into the soles of her feet.

  “Gavin, please wait,” she cried out behind him.

  He stopped at the end of the walk and turned around. He intended to yell at her, but the anger on his face softened as he watched her limp towards him. He wordlessly picked her up and carried her the rest of the way into the house. He brought her all the way into the bedroom and placed her on top of the blankets.

  “I can’t talk about this anymore right now,” he said. “I have some things to get in town. Why don’t you lie down and rest a bit. I’ll only be gone for a couple of hours and we can talk more when I get back.”

  Arista agreed and Gavin tucked her back into his bed once more. He pulled down the shade on his window to block out as much as light from the rising sun as possible. He made sure the blanket was nestled in all around her and as he did, his fingers lingered over the scars on her neck.

  Then he was gone and Arista closed her eyes to fall asleep once more.

  …

  Arista awoke a few hours later to the feeling of the late morning sun. Hardly any clouds were in the sky and the sunlight poured through the window, warming up the blankets still tucked in around her. She assumed Gavin was back since she remembered him closing the shade when he left.

  She roused herself out of the bed. Every muscle felt sore and they reluctantly moved as she stretched them. She then headed into the bathroom to clean herself up.

  After figuring out the right combination of knobs to use in the shower, she let the water run to warm up. While she waited, she tried to brush out her hair with the comb. It was a tangled mess and it took effort to work it all out. When the mirror filled with steam, she gave up and stepped into the shower. The hot water poured over her sore muscles and stung the handful of bruises she received from the fight on the beach. She closed her eyes and reveled in the simple pleasure of being in the water. It felt like home.

  Arista’s mind wandered back over the night’s events. Much of it seemed foggy in her head, but she clearly remembered Britney’s betrayal to the police officer. Tears stung her cheeks and she wiped them away, wondering if all the stories about people were true. Growing up, she learned that all people were dangerous and deadly to mermaids. But it couldn’t be true about Gavin — he seemed so different.

  After the shower, she wrapped herself up in a big towel and wandered into the bedroom. While absentmindedly drying her hair, she noticed a bird sitting outside the window staring back at her.

  “That’s not polite now, is it?” she said to the bird in a mocking voice, tapping her finger against the window until it flew away.

  Arista glanced at the shirt and jeans she had been wearing. They were filthy after the several hours of wear. Although she felt guilty doing so, she rummaged again through Gavin’s clothes for another shirt and a pair of shorts. She tightened the same belt from earlier around her waist, over both the shirt and shorts to keep them from falling. Mostly satisfied with her appearance, Arista went out to the main room to look for Gavin.

  To her surprise, he wasn’t there. Arista looked outside through a window, all the way to the end of an empty driveway. She shrugged and turned away from the window.

  I wonder what’s taking so long.

  As she entered the kitchen, she realized there was a seagull sitting in each windowpane. Arista brushed it off as a coincidence and busied herself at the sink. She found some cups and poured herself a glass of water. While drinking water, she flipped through an architecture magazine sitting on the counter. She had only learned to read a little from her mother, so most of it didn’t make any sense. But she loved looking at the pictures. It
was hard to believe people were capable of building such marvelous structures. On the back of the magazine was a label, addressing the magazine to Gavin Payne.

  She finished several glasses of water before looking up at the rest of the living room again. In that short amount of time, many more birds had appeared and every one of them was staring at her. A chill traveled down her spine as she eyed them nervously. Arista set her glass back on the granite countertop and hurried through the hallway to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She stared at the window in front of her, holding her breath.

  It was empty.

  She exhaled a sigh of relief and laughed at her own craziness. It was only a bunch of birds. She laid her head against the door and shut her eyes. Moments later, she reopened them to find five birds crowding the windowsill. They all stared at her with those unblinking black eyes. Arista gasped and opened the door, running back to the main room. After a quick fluttering noise, the birds appeared again at all the windows. There were even more than before. Arista heard a noise above her and looked up to see three birds perched on the skylight.

  She fled back through the hallway, this time stopping at the study that she had peeked into before. This room only had one small window above a desk. She closed the door behind her and shut the shade over the window. She sat at the desk and closed her eyes. Her head was swimming as she tried to understand what was happening.

  She finally opened her eyes, determined to believe it was all a coincidence. The result of exhaustion. Her heart pounding, she held her breath and tugged at the bottom of the window shade to make it open. Feathers, beaks, and those terrible black eyes filled the entire window in front of her. She screamed and ran into the bedroom, slamming the door and diving into the bathroom. She shut that door as well, cowering in the corner of the only room without any windows.

  Arista couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking and her eyes filled with tears. She was unable to explain why, but she knew there was something wrong with the birds. A few minutes later, the front door opened and closed with a bang. She shut her eyes, hoping it was Gavin. The door to the bedroom swung open and there was a knock outside the bathroom.