they were all looking at me. The mood in the room was heavy, the air thick with tension, “What?” I asked. “What happened?”
“You need to stay away from the beach!” Cruz exclaimed with wide eyes.
“Jeez Marina,” said Megan, “Are you going to be alright? Ethan told us about the sea lions.
How are you even walking on your feet?”
“Can we skip the pity party?” I said impatiently, casting an accusing glance at Ethan, “What kind of pizza do you guys want me to order?”
They lightened up a bit, mostly since I wasn’t going to tolerate any conversation about every terrible thing that had been happening to me. I went to go phone in our order and when the pizza arrived we ate lounging on the couch. Abby might not have approved, but she wouldn’t have liked the pepperoni either.
Ethan insisted on taking a look at my feet and decided he needed to change the dressings. He went out to the Jaguar to get his bag.
“He’s staying in your room now?” Megan whispered to me, eyes wide and amused.
“It’s not like that,” I said, my cheeks flushing hot, “He’s just worried–”
“I think he’s a little more than worried,” she said with a knowing smile.
“Me too,” said Cruz with a wink.
I glared at them, “It’s hard enough without all of your innuendos.”
“That’s what she said!” Cruz screeched, sending Megan into paroxysms of laughter.
The two of them were howling with mirth when Ethan returned, looking between them and me with amusement. He must have gathered they were teasing me, and sat by my side protectively.
He took my feet on his lap, unwrapping the bandages, gently scolding me for getting them wet. Cruz and Megan looked shocked when they saw the extent of the damage. Ethan tenderly applied ointment to the stitches and wrapped them back up. He pulled my sweatpant legs up a little to reveal a couple of enormous black and purple bruises on my shins. Cruz and Megan gasped.
“Good Lord, Marina! You really do need a bodyguard!” cried Megan.
Their pitying eyes irritated me, “It’s not that bad.”
“If that’s not bad, I don’t know what is,” said Cruz somberly.
“Do you see what I’m up against?” Ethan said, thankful to have someone side with him. “I have to work after school this week. I’m gonna need you guys to help me keep an eye on her when I can’t be around.”
“Oh come on! I don’t need babysitters!” I protested.
“Look Marina, clearly the mermaids are communicating with you telepathically,” said Megan, “And with animals too. You should at least try to always be around other people who can stop you if they– I don’t know... hypnotize you or something.” Megan always had a way of getting directly to the point.
“Since when did you start believing in ESP?” I asked.
“Oh, probably just after I started believing in mermaids,” she replied, “Time to break out the tinfoil hats.”
“The what hats?” Cruz asked.
Megan rolled her eyes at him sarcastically, “You know, tinfoil... so the aliens and the government can’t read my brain-waves?”
Cruz scoffed, “You’re weird!” he said.
“You are so totally thick!” she fired back, shaking her head.
“That’s what she said!” Cruz shouted triumphantly.
We all laughed, and despite the mess I was in, I was surprised to find myself happier than I had ever been. With Ethan next to me I felt calm and relaxed, and I started to believe that everything would turn out okay after all.
The next week at school he was by my side constantly, making sure I stayed off my feet as much as possible. He would have carried me around if I’d have let him, but we were attracting enough attention to ourselves as it was.
The group of girls that followed the surfers around were noticeably disappointed with the situation, and I couldn’t help but wonder what they’d think if they knew where he was spending his nights. He refused to give up his vigil, and I really couldn’t argue after a particularly bad episode on Wednesday.
I dreamed about the circle of mermaids, only this time they were clutching at me, grabbing hold of my arms and legs. I was fighting them with everything I had, and I woke up to find Ethan wrapped around me, trying to wake me up and hold me down at the same time.
I was mortified to find that I had clawed at him and left marks on his arms. My eyes stung with tears of remorse and shame, and as hard as I tried I couldn’t keep from