Fathom L. Standage (books for 8th graders .TXT) 📖

I tried to get you to talk more, but you wouldn’t.”

My stomach contracted. “What was I saying?”

“Nothing that made any sense. You called Uther ‘mum’ though.”

I laughed.

Eamon laughed too. “So…breakfast?”

“You didn’t have any trouble at the store?” I asked as Eamon set the creamer on the counter in the kitchen and crumpled up the bag.

“Not a whit. I think we’ll be fine for a while, as long as we all head out of town soon. We’ll make sure you and Samantha are safely on your way.”

My heart sank back where it had sat when I first saw the computer equipment cleaned up.

“Do we have to leave today?”

“That was my original intention,” he said. “I thought about making up some fried potatoes, sound good?”

It hurt to hear Eamon be so offhand about sending me home. I had begun to feel like a part of this strange household and its strange residents—a friend they could trust instead of just an unfortunate witness they had to protect. Now I was back to being the prisoner. The prisoner being extradited to another prison.

“I know you want to stay,” Eamon continued, leaning his hands on the kitchen counter. “But I fear for your safety, and the rest of us are leaving California tomorrow.”

“Where are you going?”

“Splitting up for a while, until the next task comes,” said Calder from the kitchen.

“Until the next mermaid is in trouble?”

He nodded.

“You guys will probably be glad to get rid of us, huh.” I spoke to the floor with an air of apathetic joking, afraid I’d sound like I cared too much.

“Not at all,” said Eamon. “We were glad to have you.”

“Liv?” I heard Samantha from the stairs. She came down a little further, saw me, and hurried the rest of the way to the couch. “I woke up and you weren’t in your bed! I freaked!”

“I’m fine. Calder saved our lives. Again.” I looked up at him for a second. He returned my gaze with a half-smile. Sam glanced at him, then back to me and gave me a ooh, this has got to be good look.

“Your mom called a couple times, by the way. And uh…you’ll probably want to freshen up a little, won’t you?” she said, then jumped up before I could reply and pulled me to my feet. She saw my filthy clothes for the first time. “Make that a lot.”

Though I agreed, I knew this wasn’t her real motive. She wanted to know exactly, step by step, minute by minute, what happened between Calder and me yesterday.

After calling my mom on Sam’s phone—in which I told her a whole lot of nothing—I had a shower. Then I told Sam what happened. Not a single gory detail withheld, from the second I had stepped out the door with Calder, until I had come home and dropped to sleep on the sofa. Sam lay on the floor of the bedroom, laughing her head off. I sat on her bed, combing out my wet hair.

“You did the ‘falling asleep on the shoulder’ trick? Livvie-le-Skivvie! I have never been more proud of you.”

“Keep your voice down, will you? I don’t want anyone to hear us.”

She waved a hand. “Seidon and Cordelia can hear every word even if we whisper.” She shifted to her knees. “So, I was right, wasn’t I? You like Calder, don’t you?”

I heaved a long breath. It took a few lectures from Samantha and some near-death experiences for me to see it—not to mention, a major shift in Calder’s attitude toward me. It had become easy to talk and laugh with him. I grew to feel safe instead of self-conscious around him, and the way my insides leapt when I made him smile all chipped at the barriers I’d built around my heart. I did like him.

I bobbed my head. Samantha clapped her hands and fell into giggles again.

“I knew it. I knew it! Ever since we’ve been hanging around these guys, you haven’t taken your eyes off him.”

“Shut up, that’s not true.”

“Even when he was so mean to you…wow, you sure know how to pick ‘em, don’t you?”

“Hey, he’s not mean anymore. And I didn’t plan for it. I didn’t want it to happen. It just did.”

“Nerds of a feather, I guess,” she laughed. “Seidon and I knew it was only a matter of time.”

“Yeah, thanks a lot for bringing him into this,” I said, giving her a little shove.

“Oh, like you care. You should be thanking us. We’re the ones who made you go with Calder yesterday.”

“Yeah, and if you ever bring up tampons in front of these people again, I’m going to kill you.”

She laughed. “It was worth it. Does Calder like you too?”

“I don’t know. Maybe as a friend, sure. There’s never going to be anything more.” I sighed, full of disappointment I didn’t hide. I picked up an errant sock on the floor and threw it half-heartedly toward the suitcases. “I’m probably never going to see him again. We have to go home today.”

Sam stopped laughing.

“Today? Why today?”

“We have to. Everyone else is leaving tomorrow. The group is splitting up until some other mermaid is in trouble again.”

She jumped to her feet and tore open the bedroom door.

“Where are you going?”

“Seidon!” Sam shouted in the hallway. I stood and went out too.

“In here,” came his voice from the bathroom. Sam hurried down the hall, lunged for the bathroom door, and wrenched it open before I could stop her.

“Sam!” I said, but she ignored me. “Give the guy some privacy!”

“It’s fine,” his voice echoed. “Just having a soak.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Olivia says we have to go home today.” Sam spoke with her arms folded, looking into the bathroom without an ounce of shame.

“Today?” Water sloshed in the tub and splashed everywhere. Sam didn’t look away.

“Seidon, geez!” I cried, then snorted with laughter as he came out of the bathroom dripping wet, shirtless, but wearing blue jeans.

“Yeah,” Samantha went on as though I hadn’t said anything. “You’re the prince, Your Highness. You