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She closes her eyes like she’s in pain before she mumbles, “Owen. Owen Marshall.”
“That’s me!” I say, giving her a big smile.
“I’m Andie Chase.”
“You’re my teacher! Well isn’t that lucky.”
“Yeah. Lucky.”
“Will you be able to give me some swimming tips too?”
“I’m not a mermaid!” She says, standing and heading below deck.
I stand and follow after her. She’s wearing dark clothes and with her wet black hair, she blends into the darkness. I grab the hand rail and follow her down the stairs. She flicks on a light in a room to the left and I see a bed and a little chest of drawers. Andie walks over to the dresser and yanks open a drawer, tugging out a shirt and pair of sweatpants.
“You live here?” I ask, stepping into the small room and looking around.
There’s a small room attached to her bedroom and I peek inside to see a tiny bathroom. There’s just a shower, sink, and toilet inside and I wonder how she can move around in there.
“Yeah,” she says and I turn around to see her pulling out some panties and kicking off her shoes.
“Nice place.”
“Thanks. Well I better get to bed so…” She says, trailing off as she looks at me and then toward the door.
“Can I stay on board too? I’ve always wanted to do that. What’s it like living on a boat anyway? Do you ever get sea sick?”
I can’t seem to stop myself and I rattle off questions one after another. Andie’s stormy grey eyes look tired.
“I only have the one bed,” she says and I smile.
“Well that’s a little forward but I don’t mind sharing with you.”
“Not what I meant,” she says, her tone dry.
I open my mouth to ask her one last time when the boat rocks. I clearly don’t have my sea legs yet and my arms pinwheel as I try to keep my balance but it’s too late. I tip over and my head hits the wall. I hear Andie call my name before everything goes black.
4
Andie
“How is this guy still alive?”I mumble as I drag him over to the chair in the sitting area below deck. I get him into it and his head lolls to the side.
“Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, please don’t be-”
“I’m okay,” he says as he blinks his honey eyes open. He gives me a lopsided smile and I kind of want to shake him.
“Okay, maybe a boat isn’t the right place for you. Or a dock.”
“I’ll get used to it,” he says, trying to stand up.
He wobbles and I reach out to steady him. “Okay, you can sleep here tonight.”
I feel guilty that he got hurt and I also don’t know that he should be alone in some hotel room right now if he might have a concussion or something. I grab my flashlight again and he sighs but lets me check his eyes.
“I’m fine. I’ve got a pretty hard head.” He rolls his eyes like I’m being adorable checking him over.
“Okay, I’m going to take a quick shower before bed. Why don’t you just sit here for a few minutes.”
