My stomach rolls. Eww. Poor little fishes.
“I’ll do it!” says Lello, and he snatches the hairnet thing from me and dives into the pool.
I wonder if Blue can talk to the fish and tell them to stay away from the pump? I swear he was communicating with the ones in the aquarium.
“It will keep the gravel out too,” adds Brodie.
I nod. Oh god. There is so much I didn’t think about. This all could have gone horribly wrong. It’s a good thing I have such sensible friends.
A warm, glowy feeling fills my insides. Friends. I have friends.
“Blue!” shouts someone in surprise.
I whirl around. Blue is standing a few feet away, a box of doughnuts in one lax hand, looking like it is about to drop to the ground. He is staring wide eyed at the pool.
How long has he been standing there? There are so many people here, it would be easy to miss him.
I run up to him and take the doughnuts.
“Surprise!” I say weakly.
Blue just continues to stare.
“I know it looks a little murky, but it is just sediment, it will settle. There are plants down there too. And three different types of fish. Well, the fish are still in the containers but we are about to put them in,” I babble.
Blue slowly folds to the ground, like a puppet whose strings have been cut. He covers his face with his hands, and he sobs.
My heart is pounding so hard that I swear it’s going to break free from my ribcage. I cast my gaze around the other boys. Everyone looks worried.
Then I feel it. Pure and shining joy. Elation. Sheer happiness. Flowing down the mate bond.
I let out a breath. “It’s all right!” I call out to everyone. “They are happy tears.”
I made Blue happy, and it is the best feeling in the world.
Chapter nineteen
Blue
The fish are settling in well. They were spawned in tiny tanks and were finding the space of the swimming pool vast and overwhelming. But now, every one of them is adjusting quickly, and I am so proud.
I like that there are no predators here, apart from me, and I’m not going to eat them. So these little fish are going to have long and stress-free lives. Whether or not that is enough compensation for a lack of freedom, I don’t know. That’s far too deep and philosophical a question for me.
Besides, they weren’t taken from the ocean. They were liberated from a pet store. If it wasn’t for Sammy, they would have spent their lives confined to a tiny tank.
And I would have spent my days in a barren pool. Sammy is an angel and a saint and I can’t believe all the trouble he has gone to for me. Sirens are cold and selfish. Nobody has ever cared for me as much as Sammy does. Not even my own mother. So it is no wonder I am finding it intoxicating. Exhilarating. Breathtaking.
The fact that my friends, my new family, all helped, is going to overwhelm me with gratitude. But I know it was all Sammy’s idea. He is the special one.
My gaze turns irresistibly to Sammy. He is doing something to the base of one of the plants. Digging it deeper into thegravel, I think.
The sight of him underwater, in my pool, with me, is making me feel all kinds of giddy. He has taken to the aquatic world, well, like a fish to water. And the awe and amazement in his eyes is a wonder to behold. I will cherish his joy forever.
He turns to look at me, and he grins. I adore the way his blond hair floats around his face in the water.
I swim towards him and he tries to swim away from me in a cheeky game of chase, but he is still so hopeless in the water. All elbows and knees and no grace at all.
I let him stay just out of my reach. Trailing leisurely behind him while he flounders like something mortally wounded.
