I see her legs, limp and still, as she’s flipped onto her side.
“Olive! Olive!”
Panic sets in. I choke and gasp.Please don’t let her die.
I have to get to her, but when I try to sit up, my body is useless. I can only move my head, and when I do, pain shoots through me. I can only wait, pray, and silently beg.
I hear a strangled cough and liquid splashes the ground. Then I hear her wail. A loud, long cry that is the best sound I’ve ever heard in my life.
Each sob of relief is cut short by the pain in my back and chest.
“You’re okay, my love. You’re okay.” He repeats it as though he’s trying to convince himself, as much as comfort her. He sinks to his knees with her pressed against him. Sobs shake them both, and I know they are coming from Liam. “Thank Christ, you’re okay.”
Shock and ice cold rattle my bones. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I should have stopped her.”
He looks down at me, and I see rage. “Why the hell did you let her go down there at high tide?!”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Olive.” I tremble with deep regret and the aftershocks of terror.
Liam turns from me and holds Olive’s face in his big hands. “What were you doing? You could’ve gotten killed, Olive. You could have died just then!”
“I was bringing a message to Mom.” She’s crying so hard that her words aren’t fully formed.
“What?”
“I wanted to let them know we’ll be back at the house for the winter.” She buries her head in his chest and cries. “I’m sorry, Dad. I never meant to fall in.”
“Is this about the damn mermaids, Olive? I never should have—!” He’s holding her upper arms, and his voice has grown to a yell now. “Your mom isn’t a mermaid, Olive! She’s dead! She died and so did the baby.”
“No, she didn’t! She’s here! I know she’s here!” Olive’s body convulses with the force of her sobs.
Liam’s eyes are crazed, and he shakes her once. “Stop it, Olive! Stop it! You’re never going to find her. She’s gone. They’re both gone.”
I watch them, although the world seems to be growing dim, as they both collapse onto each other, clutching and sobbing. When he speaks again, his voice is quiet. “She’s gone, Olive, and trying to find her is only going to kill you.”
Chapter Thirty
Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.
~ James Dean
I’m on my side in a brightly lit hospital room. I’m numb and too hot at the same time. The pain in my back forces me to lie on my side. Every tiny movement of my face feels as though the skin on my left cheek will tear apart. I blink, trying to figure out what’s wrong with me.
A nurse who reminds me of Nettie flicks at the tube at the bottom of a fresh bag of fluids. She glances down at me and smiles. “There you are. Don’t try to move much, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, and the effort of that one word makes my eyes shut. “What’s wrong with me?” I whisper.
“You don’t remember? You’re at Northside General Hospital. Do you know how you got here, Abby?”
“In an ambulance.”
She smiles. “That’s right. You saved that little girl from drowning.”
Tears spring to my eyes. “So she’s okay?”
“She’s fine—mild hypothermia and a few scrapes. They’ve been keeping her toasty warm and monitoring her for a few hours now, but she can go home tonight,” she says, replacing the bag of fluid next to my bed. “I don’t think I could have done what you did. Jumped in there like that during high tide. You must have nerves of steel, like Superman, only prettier.” She glances at my cheek and I see an instant flick of concern before her bright smile returns.
I blow out a puff of air and sniffle. “Am I okay?”
