Page 21 of Anchored to the Storm

He did not shy away from the spotlight. “Don’t be jealous. And yes, his kiss is as hot as he is.”

Sarah, red-eyed and all, smirked. “I have never heard you sound so fabulously gay.”

After a pause, his shoulders slumped. “It’s an act. He never even kissed me back.”

Laughter through tears is a healing motherfuckering thing. We all booed him for the false climactic moment.

Then, without an ounce of warning, I became so tired I could not keep my eyes open. I mumbled, “Do you guys smell bleach?” I felt like I had spent all my energy truly punching someone to their final moments on this earth. It was eerie. “Will you all stay with me?” Yet rewarding.

I heard yeses that faded into the darkness that took me under.

Lyrics are what I heard as I started to wake. “We were born before the wind…” My eyes opened to see Sarah holding a cell phone to my mouth. “This app will find the song.”

I was still in the tub. I felt warm water trickling from the spout so Ethan and I didn’t freeze.

Sarah pulled her cell away, and read it. Then she announced, “He’s singing ‘Into the Mystic’ by Van Morrison.” She looked to everyone still in the bathroom and asked, “Is that a band?”

I was a tad confused, to say the least. “How long did I sleep for?”

Gage’s stare was locked on the water I was immersed in. “Long enough for some cray-cray shit to go down.”

“Huh?” I peered down, wondering what was holding his attention. At first, I feared I was naked or something, but when I saw the water, I jolted. “What the fuck?”

Ethan’s hold stopped my movement. “We’re good. Don’t fight it.”

I was sitting in a tub full of fucking wet Tinker Bell dust. “But… How…?”

Oh my God, the mermaid is real.

Once dressed, I no longer felt the serenity of the mermaid water. And I felt guilty for an accusation that was beyond uncalled for. I went searching to address an apology but couldn’t find Sarah anywhere inside our home. No one was around. So, I went to the place they could always be found. The gazebo.

The guys were sitting under its shelter, all staring off at a very special corner of the backyard. I didn’t say a word as I stood near the guys but grabbed my chest when seeing Sarah lying next to the summer flowers that were doing sheltering of their own.

Taking a step forward, I caught Ethan’s silent plea.

I nodded. My tirade was over. Only sorrow was now present.

Once I got to Sarah, I sat down, feeling like I weighed a million tons.

She was sniffling, staring as if seeing who was in the ground. “I swear I’m trying to be strong.”

My fingers combed through her blonde hair as it touched the grass. “I swear I’m trying to breathe as you told me to.” My throat tightened. “I can’t believe I spoke to you like that.”

She sat up in a hurry and snuggled to me, resting her head on my shoulder. “Humans do human things.”

I gazed at my palm and the cut that proved I shared a blood oath with the others. Somewhat nervous about the answer, I asked, “Are we still all human?”

She giggled, but it sounded slightly forced. “Think we can fly now or something?”

Setting my hand back in my lap, I leaned my head to the top of hers and sighed while staring at our friend I missed. “Wouldn’t that be nice? Fly far away from all this pain?”

Mourning can be gruesome. Just absolute and gut-wrenching. It kept coming in waves that kept threatening to drown us all, but there was hope. We still had each other. That was made clear as Finn, Ethan, and Gage all came and sat with us.

We had bonded by each having past tragedies. Now we were bonding over present ones. So, the tears fell. Hard. Every drop caused another. Every sniffle, as sad as it was, reminded us we weren’t alone.

“I don’t want to lose any of you,” I cried.

Finn put out a hand. “Same.”