Chapter 99 An old friend
1403words
I didn't believe him one bit. I was firmly convinced that the machine had a contribution, or that Janice did something to me while I was unconscious.
Dad, to my surprise, didn't scold me once I went home that evening. Whatever Adriane had told him swayed him enough not to. He did make me stay home Thursday, though.
I spent that whole day trying to take a bath. I couldn't touch water without feeling like I was taking a dip in skin-eating acid, and every time those pearly scales would rear their ugly head.
Okay, maybe I'd be lying if I said they were ugly. As disconcerting as it was to see them expand on my skin, I had to admit they were pretty.
However, I refused to put my feet into the water. I didn't think I was in the mental state to see myself with a tail just yet.
Thunder rumbled in the distance as I entered Bowmore High, pulling close my jacket in the front. With mid-autumn coming to pass, it was starting to get uncomfortably cold. I barely stepped inside when an arm looped with mine, and I glanced up to find Ember staring at me.
"Is everything okay?" I paused, peering down at our linked arms in confusion. Last I remembered, she hated me.
"I need to talk to you."
"Okay?" I let her steer me back toward the exit. "What's wrong?"
"Not in here," she said quietly. "Somewhere outside where no one else can—are you freaking kidding me?" Ember suddenly stiffened. I glanced up, expecting to find Kayn doing something dastardly to tick off his sister. Or something.
Anything other than Rake standing in front of us with a backpack slung over his shoulder, clutching a class schedule inside his hands. He cracked a smile, noting Ember holding on to me. "You're friends again? What a great thing to see!"
"Like you give a crap what happens to me," Embers snarled. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Going to school," he said innocently. "What does it look like?"
Ember huffed. "You homeschool."
"Not anymore," he breathed. "It got boring. Since this is the only high school in the area…"
"Yeah. Whatever," Ember scowled. "Just stay out of our way, or you will have to deal with me personally."
"That doesn't sound too bad," he admitted, his eyes raking over Ember.
"It's not a good thing, doofus." She smacked him against the shoulder, making a low, hissing sound before she steered us through the doorway. "I swear if he follows us…"
I turned in time to see the glass doors closing and Rake walking away from us. "Nah, he isn't.
"Good." Ember's body relaxed. "Looks like it's going to rain."
I gulped. "Yeah."
"Why did you come to school if you knew that?"
"I didn't have a choice," I said. "My mom made me come today."
"That sucks."
"Tell me about it," I sighed, peering at her. "Why are you here if it's going to rain?"
"We have umbrellas."
"But it doesn't stop the occasional drops of—"
"And a hint of magic," she winked. "Don't underestimate us."
"You forgot your magic in that cave one time," I pointed out. "That time you blamed my eyesight for being deceived by the trick of the light."
She snorted. "I was unprepared, okay. I didn't expect to go near water."
"So, you admit I didn't imagine it?"
"I guess so," she offered me a smile. It was nice to be able to talk to her again, almost like it used to be.
But… "What gives?"
"How are you doing?" she asked. "Is it still happening?"
"You mean, the fact that I can't touch water without feeling like I'm being consumed by it? Yeah."
"Kayn and I've been talking," she hesitated.
"Okay?"
"We think, the best course of action is if you just jump into the water, completely, you'll go through the transition and then it'll be over."
"Are you crazy?" I paused. "I can't even handle the pain on the tip of my fingers, let alone my entire body. And what do you mean by it'll be over, then?"
"You see," she breathed. "You can only transition once. They do it with us as babies so it won't hurt. Then we can go on with our lives, go into water without any struggle. The thing is, you can't avoid water forever."
"I know I can't," I sighed. "But what makes you think it won't hurt after that?"
"Because that's how the transition works," she said. "Your body goes through it once and then it's adapted."
"How long does this process take?" I asked. "And how sure are you that this won't kill me?"
"Carly, look," she turned. "Kayn isn't doing so well."
"Wait, what does this have to do with him?"
"You're linked, remember?" she quipped. "As long as you refuse the transition, holding it off, Kayn will get worse."
"And you know this, how?"
"Hector and my mom told us," she explained. "I'm not going into too many details, but what you do affects him greatly."
"Where is he?" I asked.
"At home, in bed. He can barely walk," she glanced away. "I hate seeing him like that."
"You think this will work?" I asked. "If I do go through with it?"
"Hector and my mom are confident it will," she nodded. "Anyway, the process is fairly quick."
"Fairly?"
"A minute, at the most," she answered. "But I'm not going to lie or mislead you, Carly, it's going to hurt. Badly."
"Kayn, will he feel it?"
"Yes," she sounded apologetic. "He wants to go with you when—or if you decide to go."
"But he's sick. Will he be able to handle it?" I didn't like the sound of it. Not one bit.
"Honestly, this is going to suck badly for the both of you, but once you go through the transition, you'll both be okay," she confirmed. "And Kayn can be his obnoxious self again. Carly, you have no idea how pathetic he is now. I hate it so much."
"I hated seeing him like that," I admitted.
"You haven't really seen him. He put up quite the show when you were there. He's not even close to okay."
"So," I breathed. "How are we doing this?"
Her face brightened. "We think the best is the ocean directly. That spot beside Kayn's cave?"
I snorted a laugh, nodding. "His cave, yeah?"
"I know, he's so possessive over his spot," she rolled her eyes. "We can go there if you're comfortable enough with it. However, Kayn insists on going there. I have no idea why."
"I'll do it."
"You sure?" she frowned. "Just like that?"
"I'm not going to lie to you, Ember. I hate this. I hate the idea of turning, or even thinking of how much it'll hurt."
"But?" One of her brows was quirked.
"But, if he's suffering…"
"Is Kayn finally growing on you?" she bit down a smile. "Are you blushing?"
"Oh, shush," I scowled, but I did feel heat blossoming on my cheeks. "Maybe. Just a little."
She squealed, but her smile dropped and her eyes turned glassy. "I'm so sorry, Carly."
"For what?" my brows knitted together.
"For pushing you away," she said. "For letting you push me away. I know you didn't mean what you said. But, I don't know…"
I took hold of her hand and squeezed it. "It's okay Ember. If anything, I deserved it."
Without another word, she flung her arms around me and tugged me into a lung-crushing hug. "I've missed you so much. Hell, do you know how much it sucks to try and annoy Kayn when you're not around?"
I sputtered a laugh, but there were hot tears on my cheeks. "That must suck."
"Right?" she breathed a shaky breath. "Like, he just shrugs me off. But you? You just know how to get under his skin."
That was news to me. "So when do we start?"
Ember pulled away, wiping away the moisture pooling around her eyes. She'd been crying too. "Well, let's do that transition then we can take it from there," she smiled.
"I can't wait." I so didn't look forward to that transition…
