Beyond the Sea (28 page)

“Melia, are you ok?”

“Uh, sort of. Can you come get me?”

“Of course, what’s wrong?”

“Long story. I’m at Jamie’s.”

“Ok, I’ll be right there. I love you.”

“Love you too.” Melia hung up, only to pick up the phone again to give Peter directions.

 
Lacey ushered Melia to the couch, where she gently pressed a clean cloth to the cut. “I think you might need stitches,” she said softly. “It’s bleeding again. And dirty. I don’t want to hurt you but you need the dirt scraped out.”

“Oh,” was all Melia was able to say back. She was fighting the urge to closer her eyes and sleep. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Allow me?”

Melia slowly stood and followed Lacey to the bathroom where the two worked on cleaning Melia’s face. When the doorbell rang fifteen minutes later, Lacey offered to open the door. Her mouth dropped when she saw the blonde haired, blue eyed boy standing on the porch looking very concerned.

“Peter Parker,” she said with more than a slight sneer in her voice.

“Uh, no one’s called me that since the sixth grade,” Peter retorted. He remembered this girl. She was Jamie’s friend. He remembered the cruel jokes played at her expense, and he remembered laughing along with them. But he didn’t remember her name. “Melia,” he said shortly. Lacey waved him inside. Peter rushed to Melia’s side, kneeling in front of her, cupping her face in his hands.

“What the hell happened?” he demanded, fear and anger clouding his beautiful face.

“Fell off my horse,” Melia calmly repeated Jamie’s lie.

“You have a horse?” Peter asked, though that really wasn’t relevant.

“Edward just bought me one,” Melia said quickly. Too quickly. Peter didn’t notice her lie; he was too concerned about the bloody gash on her head to question her.

Melia leaned into Peter’s arm, wincing at the pain the slightest bit of pressure on her wrist caused. She closed her eyes. The squishing crack the knife made as it broke through the gwyrrd’s sternum before piercing the heart echoed in Melia’s mind. She never killed anyone before. Though, she reminded herself, the gwyrrd wasn’t a person.

The shock wore off and Melia’s toughness faded. Suddenly she felt like a vulnerable human girl, scared and in a lot of pain. She buried her face in Peter’s shirt. Then, aware she got blood all over him, pulled her head back.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I got blood on you.”

“I don’t care about that, Melia.” He pulled away and looked at Melia. “I think I should take you to the hospital.” He wiped fresh blood from Melia’s forehead. “You’re still bleeding. You probably need stitches.”

“I-I think the cut reopened when Lacey helped me clean it.”

Peter just nodded, staring into Melia’s eyes. Her story didn’t make sense. He was certain Melia would have mentioned her horse before. And Edward was out of town. He pushed that thought from his mind and stood, extending a hand to Melia. When Melia didn’t take it he said, “Melia, let’s go get you fixed up.”

“No,” Melia said quickly. Hospitals. Doctors. X-rays, blood tests, IVs…human stuff. She couldn’t go. “I’m fine. I’m just tired. I want to go home.” She slowly stood. Her ankle hurt when she walked. When did she twist it? “Please, Peter.”

He nodded. “Where’s Jamie?”

“She had to get Jill,” Lacey said honestly. “She just left. And only after Melia insisted. I stayed to look after her.”

“Oh, thanks,” Peter told her. He looked back at Melia, his heart finally stopped racing with fear. “I’ll take you home.” He put an arm around Melia and escorted her to the car. Before they went out the door, Melia mouthed ‘thank you’ to Lacey, who just nodded in return.

Peter helped Melia into bed. He frowned and asked again if he could take her to the hospital when he saw her wrist, which was swollen and bruised. After telling Peter all she wanted to do was sleep, he stopped nagging her and held her until she was asleep.

Melia let Peter and Jamie fuss over her the rest of the week, hoping they’d get sick of it after a few days. She even agreed to let Jamie’s mom take a look at her wrist. Certain it was not broken, Nikki still urged Melia to follow up with a doctor since sprains can take a while to heal. Melia smiled, promised she would, then went home and Googled what she needed to do to help her wrist get better.

When questioned about her wounds at school, she told Jamie’s lie about the horse, and it was bought without a hitch. Charles bought an arm brace and made sure Melia wore it and got plenty of rest Monday and Tuesday. Jamie brought Melia dinner on Wednesday, and Peter stayed with Melia until she fell asleep.

As he quietly walked down the stairs, a shadow passed the front door. Peter paused, unsure of what he had seen. When nothing out of the ordinary happened, he set the security system and locked the door behind him. A weird feeling blanketed him. He turned, expecting someone to pop out from behind the palm trees that lined the driveway.

His first thought was that he didn’t want to leave Melia alone. She was a sound sleeper, and vulnerable. He wanted to protect her. From what? There was clearly nothing here. Shaking his head, he got into the Mustang and drove home.

-Chapter
 
12-

“Lacey still won’t answer my calls,” Jamie told Melia as the plane took off. She gripped the armrest. Taking off was the worst part.

“Maybe it’s better that way,” Melia suggested. “She mustn’t have been a true friend.”

Jamie knew Melia meant to console her, but her words came off just a little cold. “Maybe. I guess it upsets me because I thought she was on my side, you know, believing me and everything, for years.”

“It’s a lot to swallow. Remember when I first told you who I was? Even though you saw it, you had trouble believing it.” Melia flipped a page in the dress book she was looking at. “She was really helpful, though, with making the story seem believable.”

“Yea, I guess. Peter still hasn’t said anything?”

“No. I think he’s suspicious, but he hasn’t even brought it up other than to ask how I’m feeling. I think he’s afraid of upsetting me.” Melia watched the ground get farther and farther away. “I hate this stupid thing.” She held up her wrist, which was in the brace. It wasn’t a bad sprain, and Melia healed faster than humans. When she was in the ocean, that is. Peter had been too concerned to leave her alone, so she hadn’t been able to sneak down to the shore. She had dumped more sea salt into the bathtub, shifting into her true form while she slept.

“How long do you have to wear it?”

“Your mom said a few weeks, but I bet I’ll be better in just one.”

Jamie nodded. She picked up a magazine and flipped through the pages. The girls were on their way to New York City to meet up with Melia’s mother to go prom dress shopping. Though Jamie didn’t officially have a date (Melia was certain Jeff was going to ask her), she agreed to come along and get a dress anyway. It was Thursday morning, and the girls wouldn’t return back to San Morado until Friday night. Jamie was amazed at how Melia bounced back to her normal self. She had a new respect for her best friend. And she was beginning to think merrows were a lot tougher than she gave them credit for.

Jamie loved New York. She liked staying in the VanBurren penthouse, which had a bigger staff than The Ridge, she liked having a limo drive her around and she liked the looks she got when she exited with Melia. The consultants at the dress stores gushed over Melia and Jamie, complimenting them so much even Melia wrinkled her nose and pretended to stick her finger down her throat when they weren’t looking.

Nyneve enjoyed every minute spent with Melia and Jamie. Melia whispered to Jamie that she thought her mom wished she was more human and liked regular girly stuff. Eventually, Melia admitted to having fun. She was having a hard time choosing a prom dress, mostly because every dress looked stunning on her.

When she emerged from the dressing room in a pale purple gown, everyone gasped.

“You are beautiful,” Nyneve told her with tears in her eyes. Jackie, the consultant that was assigned to them, put her hands over her heart.

“It is perfect,” she told Melia, looking behind her at the other consultant who just couldn’t seem to stay away. “I’ll get jewelry!” She scuttled off, returning promptly with dangly earrings and a diamond bracelet.

“Do you like it?” Melia asked Jamie, whose opinion was the only one Melia seemed to care about.

“I love it. It looks like it was made for you.” The strapless dress had a sweetheart neckline and a very intricately beaded bodice; the gold beads reflected light beautifully. The body was flowy, cascading over Melia’s body in an extremely flattering way. “You look like a Greek Goddess,” Jamie admitted.

“And I like the colors,” Melia said with a smile. “Since you know what else is purple and gold.” She turned around in the three way mirror. “Ok, this is the dress.” There was a bit of excited chaos as Jackie took Melia’s measurements and discussed ordering and pickup.

Melia picked out three dresses for Jamie to try on. Jamie admired them, hanging them on the hooks before stripping off her clothes. The first was floor length, skin tight and yellow and would look gorgeous on anyone else. Melia liked it, of course. Jamie only weakly smiled and retreated back to the dressing room, feeling very self conscious. She quickly took it off and tried on the awful green dress Melia had picked out. It was a mermaid style; tight in all the wrong places. It had to be a joke. Shaking her head, Jamie whipped it off before anyone could see her in it. The next dress was midnight blue. It had thin, silk straps, an empire waist with jewels under the bust and a fitted waist. It was beautiful. Jamie spun; the softly pleated skirt flew out around her feet. She cracked the dressing room door and waved Melia in.

“Oh, I love it!” Melia told her. She stood behind Jamie and lifted Jamie’s hair off of her shoulders. “You look beautiful!”

They joined Edward for dinner. He was discussing business with his interns, two of whom were young and attractive men. Jamie guiltlessly flirted. When she didn’t know someone she was surprisingly open. She had nothing to hide, no lies or rumors to cover up and didn’t have to worry about being called crazy. Melia and Jamie ate until they were beyond stuffed.

They returned to the penthouse after ten, already ready for bed. Melia called Peter while Jamie was in the shower. She told him she missed him and had found the perfect dress. Though there were plenty of rooms, Melia and Jamie stayed together, sinking under luxurious covers in a king sized bed. Melia turned on
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,
but both were asleep before the movie was halfway over.

They spent Friday shoe shopping with Nyneve, had lunch with Nyneve’s friends who hadn’t seen Melia since the wedding. The usual flow of compliments streamed from their perfectly lipsticked mouths. Melia smiled, letting it all seem copacetic. Inside, it hurt. Her mother was so proud of her life in New York. She had turned her back on who she really was. And she was good at it.

Melia wasn’t sorry to leave the city. As soon as her feet hit the brick of her driveway, she took off, running to the water. Just as she was about to yank her dress over her head, she stopped. A low growl rumbled under the water. She suddenly felt cold.

Something wasn’t right.

The feeling of being watched was so strong she ran back inside. She had promised Peter she’d call him as soon as she got home, and he arrived shortly after she did. They hugged and kissed as if they had been parted for more than two days. Peter was astonished at how fast Melia was healing. The bruising was almost gone on her wrist. She took the brace off, stating it was too uncomfortable. Wolfy, who wasn’t happy with his owner’s recent absence, wouldn’t leave Melia alone. She hugged him and gave him treats but he wanted more. Giving in to his ever-wagging tail, she and Peter let him outside to play ball. Assuming the gate was closed, Melia threw the ball several times before settling on the veranda, sitting with her back to Peter’s front. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

Melia pointed to different stars, explaining the meanings of constellations. “I used to think I’d have a star named after me,” she said with a laugh. “Lana and I used to fight over which one would be ours. She said I always picked the brightest. No matter which star she found, I’d find one that shone just a little brighter.” She sighed. “I miss her.”

Peter hugged her tighter. He didn’t know what to say. Words couldn’t take away the pain of losing a sister. Melia had shown him a picture of Lana, and her face flashed before Peter’s eyes. She looked like Melia but with fairer skin, blonde hair and freckles. She had the same sea green eyes. The picture was taken at Nyneve and Edward’s wedding. Melia and Lana were wearing matching pale blue dresses. They had their arms around each other, smiling broadly. “I love you,” he finally said.

“I love you too.” Melia turned around so she could kiss him. It didn’t take long before the two of them were removing each other’s clothing. All too soon, they were interrupted by a scuffling in the plants. Wolfy barked once and pounced. A cat hissed. While Peter helped wrestle Wolfy away from the poor kitty, Melia pretended to be unable to see in the dark. She retrieved a flashlight from inside and looked through the flowerbeds. Sure enough, a dirty, young cat stared at her. Moving slowly, Melia closed in on the thing. Remembering how she picked up scared cats at the shelter, she gently scooped it up.
 
Peter threw Wolfy’s ball and snuck inside with Melia and the cat.