Dark Water: A Siren Novel (37 page)

Paige, however, had learned a thing or two from her time with Natalie. Before my feet hit sand, the police were gone—and apparently convinced they’d stopped by the beach to follow up on a noise complaint. The digital voice recorder, with my earlier confession, was in her possession. She’d also taken care of Jaime, Sam, and Natalie’s husband the same way I’d asked the sirens to handle the other men: by singing so sweetly they believed everything the sirens claimed, including my innocence. The only ones who still knew what I’d been accused of were Paige, Caleb, Simon, and me.

The four of us talked for hours after that. They hadn’t heard
any of my conversation with Natalie up on the employee deck, so I explained everything she’d told me. When I was finished, I said I still planned to turn myself into the police for what I’d done to Colin, but they talked me out of it. They were certain I’d simply acted in self-defense and that his death was ultimately an accident. They also thought that’d be difficult to explain to the authorities without trying to explain everything else. I couldn’t argue their logic, so even though I’d been—and still was—wracked with guilt, I refrained.

As a visitor, Natalie wasn’t known or missed outside our small circle, and her body wasn’t found. Colin’s death was deemed a tragic kayaking accident. The other mysterious deaths—Carla’s, Erica’s, and Gretchen’s—remained unsolved. Eventually, as weeks passed without incident, residents and life in Winter Harbor calmed down.

Paige even relaxed, although that took longer. Just as I felt guilty for my involvement with Colin, she felt guilty for hers with Natalie. Their friendship had started innocently enough, but Natalie had latched on to the fact that Paige wanted to increase business at the restaurant, and when the time was right, she confessed that she was a siren, too. She’d claimed she wanted to meet Paige after reading about everything that had happened the summer before and hoped to help her move on after such a horrific experience. Paige, desperate for business and curious about what a more experienced, seemingly trustworthy siren could teach her, quickly went along with Natalie’s business propositions—including using her abilities
to lure men to the new dinner contests Betty’s hosted. She’d wanted to tell me but didn’t, for two reasons. The first was that she was worried I wouldn’t approve, and the second was that she didn’t want to give me yet another thing to worry about.

She’d apologized endlessly, and each time, I told her it wasn’t necessary. After all, considering what I’d done, who was I to judge?

I could go for some coffee
, Paige announced suddenly. Then, “Who wants coffee? My treat.”

My parents, miraculously picking up on the excuse to leave, claimed that they were in desperate need of caffeine. We agreed to meet at the dining hall, and they hurried from the room. When they were gone, Simon came all the way inside and closed the door.

“Hey.” He smiled.

I went to him, put my arms around his neck, and squeezed. “Thank you for coming.”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”

It was true. It had to be. I’d certainly given him enough reason to stay far, far away for a very long time … yet here he was.

“Any sign of your roommate yet?” he asked, a moment later.

I released him reluctantly. “Nope. But we e-mailed a few times and she seems nice. Her name’s Sarah. She’s from Nebraska.”

“Conveniently nowhere near an ocean.”

“Right.” That had been my first thought, too.

“Care for some friendly advice?”

“Always.”

He flopped on the bed. “Ground rules. Lay them down as soon as possible—preferably after parental departures but before you go to sleep tonight. You don’t want to wake up to a predawn alarm clock or nude yoga or anything else that might get your relationship off to the kind of rocky start from which some roommates never recover. Trust me.”

I grinned and sat next to him.

“Also, are you sure about this side of the room? The unwritten rule is that the first one to arrive gets first pick, but I know you’d probably hand this side over if Sarah from Nebraska so much as smiled at it. So if you’re sure, we should probably come up with polite ways for you to stand your ground. Another option is to wait till she gets here and discuss who gets which piece of furniture, but that’s always more trouble than it’s worth.”

Amused, I didn’t say anything. A second later, he turned to me, eyebrows raised.

“Sorry,” I said. “That was a real question?”

“Just wait. Tomorrow morning, when you open your eyes before the sun comes up and suddenly know your roommate
really
well … you’re going to wish you’d taken this seriously.”

I leaned closer, bumped his shoulder with mine. “What would I do without you?”

He lifted my chin, waited for my eyes to meet his, and spoke softly. “That’s one question, Vanessa Sands, you will never have to know the answer to.”

He pressed his lips gently to mine. As we kissed, I thought
about how, for the first time, I actually believed this. I believed Simon and I would be together no matter what. Because he knew everything now. He knew about Colin. He knew that although Natalie had been technically killed by the other sirens, they’d been acting upon my distress call, making me at least partially—if not totally—responsible. He knew how I felt even stronger after her death than I had after Colin’s. He even knew what I’d have to do if I were to continue to curtail the accelerated aging process.

And he wanted to be with me anyway.

We kissed a while longer. When we finally pulled apart, Simon stood with a sigh and held out one hand.

“We should probably find your parents before your mother monopolizes all the mini fridges in a hundred-mile radius.”

I took his hand and he gently helped me up. “Can I meet you at the dining hall? I just want to freshen up.”

“I’m happy to wait.”

“That’s okay.” I smiled. “I won’t be long.”

He didn’t press. He squeezed my fingers as he released them, kissed my cheek, and said, “Take your time.”

I watched him go. When the door closed behind him, I surveyed the room once more. Besides the furniture and my bedding, it was bare, and my side would likely stay that way. As I’d packed during the days leading up to orientation week, I’d thought of Charlotte’s home in South Boston, the guest room during her stay at the beach house. Her home had been simply furnished. Her bookcases had remained empty, the fireplace
spotless, like it’d never seen a match. She’d stayed with us several days in Winter Harbor, but aside from her suitcase and slippers, the room always seemed unoccupied.

Charlotte had kept things simple. She hadn’t wanted to settle in, to get attached. Because it was hard to feel comfortable in the present when your future could change at any time.

That was why I’d packed lightly. I didn’t know what my future held. For now it was college. Simon. My friends and family. A relatively normal life.

But later? In a month? A year? Two years? When no amount of salt water or random flirting gave me the strength I needed to live a relatively normal life? When it was time to do what I wasn’t sure I could ever do again?

I had no idea.

Still, I was hopeful. More so than I’d been in a long time. Which was why I’d brought a few things to help my dorm room feel like home.

My purse was on my bed. I reached inside for the envelope I’d placed there the night before, went to the nearest desk, and faced the wall—and a brown cork bulletin board.

I did as Simon suggested. I took my time, working carefully, arranging thoughtfully. When I was done, I stepped back to survey the result.

The forest green Dartmouth bumper sticker I’d received with my acceptance letter was centered at the top of the board. Beneath it were a dozen different photos—of my parents lounging in Adirondack chairs on the beach. Paige dancing with
Betty as Oliver cooked in the background. Caleb grinning and pretending to attack the camera with a clam rake. Simon reading, hiking, and looking at the photographer like he’d be perfectly content to never look anywhere else.

These photos formed a loose circle around one other. It was a five by seven, and it was my favorite. In it, Justine and I are fishing in our red rowboat. Her head’s turned toward me and mine’s tilted toward the sky. My shoulders are pulled up near my ears as I laugh until tears fall at something she’s said.

“It’s scary,” I whispered, gently pressing my fingertips to her smiling face. “But exciting, too. You would’ve liked it.”

I stood there a minute more—until a familiar voice called my name from somewhere outside. I went to the open window and peered down at the crowded sidewalk.

“A cappella in the quad!” Paige shouted, waving two iced coffees—one for each of us, I guessed. “I have no idea what any of that means, but Fancy College Man assures me it’s not to be missed. You coming?”

I grinned. My parents stood just behind her, examining the campus map. Simon stood next to them, hands in his jeans pockets, smiling up at me. All around them, my new classmates talked and laughed with one another and their families.

“Be right there,” I called down.

And then I grabbed my purse, took one more look around my new room, and went to find out what else today had in store.