The Bad Boy And The Mermaid

Hunter

An impish glee was settling inside me as I packed Blue’s things from my older room where she stayed for the entire week. I was happy because I was finally bringing her back where she belonged. With me.

The entire time that I packed her things, she hadn’t said a word to me. Just remained by my side, helping me pack her bag. I didn’t miss how she kept sneaking glances at me and when I smiled at her she would just look away.

Strange.

I tried not to feel wounded with the fact that I had said I loved her and she hadn’t said that she loved me back. Then again, what had I expected? If it was going to remain a one-sided unrequited love, so be it. I was going to love her nevertheless. It wasn’t everyday that you fell madly in love with a mermaid.

I zipped up her bag, “Is there anything else that I forgot to put inside?”

She nodded and scrambled towards the large oak dresser that I had used half my life when I lived with my parents. I saw as she pulled something out of one drawer and slid it inside her little handbag. A handbag that was the shape and color of a watermelon, clearly picked up from the kids section. But the water melon wasn’t the thing that picked my attention. It was the way Blue popped the items in as if she didn’t want me to see it.

Smooth.

I smiled at her. “What was that you put inside your bag?”

She shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, “C’mon. You can tell me.”

She sighed and unzipped the little bag. She pulled out a few pictures out of it and showed them to me. She was definitely shy. I looked at the pictures which were of me when I was four, dressed for Halloween as Peter Pan. I wasn’t smiling into the picture; I guess I was just emo since the day I was born. The second picture was of me in High school when I played Basket Ball, the time I’d been Captain of the team and had my arm slung around Fred. I was grinning into the camera. When I saw the third picture I noticed there was something wrong with it. Senior year prom, I was dressed in a tux and the photo looked like it had been cut from the center.

Then I remembered. There was a girl I dated briefly in High School, Gracie Hall, Captain of Cheerleader team. Strawberry blonde hair, green eyes. Miss. Popular, also the girl I’d lost my virginity to, if I should admit. She was my prom date that year. We’d broken up the day she decided to move to France to join some modeling agency. It had been a really ugly break up with her trying to make me look like a bad guy. I recalled Gracie being in this prom picture and now she wasn’t.

Blue looked at me guiltily. “I…I hope you wouldn’t mind. I was just having fun with the scissors that I found in Hannah’s room and I happened to see this picture. I just thought I wanted to try cutting it.”

I looked at her for a whole minute, and then burst out laughing.

Of course. Blue wasn’t jealous or anything. This was Blue. She saw a picture, wanted to see how to work a pair of scissors and tried cutting it like kids who keep cutting papers if you handed them scissors. How stupid of me to try and find a different meaning to it.

“Can I keep these pictures with me?” She asked, unsure if I would say no.

“Um, yeah. Of course you can.” I said.

Something told me she would have kept it nonetheless if I had argued and told her she couldn’t.

I pulled another something out of the bag. My Jockey underwear.

Huh. I wanted to see the mermaid try and come up with an excuse for this one.

Now Blue’s face had turned red. She started explaining even before I asked her. “I liked the blue color of it and thought I’d wear it as a pair of shorts at home. It would go well with my…hair color.”

“Uh…Okay.”

her for coming up with these outrageous excuses in

Hannah barged into the room, her eyes trailed to the luggage I was packing and

does it look

you leaving?” There was the obvious

me like you’re having a hard time taking care of her.”

to Blue.” Hannah retorted. “Blue, is that

second time I saw Blue shrugging her shoulders. “I like staying here, Hannah, but I want to go back to Hunter’s place. I’m

obviously going to brawl her eyes out but managed to swallow that snot forming in her nose. She always did that when she didn’t want me to see her cry like

and ran out of the room, closing the door behind her. Blue looked guilty. “Maybe

my head. “I’ll talk to

was in her room, her face buried in the tower of pillows. Her body was shaking with sobs. I walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge of it. I touched

If I knew you were going to be so hurt, I wouldn’t have asked

her, make her laugh, hell, laugh at her silly questions and jokes and it wasn’t

tear stained face towards me.

“Uhm…what language is that?”

* * *

Still wondered how Fred thought she was a ‘goddess’ literally quoting my best friend.

you earlier.” I

do.” Hannah said, giving me a weak smile. Did I just detect pity in that line? Like the way you’d throw an entire bag of Cinnabon rolls at a beggar due to the goodness of your heart and because you thought he needed

It’s all under control.” I continued,

me

had for me had just evaporated into thin air, now she looked like she wanted to claw my face with her glittery long

“Says me.” I answered.

her father.” Hannah said it like

I’m

working in the club for the Lockharts’ and so you can’t make decisions for her. Is she the one who said she didn’t want to

my mouth to

Riiiighhhhttt.

do what I tell her to do. If I ask her to

my face, Hannah was ready to throttle me. “Don’t

The queen of the feminist club?” I asked. “I take care of her; which directly puts me in a position to make decisions for her. Blue, as you may have noticed, doesn’t exactly understand the difference between right or wrong. You tell her that taking off all her clothes and walking on the streets naked with

me. “The way I see it, Hunter, is this. And please feel free to be offended because the

let it all in from one

and you know she won’t second guess you making decisions for her. It’s like you’re

“Excuse me?”

cleared her throat, kinda reminded me of that teacher who was making herself ready to dish out a long boring speech. “You’re scared that if you let her be free in the wild,

up. We’re not talking about an