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Sometime around ten o’clock, my phone rang. Lifting it off of my nightstand, I found that it was Jackson. I knew I had upset him by leaving so suddenly, but at least I had finally been able to figure things out. With my grandmother’s advice, I now knew that seeing Jackson—and even falling for him—was the right thing.
“Hello?” I said into the phone on the third ring.
“Hey, Chair Thirteen.” Jackson’s voice sounded even deeper on the phone. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I promise,” I replied. “Everything’s fine. I’m really sorry about earlier. I wasn’t planning to just leave like that. Something important came up.” If only he knew that the important thing—getting advice from my grandmother—actually worked in our favor.
“Well, I’m glad you weren’t around to see what happened after that,” Jackson replied. “It was pretty scary.”
“What happened?” I asked, flopping down on the bed.
“A dead body washed ashore,” Jackson replied. “We had to have the cops come, and it was just a big mess.”
“A dead body?” I asked, my voice merely a whisper.
“Yeah, someone must have gone out into the sea earlier tonight and drowned,” Jackson replied. “At least, that’s what the cops think happened. It reminded me of why I’m so grateful to be a lifeguard. If I can prevent that from happening to someone else, it’s well worth it.”
“I know what you mean,” I agreed. Pausing to choose my words carefully, I asked, “Was it a man or a woman?”
“A man,” Jackson replied. “It was actually the strangest thing. It’s going to sound kind of morbid, but . . .” He trailed off. “I found the body, and I could have sworn the guy had a smile on his face. It was disturbing, but I’d like to think he was at least happy swimming before he drowned.”
A wave of nausea flooded my stomach. This definitely wasn’t just a drowning incident. That man had obviously been lured. It surprised me that Jackson didn’t think anything of the smile on the guy’s face, aside from the fact that it was disturbing, but I’m not sure that I would have either, before I knew sirens existed. “Let’s hope he was happy,” I replied quietly. “And let’s hope he doesn’t have a family that he’s leaving behind.”
“That would be tragic,” Jackson agreed.
I wanted to tell him that it wouldn’t just be sad, but that it would also be scary, too. If he had any daughters, it would mean that they would also be tagged to become sirens. I didn’t want to see someone else go through what I’d been through.
“So, on a lighter note,” Jackson went on. “Am I a good kisser?”
I laughed. “Yes, a very good kisser.” Just mentioning the kiss again made my heartbeat quicken.
“I’ve gotta be honest. That was the best kiss I’ve ever had.”
Hmm, so it had been unusually good for him, too. I wondered if it had something to do with me being a siren. Was physical chemistry just that much heightened when humans fell in love with sirens? I’d have to ask someone—preferably not Angelica. “Um, Jackson,” I began, remembering the question I’d been wanting to ask him. “What do you see in me?”
“What do you mean?” Jackson asked.
“I mean, earlier you said that you’re falling hard for me. Why?”
Jackson paused as though he hadn’t been expecting the question. “You’re beautiful. Inside and out. I have fun when I’m with you, and I can’t explain it. I just feel different about you. I’ve never felt this way before.”
I hoped that the reason he had never felt this way before wasn’t because I was a siren. And then he said what I had been hoping for him to say. “I’ve never been in love with anyone before, but I believe it could happen with you.”
*
Around two o’clock in the morning, my phone rang again. Groggily, I reached over and answered the phone without looking to see who it was. “Hello?”
“Felicia? It’s Gabby.” She sounded like she was out of breath, and there was a worried tone in her voice. “Did you lure someone?”
“No, it wasn’t me,” I replied with a yawn. “I went to a barbeque and then came home.” I decided to leave out that I had gone to Jackson’s house for the barbeque. The last thing I needed was Angelica lecturing me about how I shouldn’t date.
There was a muffled sound in the background, and I heard my sister’s voice say, “Felly? The body was found at a barbeque. Are you positive it wasn’t you who caused it? Just be honest. No one will be mad at you. We know it’s not your fault.”
“It was found at the barbeque that I went to, but I wasn’t the one who did it. I swear,” I replied, sitting up in bed alertly. “Couldn’t it have been another siren in the area?”
“I don’t know,” Scarlett said slowly. “We’re the only sirens I know of around here.” She paused for a long while before saying, “Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe someone actually drowned.”
“No,” I replied. “Someone definitely lured him. I talked to the person who found the body. He said that he had a smile on his face when the body was washed ashore.”
Scarlett sighed. “I—I think I need to go tell Angelica this. I’ll talk to you later.”
Before I could say anything else, the call was lost. My sister had already hung up.
*
The next day at the beach, I sat in my lifeguard chair and glanced over at the chair where Jackson normally sat. The brunette girl who had been guarding his area of the beach since his absence was still there. I was anxious for him to come back, but nervous about him seeing me every day at the same time.
I had just climbed out of my lifeguard chair to buy a few bottles of water and steal a few packets of salt (which held me over until I could swim in the ocean) from the hot dog stand, when I heard the bark coming up from behind me. Bruno . . . and Tyler.
Tyler looked different from the last time I’d seen him; his skin was sunburnt, and it looked like he may have lost some weight, but when he saw me, a smile crossed his face. “Hey, Felicia.”
“Hi,” I replied, hoping that I didn’t sound as awkward as I felt.
“Look, I got your text, but I was wondering, can we get together tonight? I have to talk to you.” There was a pleading look in Tyler’s gray eyes that made me feel guilty. Maybe I had been too harsh. I should have listened to him. It may not have mattered now; I had feelings for Jackson, anyway. Still, I felt like I should at least act like I cared enough to listen.
“Sure, that’s fine,” I replied. “When and where do you want to meet?”
“How about at the lighthouse?” Tyler asked. “Ten o’clock?”
I didn’t even bother to question why he had chosen such a weird place and time to meet. Instead, I simply agreed to be there.
Carrie came to the beach around two thirty, with a pouty look on her face. When she climbed up and sat on one of the steps of my lifeguard chair, I immediately asked her what was wrong.
“Donnie hasn’t called me back,” Carrie replied. “It’s been days, Felicia! Days.”
“I’m sorry,” I replied sympathetically, unsure of what else to say. “Maybe he’s just busy or something.”
“No, I don’t think it’s that.” Carrie shook her head, her long caramel highlighted hair moving with it. “I think I scared him away.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “How?”
“I told him I was in love with him,” Carrie replied. “He—he didn’t really say anything back to me. Actually, he brought you up, which annoyed me. No offense.” She rolled her eyes. “Since then, I haven’t heard from him at all.”
“Well, if you want me to be honest, I will be,” I told her, glancing at a couple, who were holding hands as they walked towards the ocean. Why did they make it look like it was so simple to be in love?
“Okay,” Carrie replied with a sniff. Glancing down at her, I found that her eyes were glassy-looking due to tears. “Be honest.”
“I think Donnie’s a creep. And he’s an insensitive jerk. I don’t know why he cares to ask you so much about me, but he has no reason to. I’ve barely said two words to him. You can do better.”
Carrie sighed. “You’re right, but . . . I don’t want better. I want Donnie.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter right now. I think I’m going to go home. I’m just too depressed right now. I called out of work, too.”
“I hope you feel better. If you need anything, just let me know,” I told her.
“I will,” Carrie replied before climbing off my chair and walking away from me. I had wanted to tell my best friend she was right for trying to set me up with Jackson all along, but now definitely wasn’t the right time.
As Carrie walked away, I realized that love wasn’t even simple for most humans—let alone sirens. Things could work out for Jackson and me. As long as I let them.