SR: Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams
ten.
Marina.
Underwater, no one saw you cry.
Your eyes would do a little twinkle and that was it.
Above water, they could even hear you cry.
My hands shook as my fingers fumbled with the eyes. Son of a sea urchin, why did she have so many keys?
"Hurry up," Flynn snapped, Ally in his arms.
Sydney glared at him for a moment, "we don't need any negative needlefish attitudes right now."
The door finally opened with a satisfying click and we were inside. The elevators were already opened as if fate itself was helping us out this evening.
I pressed the basement level button, glad that using an elevator was easy as they claimed. I could never get used to the way they moved through. Anything that was a vehicle confused me. I was so used to using my fin to steer myself around.
The basement was dark and it reminded me of every horror movie I've ever seen. Which was only two. And yet, I felt the same as those dumb blonde girls that never went through the exit in the first place. I'd wish I could go up to the exit now.
The basement was a series of storage cages, each with a number of the apartment in marker on the locks. Eryn's was the last one, no surprise there. Her storage wasn't fenced. Instead, it was black fiberglass that I was unable to see inside. Three locks lined the door, each of them having the name of the lock adjacent to the keys.
I unlocked them in quick succession and held open the door for the others. My eyes grew wide peered inside.
The room was bigger than I thought with a metal coffin on the side. I approached it tentatively. It was stained with a darkened color, and something in me knew it was dried blood. Chains connected to holes on each end of the coffin. All were screwed into the ground. This was how she held herself down?
Across the room, there was a cot. Flynn placed Ally down and walked over to a sink in the opposite corner of the door. There were rags and he moistened it to clean the blood off Ally.
"I can't believe we got caught up in this," Flynn muttered, "a vampire. We waltzed right into their clutches."
"We didn't think there would be vampires in this part," Syd muttered.
"It's Seattle! What makes you think there wouldn't be in a city?"
I sighed deeply. "None of us wouldn't have known."
"How long did you know?" Sydney turned to me, her dreads moving as she faced me.
"About?"
"All of this," she waved her hand over the coffin, "you slept with a vampire? Knowingly?"
"No—"
"No, you didn't know she was a vampire? Or no you slept with her knowing?" She interjected, her gaze on me.
Flynn shook his head, adjusting Ally's weight. "I can't believe this."
"She isn't like that! Eryn has restraint with me. She saved me when she had every opportunity to hurt me. I spent the night at her home and she didn't do anything to me. She was hiding it from me," I explained, "I'm smarter than that, Syd."
"But you didn't tell us? Look where we are now. Look at Ally!" Flynn pulled her hair behind her ears. "She's dead because of you!"
"She isn't dead!" I shouted, "Eryn saved her life, and protected us from her own. I was right to go back when I had that feeling."
Sydney glanced at Flynn for a moment, probably deciding what to say next. She gently grabbed Ally's hand. "She did try to save her life; I just hope it works."
Flynn shook his head. "If we never went back, Ally wouldn't be in this situation."
Flynn was right this time. If I hadn't acted on impulse, perhaps I could've told them to stay back.
Syd sighed. "No, that isn't true. I'm sure that vampire would've gotten to one of us regardless. I don't know Eryn that well, but Marina, I trust you. My life is always in your hands, whether we're above land or underwater."
It was the gaze that Syd gave me that I hated. They worshipped me, every single one of the merfolk. Being royalty wasn't as fun as I always thought it would be. I never asked for this. I didn't want to be responsible for calling the shots, for having their lives placed in my hands.
"I'm going to go check on Eryn," I mumbled, heading towards the door. I couldn't be near them right now; it was too much. I resented myself that I let Ally get hurt.
"You think she has restraint, but you're making her suffer," Flynn's voice rang out and I couldn't help but have it replay as I stepped into the elevator.
I hesitated going back to the bar. Maybe it was best to give Eryn space. She didn't ask for any of this. Mermaids weren't meant to socialize with vampires. It was unfair for me to force Eryn here.
I didn't realize I was in front of Eryn's apartment until I looked down and saw the lock had been broken. I widened my eyes. Did someone break-in?
The people that were knocking on the door this morning must've done this. What were they looking for?
I stepped inside, careful not to make any noise. I didn't think anyone was in here, but it was so silent aside from the wind from the window blowing steadily in. It was starting to drizzle outside. Everything was ruined in the apartment; I wasn't sure closing the door was going to make it any better.
The only thing that wasn't out of place was a black box that was hiding under Eryn's planked bed. I took the box and opened it, knowing that these could be useful more than I think. I was able to stop Eryn's vampire friend from hurting her. These syringes could be my weapon against vampires. I took all of them, grateful that the people who ransacked her apartment didn't see these. Not that I think they would take them.
I could protect Eryn. I did it before. She was equal to me and the restraint she had turning Ally was exceptional. Eryn was a good person. Maybe I could calm her down again.
Running out of the apartment, I was at the bar faster than I thought.
Loud crashing noises sounded from inside and I hurriedly entered the bar. "Eryn?"
I caught her standing at the stage in the back, her back ramrod straight. When she was near people, Eryn would slouch forward as if to make herself shorter. Seeing her full height and standing on the stage—with her red eyes focused on mine—frightened me.
She jumped down from the stage, not taking her eyes off of me. "I thought I told you to leave." Her demeanor was so much different from earlier. Power radiated off her in waves. Her aura was vibrant and pulsating, too many colors shifting for me to determine what she was feeling.
I nodded. "I know. I'm sorry I can't. Did you know—"
In a flash, Eryn was in front of me, catching a piece of my hair. "I love your hair. The pink, is it dyed or natural?"
I let out my breath slowly, my heart beating. Anything I was about to say went out the window. She was so close to me.
The tension was palpable in the air.
Heat rolled off Eryn in waves, stifling me. I watched as she tugged on strands of my hair. The vibrancy of red in her eyes reminded me of a red-feathered starfish that my father would often tell me to stay away from. The color was so bright and angry so most of us stayed away from it anyway. However, I was so snared by how beautiful it looked. I always wanted to run my fingers through the starfish, but I knew it would get me sick.
And it did.
I got caught up one and was sick for two weeks. After that, I didn't go near the feathered starfish again. "My hair is natural," I replied, slipping my hand into the pocket that I had the needles in.
"Is it pinker in the water?" Her voice so even and monotone that I knew something was off. Eryn sauntered around me. Her cold fingers slid around my neck. She leaned in, her cool breath sending shivers down my back.
At that instant, I was hard for me to forget what she was.
"Yes," My feet were cemented to the floor. I was becoming passive quickly and I could feel the faint tremble of my legs. I was putty in her hands, and I'm sure she knew it.
"Do you know what you smell like?" Eryn asked, pushing my hair to one side of my shoulder, "the beach. You smell like the beach. Sometimes I imagine a time where we could spend time at the beach together."
"Why can't we do that?" I asked breathily, her mouth leaving soft cool kisses up and down my neck.
"You know why," she spoke, a low hiss sounding from behind me.
A small sharp pain flared from my neck. I yanked myself away, touching my neck, and looking at my bloodstained fingertips. "You nicked me." It was more of a statement than a question. I looked down at my hand again, the sight of my blood causing my fingers to tremble.
She stared at the meager amount of blood on my fingers. Somehow her eyes illuminated brighter as if my blood was rekindling the fire in them. Faster than I could see, she was in front of me, my hands gripped tightly in hers.
Everything she did, her eyes were on mine.
My gaze darted to my hand and her tongue slid out, running it down the length of my finger. Her intense look became electrified with the taste of my blood. Satisfaction gleamed in her gaze. With every second that passed, the situation shifted into an uncertain outcome.
"I'm scared," I blurted, deflating my lungs. I watched as her intense expression lighten up. Her brows were furrowed and she cast her head down, hiding her eyes from me. Eryn let out a steady breath and briskly rushed past me.
My eyes widened. I marveled at how fast she disappeared from me. I was going to have to get used to her speed.
I followed her backstage, taking in all the costumes and props. "What are you doing?"
She was backstage, rummaging through a small crate. She huffed, approaching a bigger box, this time a black leather trunk. "I'm on the edge of bloodlust. I can feel it, threatening to tear through," She opened the trunk, "grab those in there and follow me."
I approached it with caution and felt a lump form in my throat. Thin silver chains twinkled under the stage lights. "Won't these hurt you?" She was putting herself through pain to be near me?
Eryn kept a large berth of space between us, heading towards a metal pole on the side of the stage. She gripped it and shook it, checking to see if it was sturdy. "It's to protect you from me," Eryn leaned her back against the metal pole, sliding to the floor, "doesn't matter if it hurts me. You insist to be here, then I insist to keep myself a healthy distance."
Hesitantly, I placed the chains on her lap. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do. If you would've never said anything... " she trailed off, running a hand through her short hair. It fell over her face and I found myself reaching over to do the same.
"You keep doing that, but it doesn't keep it out of your face," I murmured, focusing on untangling the chains.
Eryn inhaled deeply, leaning her head on the pole. She outstretched her arms and said, "Help me tie my wrists."
I coiled the thin chain around her tattooed wrists, observing as the silver cause her skin to bubble up and blister almost immediately. My gaze lifted from her wrists, "are you sure? I'm hurting you."
She shook her head. "This is what keeps me at bay. I don't want to hurt you, Marina. You're frightened of me."
"You have restraint, you didn't lose any when you saved Ally," I commented, encircling the chains around her wrists, "I was scared because—"
"I haven't saved Ally yet," Eryn watched me as I fastened the chain, "tighter."
I studied the tattoos, "What's this one?" I lifted her sleeve, exposing her forearm. I tried to ignore the numerous scars she had throughout her arms and point to the writing that was in cursive.
"Je ne m'arrêterai que lorsque le monde s'arrêtera," Eryn's French was flawless, an accent that I never heard her speak with. She half-smiled, small dimples showing in her cheeks. "It's French for, I'll stop when the world stops."
She was incredibly beautiful. Her grey eyes were slowly coming back to life. The red around her eyes were practically gone. "That's—"
"Corny?" Eryn laughed, a sound that I could hear all day. There was something very feminine about her laugh and I loved it. Everything about Eryn I loved. The masculine qualities of her didn't clash with the feminine ones. Instead, they balanced and played off each other, adding sultry and a sensual air about her.
I found myself wanting to be around her, consequences be damned. I never expected to meet someone like her, much less her being a vampire. I desperately wanted to find out more.
"No, it's beautiful," I leaned in closer, hoping she would kiss me.
"Are you afraid of me now?" She whispered softly as her eyes met mine.
I shook my head, a small smile on my face. She was going to great lengths to be with me. I wanted to apologize, I hated that she had to do this just to make me comfortable. I was selfish, letting her do this just so I could spend more time with her. Our relationship wouldn't be over, not with what I asked of Eryn. If Ally survived being turned, Eryn and I would have no choice, but form a friendship.
I chastised myself for only thinking about me.
Ally was fighting for her life and I was over here playing house with Eryn.
"Let's finish restraining me and I'll tell you more," Eryn winked, starting at her wrists, "wrap these around my torso and connect it in the back."
I wanted to know everything, yet I was conflicted, hating that it hurt her. She shouldn't have to bind herself to keep from hurting me. And yet, I was okay with it if it let me be around her.
I watched as she threw herself into her own mind, her eyes closed. She was remembering something. This much I could tell. I demanded to see what was going on. I seized her hands and squeezed tightly, throwing myself inside with her, eager to see what awaited me.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
