Chapter Thirty-Nine

I laid in bed for a long time, resting my body from the most recent events. Where I had been clawed by a creature of the Mariana Trench was now healed, leaving three long scars. My mother spent her time relearning what it's like to be on land and my uncle and Jason were usually fishing. My mother made a habit of coming up to me and telling me what she learned. She'd say things like "I forgot how good brownies are!" or "Popcorn is made of corn!". I'd just reply with a smile as she talked about her experiences. I sat up in my bed and looked across my room to the golden trident leaning against my wall.

"Blake! I made food!" My aunt called. Standing up, I walked past the trident and went towards the kitchen. "Are you hungry?" I sniffed, the scent of waffles, eggs, and bacon filling my nose. My mouth instantly started watering.

"Very." She handed me a plate full of food, allowing me to sit at the counter and begin eating. She knew that I didn't like syrup on my eggs or bacon so she didn't prepare the plate with syrup on the waffles. "Have you heard from uncle and Jason?" I questioned with a full mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." She wasn't facing me as she plucked a fluffy waffle from the waffle maker. "They should be coming back tomorrow and selling some of their catch."

"I'll go check on them when I'm done eating." I replied as I chewed.

"They're fine. You don't need to." She faced me, watching as I ate. I just looked up at her as my chewing slowed. "I know why you feel the need to check up on them, but you really don't need to."

"Hmph." I looked down at my plate. It was almost empty. Swiftly, I shoved the last of it in my mouth.

"Slow down! You'll make your stomach hurt." She popped my hand with a spatula, causing me to flinch my hand away. I jumped to my feet, putting my dishes in the sink then ran to my room to get the trident. "You're going to get a cramp if you keep going like that!" She yelled as I dashed out the door. I went straight down the hill to the beach. The water was cool against my feet as I went in. Diving in, I began to swim to where my uncle and Jason usually fished. It was only a couple miles from the shore where the water was fairly deep. I held the trident at my side as I swam with my tail. It wasn't long before I found my uncle's boat and saw the lines in the water. As I slid under them, one got caught in my hair. I didn't realize it until I pulled away and saw the line in my hair. Without warning, the line jerked up causing me to yelp. I was pulled up, holding the clump of hair that was attached. I untangled my hair from the hook as moved away from the hooks.

"I lost it." Uncle's voice came through the water muffled. "That was a big fish, too."

"What fish has red hair?" I could see Jason peer over to the hook that my uncle held. I made my way to the back of the boat.

"Red hair?"

"There's red hair on your hook. Just a few strands." Jason nodded as I changed my tail to legs.

"My eyes are not as good as yours, son." My uncle chuckled. I pulled myself onto the boat, approaching them.

"It wasn't a fish." I rubbed my head where my hair had been pulled. "Well, I guess it was. Just not the one you were looking for."

"Blake!" Jason put down his rod and hugged me. "We were going to cut the trip short and come home."

"Why?" I inhaled his scent. Salt water and sweat. It didn't bother me though. Not since I almost lost him.

"Lover boy was missing you." Uncle smirked. "Did you get caught on a line?"

"I did." I pulled from Jason. "I guess I didn't see it and it got stuck in my hair."

"That's how lines work, Sweetheart."

"I know they are baited to lure fish and cover the hook, but your hooks don't have bait." I walked over to the bait box and crouched, setting my trident against the cabin wall.

"They don't?" Uncle watched me as I saw worms wriggling in a container. I made a disgusted face then closed the box.

"No. I could see most of the hooks." Jason brought me to my feet as I informed my uncle.

"Jason, help me rebait the hooks." My uncle began reeling in the lines. He looked at each one and saw that there was indeed no bait. "Sneaky fish." Uncle moved past me and opened the bait box. He pulled out a long, fat, worm then pierced it with the hook. I furrowed my eyebrows as I frowned. When he was done, he tossed the line back out. Jason copied him and together they baited the last three hooks.

"Those poor worms." I shivered, imagining being impaled by a sharp object.

"I thought you hated worms." Jason turned to me.

"I do. They weird me out and are slimy. It's still not fair that they are impaled then thrown in the water still alive." I crossed my arms. Jason stepped past me, reaching into the box. All the hooks were done, so what was he doing? He lifted a fat worm between my eyes, making me shriek and back away. He and my uncle laughed, Jason starting towards me. "Stop it, Jay!" I couldn't help but laugh. He used to dig up worms and chase me around the yard with them between his pointer finger and thumb.

"They're not so bad." He stood in front of me. I had nowhere to go and my back was already pressed against the side of the boat. "Just touch it. You'll see."

"You better get that thing away from me." I snorted. When he stepped forward and prepared to put it on my shoulder, I pushed my arms out to him. A wave rushed over the side, slamming into him. The water forced him off the boat with the worm. I scurried to the back of the boat and looked down. After a moment, I knelt down to peer in. I saw him swimming up and before I could dodge, he grabbed my arm and pulled me in.