Free Evergreen (Mer Tales, Book 2) by Brenda Pandos

was clueless.
    I softened my voice not to alarm her. “Ash, it’s Fin. Sorry about last night. Things got crazy. Call me when you can.”
    I hung up and dangled my legs over the edge of the bed. The door swung open from the movement of the RV. Mom folded clothes in the living area just beyond the tower of boxes. My bag wasn’t in its typical place under the desk.
    “Don’t tell me.” I tried to stand, but the motion of the RV landed me on my butt. “Ugh.”
    Mom looked up in surprise “No way, mister. You rest.”
    I didn’t want to rest. I wanted to find my bag.
    She glared after I didn’t obey right away. “If your father sees you up—I don’t want him yelling again.”
    I reclined back with a roll of my eyes and stared at the ceiling, afraid to ask what happened to my bag. I scrolled through the phone. Ash’s messages haunted me. I couldn’t listen to them. A slew of text messages also caught my attention.
    - Are you okay? Call me as soon as you can.
    - I had this weird feeling just now. Please call when you can.
    - I’m up early, call me.
    - I hope you didn’t forget and took your phone underwater.
    - I feel ridiculous for all the times I’ve called and texted. Sorry.
    I typed back.
    - I’m okay. Phone died. Sorry.
    I hated lying, but I had to. If she knew otherwise, she’d freak out. I was fine. But how would I tell her the truth about conversions now? She’d never believe me. I’d look like a manipulative jerk saying I’d convert when she was the one who needed to all along. I’d have to tell her in person so she couldn’t hang up on me, but only after this all blew over.
    But she’d felt something. Would I know if she was in trouble? I hoped so.

12
    :::
    ASH
    Friday afternoon, April 15 th
    I bolted from Mr. Branson’s room and turned on my phone, slowing my steps as I approached the gym. Fin’s return text hit my inbox and my legs momentarily trembled.
    I dialed frantically.
    “Fin!” I exhaled as I fought back my tears. “I’m sorry. I just—” I gulped down the lump in my throat and tried not to sniffle as my teammates walked by me and gave funny looks.
    “I’m so sorry, Ash. I forgot to charge the phone.” His scratchy voice skipped like he’d been yelling at a rock concert.
    “So nothing happened?” I wiped away a tear with the back of my hand, embarrassed by my overcharged emotions.
    “Nope.” His voice was peculiarly happy. “Things have been great.”
    Great? He’d never said things were great before. They needed to be horrible, like they’d been for me, especially after I hung up on him and he didn’t call back for twenty-four hours.
    “Well… that’s good. I’m doing great, too.” A pang of dread stabbed me in the chest. What if he’d figured out how to stop missing me, so much that he forgot to turn on his phone this morning? Did the bond break earlier somehow and now he didn’t have feelings for me anymore? Was he still a merman?
    “How are you?” he asked. “My cousin hasn’t returned, has he?”
    My heart somersaulted. “No. Why?”
    “Just checking.” Fin laughed, but it sounded forced. “Are you and your mom cool?”
    “Um, yeah. She was upset, like always.”
    I explained our misunderstanding with the knife, but his happy-go-lucky reaction didn’t reassure me. He didn’t act himself at all. Or maybe it was me—that the guilt for hiding secrets from him had worked its evil into my heart.
    “You carved our initials in a tree? That’s awesome. Where?” Fin asked.
    “Oh, between our properties.”
    Something else I’d need to do later.
    I put my ear against the gym door and listened. The coach’s whistle chirped in the background, signaling people needed to finish with their warm-up. I cracked the door. The gym was empty. But I didn’t care that I was late; I needed to figure out why Fin was acting so strange.
    “You’re quiet, Ash. Are you mad at me?”
    “No,” I whispered as I snuck into a stall at the back of the locker room.