Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
RILEY
Aiden dropped me off after school since Ivy had volleyball practice. Part of me was glad because the few words we'd spoken all day were wearing on me. I didn't know what to do to make it right, and the one person I'd go to for advice was off somewhere with my father.
I checked the mail, pulling a stack of envelopes out of the mailbox. Most said Immediate Action Required on them, which meant more overdue bills. I needed to consider selling things online.
Once I was inside and the door was double checked, instead of working on homework, I curled up on the couch with the stack of envelopes and my phone.
It was bad. Worse than what had come last week. Not only had my mom maxed out all her credit cards with cash advances and gone into collection on every single one, but I was still trying to catch up on the most important bills like utilities and the mortgage.
I ripped open the mortgage bill and frowned down at the paper. Notice of Default. The mortgage payment wasn't cheap, and while they had accepted a partial sum, it apparently wasn't enough. It said I had ninety days to pay or they would be auctioning the property.
I dialed Mr. Nguyen's number to check the progress with my money. I knew it would take time, but it seemed like it was taking longer than it should have.
"Tran Nguyen speaking."
"Hello, Mr. Nguyen. This is Riley."
"Ms. Kline." He sighed, and I pictured him taking off his glasses and squeezing the bridge of his nose. "I've got some bad news."
I took a deep breath. "What is it?"
"There was an injunction placed on any action with your money. The FBI is investigating your father vanishing, and since you and your mother are connected to him financially..."
"What am I supposed to do?" Tears filled my eyes and I bit down on my lip. "A notice of default came today on the house."
"There's not much you can do besides get the account up to date. I'm so sorry this is happening to you, Riley. Is there anyone you can stay with?"
"Probably." I wiped at my cheeks. "Thank you for everything."
I hung up the phone and stared at the blank TV screen.
I hadn't turned it on in over a month since I canceled the cable and streaming service.
I stood and looked around the living room.
Really, the only thing I needed was a bed and a table to do my work.
I should be able to get a couple thousand dollars from selling what I didn't need.
There was really no hope for paying the past due mortgage, but by selling things, I'd have money to get by until I figured out what I was going to do.
After finishing my homework and fixing my essay, I began taking pictures of all the furniture and things I wanted to sell. Since it was a lot, I decided to run it like an estate sale and keep my room off limits. I'd move what I would sell out and what I wanted to keep in.
Me: Hey, I know you're mad at me, but on Saturday I'm selling everything. I could use your help.
Ivy: What do you mean, you're selling everything?
Me: I can't get the money my mom saved so I'm selling unnecessary things since I'll have to move out once the foreclosure goes through.
Ivy: I'm coming over.
Thirty minutes later, Ivy was at the door, carrying an overnight bag and a grocery bag with Skittles, Sprite, and ice cream. She was in pajamas with her red hair piled on the top of her head.
"Aiden is coming too to strategize." She put the bags down and pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry."
I sniffled and took a calming breath. "Don't be. You guys have been great and I've been... I don't know."
"You've been surviving. If I was in your situation, I would have curled up in my bed and never left the house."
She led me to the couch and then went to make bowls of ice cream. I needed to tell her and Aiden at least part of what was really going on.
Once Aiden arrived and we were done eating ice cream— because ice cream fixes everything— I went and got my knife in the makeshift sheath. They both laughed at the Pringles can.
"I want both of you to try to stab this through the book." I put the knife next to a hardback copy of a book I was going to sell.
Ivy raised a brow but picked up the knife and tried it. It left a divot in the cover, but didn't go through. Aiden tried next and the same thing happened.
"Is this some kind of magic trick?" Aiden sat back as I put the book on the floor. "You always go off about the magicians on television being fake."
I gripped the knife and drove it through the book. They both gasped as I held the book up with the knife sticking out of it.
"How'd you do that?" Ivy examined the book and tried to pull the knife out. "Is this like some Excalibur type deal?"
"I never thought about it like that, but yes." I took the knife out and set it on the table. "It can cut through anything, including metal and stone, but only if I'm using it... or my mom, I guess."
"That's not possible," Aiden said.
"It is." I sat back on the couch with the bag of Skittles Ivy had bought me. "Somewhere in my lineage is a siren."
"As in the mermaids that lured sailors to their deaths?" Ivy looked intrigued, but also skeptical. "Have you lost your mind? You don't even like the water."
"Doesn't change the fact that I'm different." I popped a handful of candy in my mouth and my jaw ached as I chewed. "I've been trying to figure out why my mom would just leave me high and dry to go with my dad. Maybe he knows or something."
"And what? He's threatening to expose her?" Aiden laughed uncomfortably. "I think you're grasping at straws."
"Aiden," Ivy warned. "Listen, Ri. We love you, but... your dad did still pay for everything up until your mom left. Maybe they decided-"
"No." I stood and faced them. "She wouldn't do this to me. You know she wouldn't."
"Ri, we're really worried about your mental health... maybe you should see someone." Ivy's eyes filled with tears. "Aiden told me about the locker room. That's so unlike you."
"I'm fine." But was I? Even I was starting to worry about myself. "I just... once I have some money and don't have to worry for a few months, things will be better. I can maybe even get a job to pay for an apartment or something."
I knew that, even if I had a part-time job, I'd never be able to afford rent in an apartment on the coast of California. Even if it was just a studio, it would probably be close to two thousand a month. I'd cross that bridge when I got to it.
The next day at lunch, I couldn't stop myself from watching the Tritons at their lunch table every chance I got. Blake hadn't said a word to me all morning, and while it should have comforted me, instead, it just annoyed me.
"Girl, you look like you want to rip their heads off." Piper was sitting across from me. "Or is that a look of sexual frustration?"
"What?" I snapped out of my trance and looked at her. She had a giant grin on her face. "I do not want to sleep with them, or anyone for that matter."
Ivy snorted next to me and I glared at her. "What? They're pretty hot. The question is, who would you choose, because they all look like they would be down."
"Why does she have to choose?" Piper sat up taller. "What if she wanted both of them?"
"Both?" Santina giggled. "Who are you talking about?"
Piper turned red, her freckles standing out against her light skin. "I mean all. What if she wanted all of them?"
Alex cleared his throat. "What if they weren't okay with sharing her?"
"Well, if they wanted to be with her, they'd get over it.
" Piper threw down her spork. "Who the hell cares what their parents or society thinks?
If a man, or a woman for that matter, wants to be in a committed, loving relationship with more than one person, who cares?
There are plenty of people in toxic monogamous relationships because they don't follow their hearts. "
Alex went to say something, but Aiden clamped down on his shoulder and shook his head. I didn't know what was going on, but it suddenly got awkward at the table.
"If Ri wants to go that route then more power to her, but they are the scum of the Earth. What happened, anyway? They were so mean to you, and then all of a sudden... not." Ivy looked from me to the table on the other side of the cafeteria.
"It's complicated." I shrugged. "I want to make them pay, but I'm not the revenge type."
Ivy and Aiden laughed because they knew what I had done to Jax's car.
"You could send them anonymous STI notifications." Santina started giggling. "You just need to know their phone numbers or emails."
I let her pull up the website on my phone. "How is this even a thing?"
"Lots of people have a lot of sexual partners. It's an easy way to communicate that they might have been exposed to something." Santina lowered her voice. "I heard a girl talking in math about it because she had something and didn't know how to tell the guys she'd been with."
I looked through the options and snorted. I knew just what and who to send a notification to.
I walked into the dance studio with more pep in my step than I'd had in weeks. I'd already tested the notification website out on my own phone number and it sent the text instantly. I was a little too excited.
The thought had crossed my mind that maybe mermaids couldn't get sexually transmitted infections or human illnesses, but it's not like they were vampires. If mermaids were real, did that mean there were other creatures as well?
I went in the bathroom to change and sent the notification before tucking my phone away. I was just coming out of the bathroom as Morgan was walking into the studio, his helmet under his arm.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone as he walked across the dance floor. He stopped dead center, staring at his phone. "What the fuck?"
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing as he scratched his head and then typed something before pocketing it and looking up to find me watching him.
"Vixen, you look happy." He ran a hand through his hair and went to walk past me.
"Everything okay?" I stopped him by putting my hand on his biceps. "You look... upset."
He twisted his lips to the side. "I don't know." He shrugged off my hand and went into the bathroom to store his stuff and change his shoes.
"That man." Bernardo was standing near the stereo and sighed. "I want to work on your Argentine tango today. It's one of your weaker dances."
"Yeah, because it's way too sexy to dance with anyone." I crossed my arms.
"It's all about the hunt. The push and pull of two lovers who can't decide if they love or hate each other. It's a passionate mingling of the bodies as the woman brings the man to his knees." He grinned. "I bet it's going to be so much better with Morgan."
I snorted. "Or a complete disaster."
"What's a complete disaster?" Morgan approached us while tucking in his shirt. He really knew how to wear dance clothes well. "I watched those videos you sent me, Bern. They were great."
"Videos?" I frowned and looked between them. "Why wasn't I sent any videos?"
"He's never danced Argentine tango before, Ri. He has a knack for learning the dances by watching videos. He's the poster child for visual learning."
"I'm a highly intelligent creature." He wiggled his eyebrows.
"Tell that to the thing between your legs," I muttered.
"Yeah, well, he isn't the smartest tool in the shed." Morgan frowned and looked down at his crotch. "He's always getting me in trouble."
I rolled my eyes. "Can we dance, or are you about to have a heart-to-heart with your penis?"
Bernardo clapped his hands together. "See! Argentine tango of the mouth! Now let's translate that to the dance floor."
We warmed up with a quick medley of dances and then went right into the tango. I stiffened as he pulled me against his body. One of the reasons it wasn't my favorite was because of how intimate it felt.
"Relax, vixen." He shook my hand gripped in his to try to loosen up my arm. "Like he said... think of this as foreplay."
"Foreplay would denote physical attraction and a desire to have sex. Never going to happen, merboy."
"You wound me. Kicking a man when he's already down is a low blow." He put his cheek against the side of my head. "But since we’re on the topic of blowing, what do you say?"
"I wouldn't touch your diseased dick with a ten-foot pole."
He tensed against me as the music started, and Bernardo started running through the steps he wanted us to do.
After the lesson, we went over what we needed to work on and then Morgan went to change without saying another word. Apparently, his dick was a sore subject for him. I stifled a giggle as I went into the bathroom to change.
I had a few other ideas up my sleeve to get back at them. They were juvenile plans, but if it made me laugh, it was worth it. I always had the video of them swimming abnormally fast, but that was opening a whole can of worms I wasn't sure I wanted to open.