Inside the house, he set her bag down by the door. He offered her something to drink, which she declined, then she sat down on the couch.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Harper asked, patting the empty spot next to her.
“Okay. ” He seemed hesitant, but he did as she asked.
“Are you nervous?”
His hazel eyes settled uncertainly on her. “Should I be?”
“No. It’s not bad. Honest. ”
“We’ll see. ” Daniel leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and he looked like a man who was waiting for a bomb to drop.
Harper took a deep breath and began what she wanted to say. “Since we’ve been together, everything has been so crazy and so intense. ”
“That is true,” he agreed, but sounded reluctant to do so.
“And we’ve hardly even had a chance to just be together or do normal couple things, like argue over what to watch on TV. Then everything happened with Penn, and now I’m away at college. ”
He folded his hands together and stared down at the floor. “I know. ”
“And in everything we’ve been through, you’ve proven to be strong and loyal and patient and wonderful, and I’ve grown to love you so very much. ”
“You’re doing that thing again. ” He inhaled sharply through his teeth and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re saying something nice, but you make it sound so bad. ”
“I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone,” she continued pouring her heart out to him, mindless of his growing apprehension. “You aren’t the man of my dreams because I could never have dreamed someone as amazing as you. I wouldn’t have thought that anyone as wonderful and as perfect for me as you existed. But with all that, I’ve realized something. ”
He sighed. “And here it is. ”
“I don’t know your middle name,” she said finally.
He stared down for a second, then he cocked his head and looked at her. “What?”
“We skipped all the fun getting-to-know-you stuff, the first-date questions. Maybe because we were kinda friends first, or maybe it was because we both thought we could die at any moment. But we were almost instantly in a serious relationship. ”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Shaking his head, he said, “My middle name is Grant. ”
“Mine’s Lynn. My birthday’s January 9, so I’m a Capricorn,” she said. “I think that you’re a Scorpio. ”
“Yeah, I am. But what is this we’re doing here?” He motioned between the two of them. “What’s going on?”
“I thought that if I love you, and want to spend the rest of my life with you, that I should get all the first-date stuff out of the way. ”
“Oh, you are tricky. ” He narrowed his eyes at her as a gradual smile spread out across his face. “You psyched me out on purpose. ”
“I did,” she admitted with a laugh.
He shook his head, then he leaned over and kissed her. She put her arms around him, pulling him to her, but then he stopped her.
“Hey, wait. ” He stood up. “I wanna give you something. ”
“What? What for?”
“I just finished it yesterday. ” He held his hand out to her. “It’s in my room. ”
Taking his hand, she let him lead her into his room. He flicked on the bedroom light, and in the middle of the floor at the end of his bed was a wooden chest. It reminded Harper of a smallish pirate’s chest, made out of a smooth wood, but in the center was a very unique detail.
Older, faded wood had been carved out in the shape of a heart. Branches had been wrapped around it, outlining the heart, and in the center of it, “Harper” had been very delicately carved into it.
“You made that?” Harper asked, in awe.
“Yeah. I bought some of the wood, but most of it is reclaimed. Some of the wood around the front of the house was rotted, but the parts that were still good, I used for the heart. ”
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Harper crouched in front of it, running her fingers along the top and carefully over the heart.
“The branches for the heart came from the rosebush. ” He pointed to it. “I know how much you love this island, and I know that you’re gonna be gone at school for a long time. Doctors go to school for years and years. So I thought that if you could put your books and stuff in there, then, while you were away, you’d always have a little bit of here with you. ”
“Daniel. ” She smiled up at him with tears in her eyes. “That’s so sweet. ”
“Thank you. ”
She stood up and looked up into his eyes. “You really are the perfect guy. ”
“It helps that I have a girl who I want to try to be perfect for. ”
When she kissed him, she remembered everything he’d done for her, everything he’d given, and all that she wanted to give him. She loved him more deeply than she had loved anything before, and now all she wanted to do was be with him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. His arm encircled her waist as she kissed him more forcefully, then he picked her up and carried her back toward the bed.
When he set her back down, gently, his mouth separated from hers long enough so he could pull off his shirt, and Harper took the chance to do the same. And within seconds he was on her again, his lips trailing down her neck so his stubble scraped against her skin.
She’d worn a front-clasp bra, and he unhooked it as his mouth encircled her breast. She wrapped her legs around him, pressing her thighs against his waist, and that seemed to be all the encouragement he needed.
His lips were on hers again, kissing her fervently as she undid his pants. He sat up, pulling them down and roughly kicking them off, while Harper removed her own jeans. And then he was back with her again.
He started out slow, easing himself inside her. She clung tightly to him, and when he kissed her, she moaned against his lips. Then they were moving together, faster and more deeply, as Harper felt a wonderful, almost serene heat spread through her.
Every moment before this one became worth it, every single thing that she had gone through suddenly made sense, because it all brought her to this, brought her here to Daniel’s arms, exactly where she belonged.
FIFTY-EIGHT
Fragmentary
The picture lay on the top of her comforter next to her, and Gemma stared down at it. Her notebook was open, and she was supposed to be writing in it, but she kept staring at the picture of her, Harper, and their mom. In the warm light of her bedside lamp, that photo had become the most distracting thing in the world.
“What are you doing?” her dad asked, poking his head in her room.
Gemma was quick to flip the notebook shut, hiding anything she’d written, and she smiled up at him. “Just journaling. ”
“I didn’t know you still did that. ” Brian walked over and stood next to her bed.
“I do. ” She shrugged. “Sometimes. ”
“I’m really glad that you’re home and you’re safe. ” He reached down, stroking her, then he bent down and kissed the top of her head. “I love you so much. ”
“I love you, too, Dad. ”
He turned to head back out. “Don’t stay up too late. You have school in the morning. ”
“I won’t,” she said, then just before he left, she added, “I had a really great time today. Thanks for spending the day with me. ”
“Me, too. ” He smiled, then shut her door and went down the hall to his own room.
After he’d gone, Gemma let out a deep breath and flipped the notebook back open, looking over what she’d written. She went over it several more times, making sure it had everything that she wanted to say.
When she was sure it was perfect, she rewrote it in her most legible handwriting, then gave it one final read-through.
To Dad & Harper—
By the time you read this, I’ll already be gone. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you what w
as happening, but I didn’t want you to spend our last few days together being frantic and worried. I’ve tried everything I can think of to break the curse, so I thought it would be better if we could just enjoy the little time we had left. And I did. I enjoyed the last couple days we spent together more than you’ll ever know. They were some of the best days of my entire life.
I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you both through. No other girl in the world is lucky enough to have a family as supportive and loving and amazing as you guys.
I want to you know that I’m not scared or upset. I made my peace with this. I’m only sad that I won’t get to see you guys more. Wherever it is that sirens go after they die, I know that I’ll be missing you.
I love you forever and always.
—Gemma
With the letter finished, she set it on her bed, next to the picture. She’d put on her pajamas so that her dad would think she was going to bed, but she changed out of them and put on her favorite dress. If she had to die, then she wanted to do it as much on her terms as she could.
Once her dad was asleep, she laid everything out on her bed the way she wanted him to find it. She almost put on shoes, but then realized that where she was going, she wouldn’t need shoes or her cell phone. So she left them both beside her bed, and as quietly as she could, she crept down the stairs and out the front door, into the summer night.
FIFTY-NINE
Reprise
“You can’t say your favorite movie is Phantom of the Opera,” Daniel insisted.
She lay in bed next to him, one of his arms around her and her head resting in the crook of his arm. He was still shirtless, but she’d slipped on his Led Zeppelin T-shirt, and she was already plotting a way to sneak it into her bag so she could take it with her to college.
“Why?” Harper laughed. “It’s a really good movie. ”
“I don’t know if it’s good or not. I haven’t seen it. But you can’t say that’s your favorite movie if you love The Devil Wears Prada more,” he argued.
“I love that movie, but Phantom is a better film. And it sounds better when I say it. ”
“It doesn’t matter what people think or what’s better,” he insisted. “It’s about which one you love more. ”
She shook her head. “Nope. I stand by my decision. ”
“You know, it’s a good thing we’re having this conversation now and not when we first started dating, because then I would think you were a liar, and I don’t date liars. ”
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“You’re still here, aren’t you?” She looked up at him, smiling.
“I am. But only ’cause you tricked me into falling in love with you first. Now I’m stuck with you forever. ”
“Oh, rough life. ” She laughed, and he sat up a little so he could kiss her.
Her phone began ringing loudly in the pocket of her jeans, which were still discarded on the floor from when she’d removed them as she got in bed with Daniel. That was before they’d had sex, and before she decided to venture into more first-date questions and got into the argument about her favorite movie.
“You should not get that,” Daniel said.
She sat up, glancing at his alarm clock. “It’s late, so it’s probably important. ” She pulled away from him, and he sighed and flopped back down in bed.
“Lame. ”
Harper crawled to the edge of the bed and leaned over so she could fish her phone out of her pocket. She managed to grab it and answer it a second before it went to voice mail. “Hello?”
“Hey, Harper, it’s me, Professor Pine. I know it’s kinda late. I hope I’m not bothering you. ”
“No, not at all. ” She ran her hand through her hair and grimaced. They were supposed to have a meeting to talk about the scroll tomorrow, but with everything having changed so fast, it had slipped her mind. “Now’s a good time. ”
“Oh, you are such a liar,” Daniel said from behind her, and she shot him a look.
“I just got back from Macedonia, and I was thinking about what you’d said. ”
“You mean about the ink?” she asked.
“It seems to repeat the same phrase a lot—‘blood of a siren, blood of a mortal, blood of the sea’ over and over,” Pine explained. “I think that’s what the ink is made out of. Blood and ocean water. It also mentions the phrase ‘wash it away’ once, right after the ‘blood of a siren, blood of a mortal, blood of the sea. ’”
“Maybe. But um, I should tell you that we kinda sorted everything out, and we don’t need the translations anymore,” Harper said sheepishly. “Sorry for bothering you so much. ”
“No, you didn’t bother me at all, and I’m glad you got whatever sorted out that you needed to get sorted. But do you mind if I keep checking into this?” Pine asked. “It’s still fascinating stuff to me. ”
“Yeah, of course, if you want to,” she said, relieved that he wasn’t upset. “I think my sister planned on giving Lydia the scroll, in case you want to see it. ”
“Thanks. Awesome. I think I will. ”
“And thank you again. I really appreciate it. ” And she did, even if they hadn’t ended up using his help. He’d done a lot of work for them.
“No problem. And if you ever come across any other weird scrolls, don’t hesitate to give me a call. ”
“Will do,” Harper said, and ended the call.
“What was that about?” Daniel asked.
“It was Pine. ” She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned on them as she twirled her phone in her hand. “He was calling me about the scroll. ”
“Did he find anything out?”
Harper shook her head. “Not really, I guess. He was just saying the curse talks about blood a lot. Which is interesting because the ink did react to blood, but it didn’t do anything. Like the curse didn’t break, the ink didn’t wash away…”
“So why’d he call?”
She chewed her thumbnail, thinking. Then she furrowed her brow, suddenly remembering something her mother had said. “He said the scroll said something about ‘wash it away. ’ You know what’s strange? I went to visit my mom last week, and she kept saying that Bernie told her to ‘wash it away. ’”
“Wash what away?”
“I don’t know. ” She looked over him. “Do you think she knew something?”
“How would she know?”
She shrugged. “She talked to Bernie a lot all those years ago, and she knew when Gemma was in trouble before, when she ran away. Mom’s brain doesn’t work like it should anymore, but she still seems to sense things. ”
“Like the way you and Gemma can sense each other?” Daniel asked.
Harper nodded. “Kinda. ”
“Do you wanna call your sister?” Daniel asked. “She should hear about this, even if the curse is broken. ”
She considered it, then shook her head. “I’ll call her in the morning. I think she said she’s going over to Alex’s tonight, and I want to give them some alone time together, after everything they’ve been through. ”
“Are you sure?” Daniel asked, and there was something in his voice that made her look back at him. An uneasiness, and his hazel eyes were conflicted.
She turned around, sitting on her knees, so she faced him. “You’re freaking me out a little. ”
“I’m not trying to. I just wonder if Gemma’s telling us everything, about the curse being broken and all. ”
Harper considered it, then shook her head. “I think it’s just hard for us to wrap our minds around the fact that it’s all actually over—we have our lives back. And see the change in Gemma. She seems happier now, more at ease. I’m sure she’ll keep changing a little bit every day as her siren powers drain away. But it’s all over now, Daniel, and I want to learn to let go for once and not worry about everything. ”
Harper lay back down, but Daniel stayed sitting up for a few more seconds. When he did lie back, she curled
up next to him, resting her head on his chest, and he put his arm around her. “Just make sure you call her tomorrow morning, even if what Pine said is nothing. You can never be too safe. ”
SIXTY
Mortality
For a while, she only sat on the roof outside Alex’s window. The curtains were closed, but through a gap in the middle, she was able to see into his room just fine. He was in bed, but he was reading a book and didn’t notice her right away.
In a way, Gemma hoped he never noticed her. She’d come here to say good-bye, but maybe this would be better. It would be much easier on both of them. No tears, no pleading, just slipping away.
And maybe that’s what would’ve happened, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave. Even with the full moon shining brightly above her, and the water calling to her, she couldn’t make herself walk away from Alex.
Then he looked up from his book, and he saw her. She could’ve run away then, but she didn’t. She just smiled at him as he walked over and opened the window.
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“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Alex asked with an easy smile.
“Not tonight. ” She’d barely gotten the words out when the tears started falling.
Apprehension instantly darkened his expression. “What’s wrong? Come inside. ”
“I can’t. ”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
Gemma took a deep breath and swallowed back her tears. “I have to tell you something, and I didn’t plan on telling you, but now that I’m here, and all I want to do is be with you, I have to. ”
“What?”
“The curse isn’t broken,” she said, and her voice caught in her throat.
He didn’t speak or even seem to breathe for a moment. “What are you talking about? You told me it was. ”
“I know, but … I lied. I didn’t want to worry you, and I just wanted to enjoy the last few days without everyone’s being all frantic and sad. ”
“If the curse isn’t broken, then … what does that mean?” Alex asked.
“There have to be four sirens. When one dies, they have until the next full moon to replace them. Right now, there are only two sirens, and the moon is full. ”
He looked past her, staring up at the moon above them, fat and radiant and undeniably full, then he looked back down at Gemma. “But … you’re still alive. It’s wrong. ”
“I have until the end of the night, when the sun comes up. ”
“Gemma…” He shook his head. “No. Where’s the scroll?”
“I threw it away. I told Lydia I’d give it to her, but I was trying to break it last night, and I just got frustrated, and I hate that damn thing, so I threw it in the garbage. ”
Last night, she’d barely slept. She stayed awake, going over the scroll again and again. Trying things she’d tried a hundred times before just to be sure there was nothing more she could do. But, finally, she’d given up and thrown it in the trash can behind her house.
“We’re getting it. We’ll break it,” he insisted.
“Alex. ” She tried to stop him, but he closed the window and left his room.
She jumped down from the roof and met him on the lawn between their houses. He went straight to the garbage and dug through it until he found the scroll. And the next few hours became exactly what she didn’t want to happen.
In his desperation to save her, he became fixated on the scroll. They went into the kitchen of her house as he tried everything that she’d already tried, that Harper and her dad had tried, but it was all to no avail.