CHAPTER TWELVE
I couldn't sleep. Everything Grandma had said about the hunter rolled through my mind. After dismissing Colleen and Kyle, she’d promptly grounded me. I didn’t care about not being allowed to go to town again—not when there was a man who possibly wanted to kill me—but I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere except for school until further notice. That meant I’d miss the welcoming dinner tomorrow. Once classes began, I was to go to school and come directly home—no socializing. I was a prisoner until further notice.
Giving in to the fact that sleep wasn’t coming any time soon, I went downstairs. The house was quiet and dark; Grandma must have already gone to bed. In the spare bedroom, I powered on Grandma's ancient, yellowish-white computer for the hundredth time since I'd arrived on the island. The computer and its incredibly slow connection to Facebook had become my only window to the outside world and my old life. In recent days, I'd been going on it less and less because it was becoming more and more strange to look at pictures of people I knew who were having fun without me.
Tonight I was going to sit down and write Marnie a nice long email. Even if I couldn’t tell her the truth, I could at least tell her something. And at this point I just needed a friend to vent to. I logged into my email account and began.
Dear Marnie,
That didn't sound right. I deleted it and began again.
Hey Marnie, sorry we haven't talked in awhile. My life's been turned upside down and not just by…well, you know that bit already. Turns out Grandma is completely crazy. Like one-hundred-and-ten percent loony. She thinks she's a witch and tells me I'm one too.
I stopped. It was what I wanted to say—I wanted to tell Marnie the truth, but I was forbidden from doing that. But surely this—telling my best friend the truth under the mask that Grandma was nuts—was an acceptable lie.
What a whack-job. I added to make sure Marnie wouldn't even consider believing me. I think she's getting dementia or Alzheimer’s or something. Needless to say, it sucks out here. Most of the time, I have to look after her more than she looks after me. For instance, just last night she forgot my friend Colleen and I had plans in town and she made dinner plans for us with new students—three really annoying and egotistical guys that are sure to make my junior year the worst year ever. Especially since Aaron called and told me he's going out with some girl he met on his fishing trip. I mean, if he's going out with someone else why did he even bother calling me, right? It's stupid. But whatever, I'm over it. Some of those new students I mentioned are pretty good-looking. Especially this one guy named Caesar...though he does seem a bit full of himself and my new friend Colleen told me this really awful story about him.
In other words, I'm doing horribly and wish you were here. No one on this island is even half as cool as you are. Please send me some happy tales about life in Surrey. I miss you like crazy and can't wait to get back to the mainland.
Your best friend, Nessa.
Hopefully Marnie wouldn't think I was crazy. Hopefully she would just be the awesome and normal friend I needed. I powered off the computer and went up to my room, ready to hide under my blankets and sleep well into the morning.
Sleep still refused to come. My mind was too full of things I'd rather forget: Dad’s accident, Aaron not-quite-breaking-up with me, the hunter, Caesar. I tossed and turned until the red numbers on my alarm clock told me an hour had passed, and then I gave up. I wrenched the blankets off my body, put on the red flannel jacket that was quickly becoming a wardrobe staple, and silently went downstairs, making only one quick stop in the kitchen to grab some scissors on my way out of the house.
The moon was full and bright. I didn't need a flashlight to navigate my way down to the dock. I sat down on the wooden slats and wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them into my chest as I watched the pale blue, moonlit waves ripple on the horizon. The air was chill and my body was just beginning to adjust to it when I heard soft footfalls behind me. My heart thumped painfully into my ribs as I turned.
“Imagine seeing you here at this time of night.”
Breath whooshed out from between my lips. My body tingled as I realized who it was: Caesar.
“It's a beautiful night, and since I live here you can’t be too surprised.”
He took a few tentative steps onto the dock. When he said nothing, I asked, “Did you come out here to enjoy the scenery or are you fighting off insomnia too?”
“I always find it difficult to sleep on land after spending time at sea.” His voice was smooth and calm, like the water in the bay.
I snuck a peak over my shoulder and saw Caesar was wrapped in a black hoodie, looking at me with... I wasn't even sure what it was but it made my mouth go dry. I turned back toward the water just in time to see a wave rear up around us. It crashed onto the shore, flooding the land around the dock, momentarily trapping us together.
“Sorry,” I said. “I'm not very good at controlling my powers yet. I'm not even sure what that was about.”
Caesar moved closer, so that he was standing beside my curled up form. He looked down at me, his tanned skin paler in the moonlight than it had been at the York's.
“Not sleeping at night, causing rogue waves to almost wash devilishly handsome pirates out to sea... I'd say you either don't like me or you've had a bad day. I'm hoping it was a bad day because I don't know what I'd do if you didn't like me.”
I smirked, and then concentrated as hard as I could in order to pull up another wave, bringing it right up to Caesar but keeping him dry. “After what you did to Colleen last year would you really be surprised if I didn’t like you?”
Caesar sighed. “Oh. That. I’m not proud of it. I apologized to Colleen after it happened, but she’d already decided to hate me. I guess I deserve it.”
I released my hold on the wave and let it crash into the shore. “Why did you do it?” I turned to look at Caesar. His hands were tucked into his pockets. His eyes were fixed on the distant moon.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Jim—he was the one behind it all—he had this overwhelming ability to convince people to do stupid things. It’s not an excuse, I still did what I did, and I’m sorry for it. I think Colleen was beginning to see that too, by the end of the school year, until her dad and mine disappeared, then it was back to her hating me. But you know,” Caesar turned to face me, his eyes reflecting the bright moonlight, “I’d never do anything like that to you—or anyone else for that matter. I’ve learnt my lesson, and Jim’s no longer around. I just want to start fresh, without worrying about being judged for something that happened a year ago.” Caesar smiled at me
I shook my head, conscious of my long red hair hanging loose around my shoulders. “I don’t know, Colleen was pretty adamant that I can’t trust you.”
Caesar sat down beside me, hanging his feet over the end of the dock. “Then ask me something. Anything. I’ve never met a girl who can irritate me like you can. I meant what I said yesterday, I think this year would be really amazing if we could be friends.”
I laughed. “I never thought being able to irritate a guy would put me in his good books.”
Caesar glanced at me with one eye. “Well, you’re also very beautiful.”
I blushed, uncomfortable in a good way. I’d never had a guy tell me I was beautiful before. “Okay, first question: why did you walk all the way over here in the middle of the night?”
Caesar hung his head, hiding most of the smile I could see playing across his lips. “Like I said, I find it hard to adjust to sleeping on shore. I thought a late night walk might tire me out. And I also had this girl on my mind…” Caesar’s words trailed off into the night. I let them lie there.
The silence wore on until I felt compelled to speak. “I understand what you’re saying about not being used to sleeping on shore—not that I’ve ever slept on a boat. I'm used to being in the city, hearing city noises and seeing city lights. You never feel alone there, no matter how late it is. Out here it's just so quiet... so empty.”
/> “When I first left the city it took me a while to get used to the quiet too.” Caesar's words surprised me. I’d assumed he’d lived on a boat all his life.
“Where are you from?”
“All over. But more Sausalito—you know, across the bay from San Francisco. That's where I lived with my mom, until my dad decided I was special enough for him to care about. The ironic thing is that when I chose to go with my father—who hadn't cared about me in years—my mom decided that she didn't want to care about me anymore. They're this impossible couple that can't share. I can't even picture them together; they've been separated my entire life. But they were together long enough to make me, and now they can't even care about me at the same time.”
I nodded. “I kind of know what you mean. My grandma never cared about me until she found out I was a sea-witch. This whole transition thing would probably be a whole lot easier if she’d just been in my life from the beginning.”
“That’s rough,” Caesar said. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think Shannon meant to hurt your feelings. She’s pretty great, your grandma. She knows a lot about being Neptunian.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe.”
“So, I guess the only thing left to talk about is what you’re doing sitting on a dock in the middle of the night, alone, with a pair of scissors. I’m all ears.”
I reached down and grabbed the metal scissors I'd completely forgotten about, shoving them under my legs, as if I could hide the evidence Caesar had already seen. “You don't need to worry about me.”
“What are they for?”
I looked over at Caesar. He was gazing at me, intent on getting some answers. I was intent on not giving them. “What are what for?”
“The scissors.”
“I don't see any scissors.”
“If you don't tell me, I'm going to have to assume the worst, and take you inside to your grandma right now and–“
“Fine!” I said. There was no way Grandma was getting involved. “They're for my hair. I hate it. I'm thinking about cutting it off.”
“What? No. Don't do it. You have the most beautiful hair.” Caesar reached out, grabbing a fistful of my locks.
I froze, feeling a cool bolt of electricity flow from Caesar, through my hair, and all the way down to my toes. “It's not beautiful,” I said. Caesar let go. “It represents everything that’s wrong in my life.” My voice caught in my throat. I wasn’t sure I could go on without breaking into tears. Caesar waited while I took a few deep breaths. “A bit more than a month ago, my dad died. Then a few weeks later my hair and eyes changed colour. When they did, all I could think was that my dad had always begged me not to dye my hair and not to wear too much make-up. He said I should let my natural beauty shine through. He would hate this. He would hate how I’ve changed. He didn’t believe in magic.”
“But you didn’t dye your hair. And you didn’t change your eyes either. They both changed on their own. I’m sure your dad would understand that if he was here.”
I brushed a small tear from my cheek. “Yeah. Maybe. Or he’d disown me. Think I was a freak.”
Caesar shook his head. “I doubt that. Your father loved you. It’s obvious that you miss him, and you wouldn’t unless there was great love between you. Your hair’s beautiful, Nessa, and natural. You have to see that.”
A warm surge burnt in my chest at Caesar’s compliment. “But it still isn’t right. It still isn’t what it was. And it still makes me a target.”
“A target? What do you mean?”
“Tonight, when Colleen and I ran away to town to get away from you, we ran into a hunter. I’d never met one before. I didn’t even know they existed. But now I do. And now I know that this hair, this bright-red un-dyeable hair is a dead give away. I can’t even go out in public without someone eyeing me up like some kind of prize or sacrifice or something.”
I sensed Caesar still. “You’re serious? There’s a hunter around here?”
I nodded. “Grandma’s pretty sure, at any rate.”
Caesar looked at me, his brow furrowed. “You know we’re safe here, right? That a sea-witch’s magic can keep us protected from intruders?”
“Yeah, Grandma mentioned something like that.” I hugged my knees more tightly to my chest. But what if he found us anyway?
“Good. And you know, if you want some extra protection, I’m happy to hang around.” The corner of his mouth lifted up into a smirk.
My stomach flipped. What was it about this guy that made me feel like I was being tossed around by waves even when he was feeding me cheesy lines? “Do you really think stuff like that works on a girl like me?”
Caesar bent his face toward me. He was so close I could count his eyelashes. “Lines don't have to work. Not when we have time. The future is full of possibilities.”
I leaned back, trying to escape his all too intoxicating presence. “Well, let me know how that works for you.”
Caesar pulled back. “I won’t have to let you know; you’ll find out for yourself. I’m a pirate and I know treasure when I see it—and you're definitely a jewel worth waiting for. The better you get to know me, the harder you’ll fall.” I watched Caesar stand, his lean body as graceful as a calm sea. “I’ll see you at school on Monday.” He winked at me once before walking back down the dock, disappearing through the trees.
Once he was gone, I grabbed the scissors and tossed them as far as I could into the ocean.