Secrets of the Deep [Wattpad Featured Story]

Chapter Fifteen

Dad stared at me. I stared back at him. We must have stared at each other for a full ten seconds before he finally cleared his throat and said, "No. Yes. I don't know."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Why are you sopping wet?" he demanded.

I glanced down at my clothes. "Well...I was swimming."

"Where?"

"In the ocean." I held my breath and waited for Dad to scream at me, to tell me that it was extremely dangerous and that I should never go near the water again. But all he did was shake his head slowly and deliberately.

"I should have known," he muttered. He let out a low whistle. "Rayne, please answer truthfully when I ask you this. It's very important." He leaned forward. "Did anything happen to you? Anything...well...out of the ordinary?"

Like growing gills and talking to dolphins and drinking saltwater? I swallowed nervously. For a few moments, I debated what to tell him. "Well," I said carefully, "I guess you could say I have this connection with the ocean. I can't stay away from it."

There. That was the most normal thing I could say at the moment.

Dad furrowed his brow before taking my hands in his. "Are you sure, honey? Please, if there's something you're not telling me, say it now. This is very important."

I backed away slowly. "Why? Do you know something?"

Dad hesitated before answering. "Yes and no. It's a tricky situation, Rayne. But you're sure nothing else happened while you were in the ocean?"

I hesitated for a brief second. "I'm sure."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Just promise me you won't go swimming in the sea again, alright?"

"What?" I tore my hands out of his grasp. "That's impossible. And you still haven't answered my questions."

"This is for your own safety, Rayne. You have to understand."

"How I can understand when you won't even give me any answers?"

"Answers to what?"

"Why my hair and eyes glow blue in the moonlight. Why I have this connection with the ocean. Why I love swimming so much. And—and why you lied to me about her." I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "You said she was dead, but I know that's not true. Why haven't you told me? Why can't you open up and talk to me about this? Is it because you can't trust your own daughter?"

The tears shimmering in Dad's eyes caused me to regret my words at once. "I'm sorry, Rayne," he said huskily, "but I don't think you're ready. I haven't been lying to you this whole time; I've been protecting you."

"Protecting me? From what?" I clenched my fists in desperation. "Stop talking to me in riddles and explain some things! Please."

Dad sighed and took a seat on the couch. He held his head in his hands and sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. I crossed my shivering arms over my chest as I waited for him to respond.

"She was a swimmer," he said finally, his voice hollow. "Your mother, I mean. She loved to swim, but she loved the ocean even more."