What the Tide Brings

Chapter 15 - Liam - Stay with Me

"Why do you think she's here?" Liam asked about Kaelin's sister, after she finally confessed everything that happened. He'd known there had to be more to the story than Kaelin just getting lost. She had an excellent sense of direction. She navigated them out of the woods when Liam got turned around, trying to leave the waterfall.

Currently, they were in the small park just down the street from the house. It was abandoned; everyone was probably at the beach. They had taken a seat on the swings. A small smile played at the corners of Kaelin's lips as she swung back and forth. She didn't look concerned about her sister.

"I told you already that I do not know," Kaelin said, too busy enjoying the swing to care about what was going on. "Amaya is not one to leave the clan without reason. I suspect that she is looking for me."

"I got the feeling that you didn't want to be found." Liam said.

"Oh, I don't. I'm enjoying my time here very much." Kaelin looked up at him then, an expression of earnestness on her face. "You are happy that I'm here, are you not?"

"Very happy." That was strange; she had never questioned him about that before.

"You would not rather I go, so that you may be with someone else? A human girl, perhaps?"

He heaved a sigh, because he had a feeling what this was about. "I knew Gretchen said something to you."

"It was not her so much as it was how you acted with her." She turned her face away, staring at her bare feet, digging trenches into the soft, powdery white sand beneath them. Her bright pink toenails, which his mother painted for her, stood out in contrast with the sand and her alabaster skin.

"How I acted..." He was confused. "When?"

Then, it hit him. "You were there, at the market. You saw me and her talking."

"She touched you." Kaelin placed her hand on his face, exactly like Gretchen had. Her eyes were so sad, they wouldn't meet his. "You seemed happy."

"No, she... we aren't..." He became flustered, finding it hard to get his words out properly. "It's not even like that anymore. I don't want Gretchen. I have you. I hope."

Her smile made her cheeks rise high, making her eyes look squinted. "For as long as you desire."

Liam reached up to lay his hand over her hand on his face. "I don't want you to go. Ever."

"I feel the same way." She leaned her head to the side and her long silvery-white hair fell over her shoulder to partially conceal her beautiful face. "I would miss you terribly if I were made to go home."

"Does that mean you aren't going to look for Amaya?"

"I must speak to her. I'm sorry." She pulled her hand away and it felt worse than that time Tanner Sales punched him for sleeping with his girlfriend. "I have to find out why she has come; if she is just the first, or if there are others looking for me. As I'm sure there must be."

Liam didn't want to ask the question, but he didn't think he had a choice now. "Why did you leave home?"

Her blue eyes were darker than normal—the deep gray of the ocean on a stormy day. He wondered if it was a trick of the light, the evening sun casting shadow on her. Except she was facing the sun. It sometimes slipped his mind that she wasn't a normal girl, maybe her eyes did change color depending on her mood. It wasn't the first time he'd thought her eyes looked a different color.

It was obvious that she didn't want to answer the question, which was frustrating, but more than anything, he felt hurt that she didn't trust him enough to share what was wrong. Sure, they'd only known each other for about a week and a half, but he thought they had something. He certainly cared about her, and he thought she cared about him, too. Maybe that was stupid. "I can't help if you don't tell me what's going on?" His voice cracked halfway through the sentence. It hadn't done that since his voice changed at 14. Of course, he'd never been so emotionally attached to someone before.

"Precisely," Kaelin said, looking back at him, her brow set with determination. "Then you cannot get in the middle and be hurt. I would never forgive myself if that happened."

Liam stood and went to stand in front of her, holding the chains of her swing to still her swaying. When she stood up in the middle of his arms, he released the chains to put his arms around her, pulling her close. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Please don't go looking for her." He knew he shouldn't request this of her. Eventually, she would have to talk to her sister. She would have to leave him. Because she didn't belong in his world. She didn't belong with him, much as he'd like her to.

Still, in spite of all that, he whispered, "Stay with me."