Sirensong
Since going for a swim yesterday, Gemma was reenergized. Once she got past her guilt about enjoying any part of this experience, she felt pretty good. Penn hadn’t spoken to her much after that, and that was fine by Gemma.
Penn had spent most of yesterday in her room with Sawyer, making all kinds of noises that Gemma had only thought existed in porn. Then Penn got up early this morning and declared that she and Lexi were going on another shopping trip, once again leaving Thea in charge of Gemma and Sawyer.
Gemma still didn’t feel a hundred percent, but the watersong was hardly bothering her, and her chills and night sweats had gone away. So she decided to make the most of it. She put on a bikini and went out to the balcony to lie out in the sun. It was a beautiful day, and she wanted to enjoy it.
The problem was that Gemma had never really lain about before. She was always tan, but that was because she spent so much time in the bay. It didn’t take long before she gave up; she just couldn’t lie still that long.
The balcony outside her room hung about twenty feet from the ground. The ceilings on the first floor were tall, making the balcony exceptionally high. A railing of horizontal bars—painted white, of course— ran around the side of it to keep anyone from accidentally falling over.
Gemma went over to the edge and sat down, dangling her legs over the side and resting her arms on the lowest bar. She stared out at the ocean and swung her legs back and forth.
“I see you’re feeling better,” Thea said from the balcony next to hers. Each one of the five bedrooms that faced the ocean had its own balcony, and Thea’s room was closest to Gemma’s.
“Much better,” Gemma admitted.
“It’s the ocean that does it, you know,” Thea told her. “Something about the transformation heals all your aches and pains.”
“Yeah, I figured that.”
“If you swim every day, you buy yourself some time,” Thea said. “It’ll help keep your body from completely falling apart. But eventually you will have to eat.” She paused, running a hand through her hair. “But if you want to put that off, then I’d suggest you swim as often as you can.”
“Thanks,” Gemma said, genuinely surprised that Thea had offered her any tips.
Thea didn’t say anything to that. She stayed outside a moment longer, then turned and went back into the house.
Gemma knew she should take Thea’s advice, but she didn’t want to just yet. She felt content. Or at least as close to content as she’d felt since coming here. She’d been in so much pain lately that just the absence of pain felt amazing.
She was about to get up and go down to swim when Sawyer wandered out to the balcony. He’d gone shirtless today, opting to walk around in drawstring pants. Not that Gemma minded all that much. Her heart might belong to Alex, but she wasn’t blind.
“Do you care if I join you?” Sawyer asked.
Gemma shrugged. “It’s your house. You can do what you want.”
“Is it my house?” Sawyer sounded perplexed as he sat down next to Gemma, dangling his own legs over the edge of the balcony.
“Yeah, it’s your house.” Gemma gave him an odd look. “At least that’s what you told me the other day.”
“Right, right.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “Of course. It’s my house.” He leaned against the railing, resting his chin on his arms. “It’s just that lately it feels more like Penn’s house.”
“Yeah, I can understand that,” she said. He sighed, and she turned to face him. “Do you even like her?”
“Penn?” Sawyer asked, then nodded quickly. “Yes. Of course I like her. I’m crazy about her. I don’t think I can live without her.”
“Why?” Gemma asked him directly.
“Because…” He furrowed his brow, seemingly finding it difficult to think of a single reason why. “I feel so restless when she’s not around, like I can’t get comfortable.”
Gemma knew that Sawyer didn’t really care about Penn, at least not to the degree that he acted. But she thought he’d at least cite Penn’s beauty or her voice as a reason for being so devoted to her.
She wondered what his absence of reasons meant. Maybe Sawyer didn’t like Penn at all. If Penn took away the siren song, he might even detest her. But Gemma would probably never know how he really felt about Penn.
“I know I love her,” Sawyer said finally. “But when I try to think of why, it’s all a blur. All I can hear is her song.”
“If you try to think, her song drowns it out?” Gemma asked.
“Yeah, kind of.” He nodded. “Sometimes it’s Lexi’s, too, but mostly it’s Penn’s. She sings to me a lot. I don’t think she likes when Lexi does.”
“Why do you say that?” Gemma asked.
“She always tells me not to listen to Lexi’s song,” he said. “And that’s really hard to do, because her song is the most beautiful I’ve ever heard.”