TWENTY-TWO
Reunion
Being in her own room again felt so strange. Gemma stood in the doorway for a long time, just staring at the mess of things she’d left behind. It gave her a weird sense of being in a time warp. She hadn’t been gone that long, not really, but with the insanity of the past few weeks, it felt like it had been a lifetime ago that she’d been the girl who lived in this room.
It was also a bit weird to see so much color. The pale blue of her walls, the bright colors of her bedspread, even the Michael Phelps poster on her wall. It all seemed so vivid after the constant whiteness of Sawyer’s house.
She flopped back in her bed, a twin-size that felt so much better than the empty space of the big bed she’d been sleeping in. Everything about here felt so much better, even though the house was small and worn down and completely lacked the grandeur of the beach house.
But that didn’t matter. This was home.
She looked over at her bedside table, expecting to see the picture of herself, her mom, and Harper that had occupied that space for years. When she saw it was gone, she sat up in a panic, but then remembered that she’d taken it with her when she left. She’d left it at the sirens’ house, hidden in the top drawer with her clothes.
Harper knocked gently on Gemma’s open bedroom door, and Gemma turned to look at her. Once they got back, Alex had gone home. Gemma hadn’t really wanted him to leave, but Harper pointed out that they had spent the last eleven hours together, and their father would be home from work soon. He’d picked up overtime to compensate for his time off the previous week, and wouldn’t get done until after seven.
“How does it feel to be back?” Harper asked.
“It’s pretty strange, actually,” Gemma admitted. “But I’m glad to be here.”
“And I’m glad you’re back.” She smiled a little at that and walked into the room.
“What’s the plan now?” Gemma asked. “Did you have one, beyond finding me?”
“Not really.” Harper leaned back against the wall next to the closet. “I was kind of hoping that you might have some ideas. Alex and I have been doing tons of research on sirens, but we can’t find anything.” She paused. “You are a siren, right?”
“Yeah, I’m a siren,” Gemma said with a heavy sigh. “So are Penn, Thea, and Lexi.”
“So what does that mean exactly?” Harper asked. “You turn into a mermaid, and then there’s that bird-monster thing that Penn changed into. You can sing and enchant people.”
“It’s kind of a lot of things.” Gemma lowered her eyes. She didn’t want to explain it all to Harper, at least not right now. That would mean telling her about the whole curse, and about how she had to kill to survive.
“We’ve got time to talk about it later,” Harper said, apparently noticing Gemma’s hesitance. “If you want to shower and relax a bit before Dad gets home.”
“Thanks.” Gemma smiled wanly at her.
“We do have time, right?” Harper asked. “How long do you think we have before the sirens come after you?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Gemma said.
She thought back to when she’d gone into town the other day and killed Jason. She’d been gone for several hours, after basically stealing Sawyer’s car. But when she came back, the sirens and Sawyer were all there, looking nonplussed.
Since Gemma hadn’t taken anything with her, they probably wouldn’t think she’d run away, so it would be a little while before they began a search for her. And even when they did, they wouldn’t know where she’d gone. It wouldn’t be too hard for them to figure out she’d gone back to Capri, but it might take them a few days before they went after her. They would probably expect her to come back to them, since she knew what it meant if she left.
Eventually, though, the sirens would find her. They had to. Part of the curse was that they had to be near each other at all times.
If they didn’t find her, Gemma would die within a couple weeks. And if the sirens couldn’t replace her, then Penn, Thea, and Lexi would die, too.
“We probably have a few days,” Gemma said finally. “Maybe a week, tops. But that’s it. They will come after me, and they will take me away with them.” She swallowed hard when she realized it. “If we haven’t found a way to break the curse by then, I have to go with them.”
“We’ll find a way,” Harper insisted, and Gemma wished she shared her sister’s conviction. “But for now, why don’t you just shower and change? Dad’ll be home soon.”
“What should I tell him?” Gemma asked as Harper turned to go. “I can’t tell him that I’m a siren, can I?”
“No,” Harper replied, but she looked uncertain. She furrowed her brow, then shook her head. “No, it won’t do him any good. It’ll just make him worry, and he won’t be able to do anything to help you.”
“So what do I tell him?” Gemma asked.
“Just…” Harper shrugged. “I told him you left with Penn, but I didn’t know why. So … just tell him you ran away because…” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Don’t give him a reason. You’re a teenager and were rebelling. That should be enough, right?”
“It’ll have to be, I guess.”
Harper turned to leave and began shutting the door behind her.
“Hey, Harper,” Gemma said, stopping her.
“Yeah?” Harper leaned in the half-open door to look back at her.
“Thank you for coming to get me and all that,” Gemma said. “No matter how this all turns out, I want you to know that I really appreciate all the stuff you do for me. Including but not limited to rescuing me from monsters.”
“Anytime.” Harper smiled at her, then closed the door, leaving Gemma alone to get ready.
Gemma had just gotten out of the shower when she heard her father come home. She was still in the bathroom, brushing her hair, when the front door slammed shut. Then she heard Brian’s booming voice telling Harper that he was home.
Gemma knew he’d be mad at her. He was going to yell at her a lot, and while she was dreading that, it suddenly didn’t seem to matter. She’d missed her dad. She hadn’t realized precisely how much until she heard his voice.
“Dad!” Gemma yelled as soon as she opened the bathroom door, and then she raced down the stairs.
Brian was standing in the living room, still wearing his work clothes, which were stained with oil and smelled vaguely of fish. When he saw Gemma running down toward him, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
She threw her arms around him, and he hugged her gruffly. He held her tightly to him for a moment, then moved so he could get a good look at her. He touched her face, his callused hands feeling especially rough on her smooth skin, and his blue eyes were brimming with tears.
“I love you so much, Gemma,” he said. “You had me worried sick.”
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Gemma said, stifling her own tears. “I love you, too.”
“Where were you?” Brian asked.
“I don’t know.” Gemma lowered her eyes and stepped back from him, because she still didn’t completely understand how to answer that question.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Brian asked, and he started yelling. “What in god’s name did I do that was so terrible that you needed to run off for over a week without telling me? I’ve been searching all over for you! The police have been looking for you! Do you have any idea what you’ve put me and your sister and even Alex through?”
“I’m sorry.” Gemma stared at the floor, unable to look him in the face anymore.
“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Gemma!” Brian shouted. “There’s no excuse for what you did! You can’t just leave without telling anybody. That’s not okay, and you know it.”
“I do know, Dad, and I’m really sorry,” she repeated.
“And with everything that’s going on, with the serial killer on the loose,” Brian went on. “That was so dangerous and irresponsible. You could’ve been hurt or killed! And Harper and I had no idea what was happening to you. Do you know how terrifying that is?”
Gemma swallowed hard and shook her head. “No.”
“And you missed Bernie’s funeral,” Brian said, but his tone had softened a bit when he said it.
“What?” Her heart dropped, and she finally looked up at her father. “Bernie’s dead?”
When she’d gone to Bernie’s Island and discovered the sirens there, tearing up his house, she’d suspected that something had happened to him. But she’d been hoping that maybe he’d been knocked out somewhere or had fled the island. Now Brian was telling her that her worst fears were true. The sirens had killed him.
“Yeah.” Brian had his hands on his hips, but his stance relaxed, and he looked apologetic. “He was found dead early last week. The funeral was on Friday.”
“Oh.” A tear fell down her cheek, and she hastily wiped it away. “I’m sorry I missed that.”
“I know how fond of him you were,” Brian said, and he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “But that’s why you shouldn’t leave like that. You don’t know how much time you have left with the people you care about, so you shouldn’t waste any of that time running away for no good reason.”
“You’re right.” Gemma nodded. “And I’m sorry.”
Gemma was crying softly, so Brian pulled her into his arms, letting her cry against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and held her until she’d calmed down.
“I need to go make some phone calls,” Brian said. “Let everybody know to call off the search, since you’re home and you’re safe. But you and I will be talking more later. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Gemma sniffled.
“And you are grounded until you turn eighteen,” Brian said. “You are not to leave the house without my permission, and you’re not to have anyone over unless I say you can. That includes Alex. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“Okay.” He stepped away from his daughter. “But I do love you, and I am glad you’re home safe.”
“Thanks.” Gemma smiled meekly at him. “I really am sorry about all the trouble I’ve caused everybody.”
“Good. Maybe you’ll think twice about running away again,” Brian said. “Now why don’t you go up to your room?”
Gemma ran back to her room almost as quickly as she’d come down. She slammed the door shut and leaned back against it, trying hard not to break down in tears.
She hated knowing she’d scared her dad like that and all the crap she’d put Harper, Alex, and everybody through. She hated it even more that she might have to do it again. If she didn’t find a way to stop the sirens, she’d have no other choice. She’d be forced to leave with them to stop them from hurting someone else the way they’d hurt Bernie and Luke, and the way she’d hurt Jason.
The problem was that Gemma saw no solution. There was no way out of this without somebody getting hurt.