I felt small under Sammy's words. I didn't know what to tell her. If I should explain it to her or just hide it away. Maybe it would go away. Maybe I was still delusional from driving way too long. I shook my head, that couldn't be it. This was something that had to be real. I proved it by making it happen again. It wasn't a one-time event. This was recurring.

"Sammy..." My breath was weak. I needed her to understand. I needed her to give me a little bit of time to let this, whatever this was, sink in.

"What?" She unfolded her arms, bringing her hands up to her hair. She squeezed the red strands between her fingertips... more drops of water fell to the ground.

"I just got scared. I panicked. Can we move past it?" She shot me a side glance, her expression questioning me. She knew me better than that. I tried to give her my best pleading puppy dog eyes. I wasn't going to show her, not right now. I needed to figure out what this was before telling anyone else.

"Olyvya..."

"No, Sammy. I'm serious. Let's just continue with our day like we were going to." My tone was harsher than I had expected it to be. I wasn't sure what she had planned for the rest of the day, but I needed to do something. I needed to distract myself.

"Fine," she mumbled, her hands falling to her side. My nerves relaxed as she took the bait. I felt better that she listened to me. "We need to go find a grocery store then," she mumbled before departing to her room. I assumed she was going to change.

---------------- A Few Hours Later ----------------

"What kind of cake do you want?" Sammy reached for the boxes on the bottom shelf, grabbing a few kinds of cake batters. I shrugged my shoulders. My mind was focused on anything but the cake. People rushed passed us, glancing quickly at Sammy and I before leaving the aisle altogether.

A young man sat in a small seating area, which was probably made for the employees to enjoy their meals. His blonde hair spiked above his head, his jawline sharp enough to cut a fishing net. He was preoccupied with reading a newspaper, something that struck me as odd considering he didn't look older than 25. Sammy must have caught wind of what I was looking at.

"Oh he is a hunk, but you really need to slow it down with the guys." She turned back to the cake mixes, still trying to decide. I turned to her, my mouth falling as my brain realized what she had said.

"I need to slow down on the guys?" I watched her carefully reach for a box of chocolate cake. "No chocolate please." I grabbed it placing it back on the shelf. She shot me a look, the tension growing between the two of us. What was going on? She never acted like this.

"Gage was really worried about you this morning," she mumbled, finally deciding on the funfetti cake. "Blue frosting work for you?" She moved over to the frosting section, looking at all the different sugar decorations. I nodded my head, grabbing the frosting for her. She placed it in the green basket on her waist.

A young, tall blonde woman strolled through the front doors, heading straight for the Deli seating area. She sat down next to the gentleman before dropping her head on the table. "Doesn't matter anyway, he has a girlfriend," I teased Sammy, tapping on her shoulder before pointing towards the blonde. She rolled her eyes, picking up a package of sugar candies in the shape of mermaids. My heart stopped as my mind connected the two images together. The scales on my hands... I grabbed the package holding it close to my face. I was trying to take in every detail of their fins. Shaking my head, I handed it back to Sammy.

"Those look great," I muttered, pulling at the bottom of my shorts. My fingers danced with the loose threads. She mumbled an okay before we left for the checkstands.

"That looks like his sister." She caught me off guard. She had been staring while we stood in line. I shrugged my shoulders in response. My gaze fell back to the two of them sitting down.

"Maybe you should go introduce yourself." I wiggled my elbows at her.

"Maybe you should stop acting so weird." She smiled back, some of the awkward tension drifting away.

"In due time." I picked at some of the dollar items by the checkstand, looking at the knick-knack items.

"Well, let's get home and get this cake baked. We can take it over to Gage's house tonight." I followed Sammy to the parking lot, lugging the bags of ingredients.

"I'm surprised he invited us over tonight." I helped her place the bags in the back seat before hopping in the van. Sammy put the key in the ignition before the van sputtered to life. I pulled my phone out, checking to see if I had any messages. There was nothing besides a text from my mother.

Mom:

I hope you guys are doing okay. Call me when you get a chance. I'd love to hear about the new house :)

Sent: 7:42 a.m.

I glanced at the clock. It was half past noon. I leaned my head against the window, dreading the phone call with my mother. I wasn't sure what I was going to tell her. Like with Sammy, my mom and I told each other everything.

"I told you Oly. He was really freaked out when you ran away." Sammy's voice came as a surprise, pulling me out of my thoughts about my mother. My body felt drained. My day had started in the most horrible way. I just wanted to crawl back to bed and forget any of this ever happened.

I bowed my head, not wanting to look her in the eyes. If only she knew the things I had seen.