Read Online Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau - Free Book Online

how Gran’s rowboat had shifted below my feet, tipsy and unsure. The memory flashed through my mind like short movie clips.
    Me, fumbling with the rope to get it untied from the mooring.
    Mom thrashing in the water.
    Dad diving in.
    Gran yelling into her cell phone at the edge of the dock.
    Mom calling for me one last time before she disappeared underwater.
    We dove and dove, looking for her. By the time the rescue team managed to maneuver the backcountry roads of Dundee it was too late, too dark, too large a lake. Andsoon, too many days had passed. I shuddered and shifted on the bench, trying to loosen the memory from my mind.
    No wonder I’d had the sweats, trying on bathing suits at the mall. The mere thought of swimming was enough to make me wanna puke. What was I thinking, telling Cori I’d go to her pool party?
    I had to do something, go somewhere, and get my mind tracking in another direction. My watch showed 3:40. I should just go, maybe meet the gang at the skate park. But did I really want to put myself through more cringe-worthy chats with Luke? Especially with Lainey there?
    I could go home and study. Final exams were just a few weeks away, though my ears had started ringing again and I could really use a nap.
    Pillow-top. Nap. Much better idea.
    I stood and turned to go, but noticed something splashing in the water, close to the bridge, out of the corner of my eye. A trout? No. Bigger. Maybe a bass. I turned and willed the image to reappear. It reminded me of looking for the first star in the night sky when Mom used to tuck me into bed. There one minute, gone the next.
    Splash.
    But there it was again. Only this time, a shining flicker of black surfaced for a second then continued underwater, marking its path with a trail of ripples. It moved toward the boat lock as the massive metal gate screeched to a close.
    I tugged at my ears as the ringing grew to an annoyingthump like music from a passing car full of high school kids. Meanwhile, two other ribbons of current appeared, twenty feet or so offshore. Trout or bass, all three trails seemed to be on a full-on course for the lock’s gate.
    The ringing in my ears stepped up a couple of decibels. I winced and kept watch for the flicks and splashes as the fish seemed to congregate below the surface of the water. The gate clunked shut.
    Then, a piercing ring impaled my brain with a sound so loud it made me gasp.
    “Jade!”
    Was Eddie calling from his control tower? Had Cori come looking for me? I looked up, but Eddie was turned the other way, fiddling with something on the console inside his little hut. I glanced through the trees up the bank to the road. The barrier lifted for the cars to cross the bridge, but no Cori.
    I turned back to the lake. Something broke the surface of the water. Not a trout. Not a bass. This was much too large.
    Dark strands of hair. Pale flesh. I caught the edges of the image. A rubber band tightened around my heart and squeezed with all its might.
    “Mom?” My breath sucked in so fiercely, it felt like a spear stabbing through my chest.
    Then the image disappeared. I shook my head and covered my mouth with my hand. It couldn’t be Mom. Mom was dead. What the heck was wrong with me?
    Another splash. The figure returned.
    “Jade!” I saw the outline of her perfect mouth hidden behind matted strands of ebony hair. Soon, her whole head broke the surface of the water.
    “Mom!”
    I ran across the shore, the rough gravel piercing my bare feet. Mom’s face dipped in and out of the water. It was her! She hadn’t drowned! She wasn’t dead! I splashed into the lake until I was waist deep.
    “I’m here!” A tremor rippled across the water as car tires rumbled across the bridge’s metal grating overhead. I reached out for her. “Swim to me!”
    Could Mom hear me? Could she see me? I took a few more steps until the water reached my chest.
    “Jade…out the…water!” Mom’s voice came out as a gurgle as she appeared then