The Last Thing (32 page)

“Have a
good one!” he calls out from behind me.

 “Fuck
you,” I mumble as I strut away. I throw my purse over my shoulder and curse
myself as a smile appears on my lips. My feet scream in agony with each step,
but I refuse to turn around.

Well,
that was until I got about two blocks down the road. Only then did I allow
myself to stop and peek over my shoulder. Pretending to take in my
surroundings, I peer back at him. Through the distance, I can see that he is
standing in the same spot on the sidewalk. His eyes are still locked on me, I
think. From far away, his hair appears darker, making him seem more mysterious.
When he raises his hand to wave, I quickly turn around. My pale skin heats in
excitement. I haven’t been this worked up over a man in a long time, not since
I first began dating Barrett. I should feel bad for getting so turned on by
another guy, but I’m not. Barrett treats me like shit. Ergo, I don’t care.

 The
crosswalk flashes for me to go, so I take one last look behind me where my
mystery guy stood. Disappointment fills me; his spot is now empty. He must have
gone inside. Nashville is a big city, and I’m only visiting for one more day
before I return to LA. It’s unlikely that I will ever see him again.

I sit
in my hotel suite putting my diamond earrings on and reapplying my red
lipstick. I lean over to look at the digital clock on the night table. It’s
only seven, but I have this horrid feeling that the night is going to last
forever. A few old girlfriends are driving in from my hometown to grab drinks,
but I can’t muster the energy to move my feet. After soaking in a hot bath, and
using a whole box of Band-Aids on my blisters, I’m ready to go pretend to have
fun. The girls from high school are all social climbing, name-dropping,
selfish, using money to get whatever they wanted types. When they’d mistreated
my cousin, Quinn, after an accident involving her boyfriend that was when I
“lost” the girls’ numbers. Quinn had been my best friend growing up, and when I
moved to LA, I abandoned her for what I thought was a better life. I still feel
guilty for leaving her so suddenly, but I couldn’t stay in that town. It was
suffocating. Nonetheless, after they saw my twitter status stating my
interviews in Nashville, they insisted on driving the three hours to visit. I
fluff my thick, red hair and let it fall along my back. It contrasts nicely
with the white scoop neck blouse and jeans. I step into a pair of comfy flats
and grab my purse before walking out the door. I hesitate as reach the lobby.
I’m half-tempted to walk out the front door and walk to that old auditorium
where my cute, mystery guy said he’d be playing tonight, but I decide against
it. Sticking with my plan seems safer. Drinks with the girls, then I’ll get in
bed early and catch up on some much needed sleep. The vibration of my phone
calls out to me, picking it up, I read a message from my agent.

The
director passed. He said you are too wholesome looking.

 I slam
my phone back onto my bed. What did ‘wholesome looking’ mean? It’s probably a
nice way of calling me fat, even though I’m far from it. I used to think that
being an actress was everything I’d ever wanted, but lately the lack of privacy
and scrutiny almost changed my mind. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever get a
starring role. I’m destined to be type casted in the soap opera genre. I spin
around and walk straight for the hotel bar. I need a drink, and fast.

Two
hours later, I find myself alone and drowning my sorrows in a shot of tequila.
Drinks with the girls had gone…smoothly. I smiled and nodded while they gushed
about their new lives, jobs, and babies. Everyone commented on how lucky I was
to be rich and famous, but all I want is someone to love me, just like they all
had. I’m halfway to a pity party. Just my tequila and me. I wave at the
bartender to pour me another shot. He shakes his brown head.

“Aren’t
you ready to go too? Your friends have all gone.”

He
is not going to cut me off!

“One
more,” I plead. I look up at him and bat my dark lashes. It’s a move that works
with all the guys. His face turns red but he pours one last shot to which I
promptly throw back. I’m not drunk yet, my tolerance for alcohol is high, but I
am lonely. It’s nice to pretend that the bottle is my best friend, but I always
end up feeling like shit in the morning. Looking at my phone, I contemplate
pressing speed dial. Against my better judgment, I call Barrett. Drunk-dialing
is never a good sign, but I need to hear his voice. I need to know that he is
behaving while I’m gone. After over two years of dating, he still hasn’t quite
managed to stop breaking my heart. When the phone goes to voicemail, I bite my
bottom lip to stop myself from screaming. For being a girl who supposedly has
it all, I sure feel alone in the world. My friends are fake, my boyfriend can’t
keep his dick in his pants, and even my career is going downhill. If I don’t do
something quick, I’ll end up broke and alone. Standing up, I motion for the
bartender to put all the drinks on my tab. I stumble towards the hotel lobby.
It’s a long walk to the auditorium, but I can’t drive drunk. Maybe he’ll cheer
me up. For the second time today, I hightail it to the streets of Nashville,
but this time in better footwear.

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Coming soon…

The Mermaid’s Pearl
by Brooke Kennedy

Read an exclusive sneak peek below.

I’d had enough.

My heart thudded in my chest as I choked back the tears. Being
forced to dance the night away with suitors reminded me just how much my
people’s culture had changed into something terrible. Extinction was inevitable
if things didn’t change soon.

I could hear my sister’s tail splashing quickly behind me as I
raced through the coral hallway to our small bedroom. I pushed through the blue
water, slashing my fin back and forth even faster. Getting out of the castle
and into the open ocean was harder than I thought it would be. Especially with
my sister on my fin.

 “Raewyn! Please stop!” Lucy cried out.

I really wished she’d stop screaming like that. She was going to
give me away, and I was so close to the freedom I
yearned for. The
quest that would take me away from the stress, even if temporarily.

When I reached the room at the end of the hall, I closed the
seaweed curtain behind me and hurried over to my wardrobe. I pulled off my gown
and tossed it aside. I hurried, so I could get away before someone caught me.
The rush was invigorating. As I rushed to my closet, I undid my long hair from
its braid. I had to get away before anyone came looking for me. Just as I was
tying the back of my shimmering blue top, Lucy pushed her way through the
curtains, causing them to sway in the water.

“Raewyn! Will you stop and listen to me?”

I whirled around and shook my head. “I have better things to
do than dance the night away with a bunch of suitors who could care less about
me!”

 “But Augustus adores you! The way he looks at you is just
so…” She sighed in happiness and flittered over to me.

“I really don’t care. You know how I feel about that.”

“But he will be a wonderful husband! He’s so handsome and
charming and—”

“Stop with the 'buts'! You don’t remember how things used to
be. Love was cherished and encouraged.”

Lucy crossed her arms and shook her head, her red braid
swishing behind her as she did. Her hair was perfect. It didn’t float around
her—all crazy—like mine did. “No, this is the way it has to be. Our people
won’t survive if we don’t do this. We have no choice. There’s no point in
fighting it.”

For the past thirteen years, we have struggled to find a way
to save our people from dying out and becoming a fairy tale. The only answer
the royalty could come up with was arranging marriages and messing up
everything I ever imagined as perfect. I witnessed it too often in the past few
years to be comfortable, even in my own home.

“If someone doesn’t fight it, this will be all that’s left of
our kind. It will continue to be a bunch of arranged marriages and partners
chosen at a stupid ball. We will all be unhappy and miserable.”

“Father has made it clear that—”

“He’s not your father, Lucy.”

 Her face fell, sadness creeping up into it. It pained me to
see it there, even more so that I put it there, but she could never understand.
She was only three years younger than me, but that made her too young to
remember when love was cherished.

“Well, he won’t be happy,” she shot back at me, bringing a
ferocity to her words that she was known for.

The king made it clear my focus should be
on the preservation
of my people and not the wiles of a young heart. He meant well, but I couldn’t
get myself to care. He loved me, he did. For a stepfather, he was the best I
could have asked for. My mother wouldn’t have chosen anyone else for her
companion after my father died. She believed in true love, and her words were
inscribed deeply on my heart. I wouldn’t settle for just anyone, not until I
found my one true love. If such a thing still existed. I wasn’t so sure
anymore, and I was not going to be let down. I hated to be skeptical, but I had
no reason to believe.

I reached out to take Lucy’s face between my hands gently. Her
eyes echoed back with the deep blue of our mother’s, wide and confused. She
didn’t understand why I was always running off on some adventure instead of
putting my duty as a princess first. In some ways we were alike, and in others
we were completely different.

“Tristen is waiting on me. I have to go. Please just keep this a
secret.” My pulse raced in my veins. Exploration was waiting for me, the one
thing I could depend on in a world so unknown. I couldn’t wait.

Still, a part of me insisted I should stay there to watch over my
younger sisters. They, like the rest of the kingdom, depended on me. I was the
oldest princess in our kingdom, and I often encouraged the others around me to
be themselves.

“You have to stop sneaking out to see him! He’s common folk.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you should know that I have better things
to do than worry about rules.”

“They’re there for a reason!” she exclaimed. “Father has forbidden
you to run around with Tristen. He’s trying to keep you safe.”

“No, he’s trying to smother me.”

“Raewyn—”

“This is the only way I get to see Tristen. He’s one of the most
important merfolk in my life, beside you guys. Maybe it’s love.” Okay, that was
stretching it a bit. I loved him, but I wasn’t sure if I was
in
love
with him.

“Father will never let you marry him. You don’t really believe
that you love him do you?”

“Who knows what love is anymore…”

This was not the first time we’d had this same disagreement.
Instead of delving back into it, I swam over to the small window and glanced
outside into the depths of the ocean. I longed for the moon to illuminate me in
her silver glow, but she did not shine down this far below the surface.

Lucy swam up beside me and placed a soft hand on my shoulder.
“Where are you going?” Her question was curious
.

I lowered my voice. “Death Valley.”

Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open in shock. “No you
aren’t. There are humans there.”

“Humans? This far under water?” It was a ridiculous thought.

“Or giant sea creatures that will eat you! Evil monsters!”

“Will you keep your voice down? You’re going to get me caught.”

“It would be better than seeing you die. No one has come out of
there alive!”

I was hoping to be the first one
.

“I’m not going to die,” I insisted with a laugh. By going to Death
Valley, I was blatantly defying the king, and putting my life in danger—as well
as my partner in crime, Tristen. He should be waiting for me there.