Breeze

Chapter 5: Scott

As I dropped Fern home she sighed and looked at me with sympathetic eyes. I knew she was disappointed that we hadn't found Tarron after our searching and she probably felt bad that I had to return to my mother with no news about where my brother could possibly be. I hesitated as I reached over to turn the ignition back on but Fern stopped me 'come in for a drink' she offered 'I could use some company, we can have tacos?' I was secretly glad for the offer, I flipped the visor mirror down and ran my hands through my sandy blonde hair, glancing at my blue eyes and checking my teeth before I followed her inside the house. I watched her messy bun bounce about as she walked. She was a bit sandy and damp from our trip, sand clung to her calves it shimmered a little as the light caught the reflective grains.

Ferns apartment was cute, very simple with stark white walls and a view over the boat ramp, the sheer curtains blew lightly in the breeze and the indoor plants twitched as the air brushed over the leaves. I planted myself on the sky blue sofa as she busily seasoned the chicken for the tacos and threw some fresh cherry tomatos in a salad. The knife tapping against the stone counter top as she chopped away.

She turned her eyes to me as she continued preparing our dinner and gave a little shrug as if she wasn't sure how to ask what ever was pressing on her mind, 'do you know much about the stratwell brothers?' she finally asked. I did, I had gone to school with Bradley, the youngest of the 4 stratwell brothers, in our final year of school all four brothers disappeared without a trace. There had been rumours about a girl with honey coloured eyes and a mythical presence, being a mermaid. The locals said she lured the brothers to the sea and kept them as her slaves. let's just say Elsea was a little mermaid crazy, lots of the fishermen told stories of mermaids with golden eyes and flowing hair, many said they took human men as s*x slaves. They said the mermaids could transform into humans, that they kept their large unusual eyes that helped them see in the water and their elongated fingers and sharp nails. Most chalked that up to wishful thinking for those men lost to the sea and a few too many beers but others believed these tales and the mystery behind them.

I looked over to Fern, she had clearly been doing some digging around and I felt a little uneasy about her getting too involved in what ever was going on.

'I knew the youngest brother' I finally replied 'it was really sad what happened to them, being lost to the sea and all'. She nodded and continued to prepare our dinner, she was busy frying the chicken so I decided to do a quick google search on my phone, I was curious to see exactly what Fern could have found online but I was not prepared for what I saw. about a third of the way down the page there was a website themertruth.com, clicking on the link opened a page with dozens of stories about mermaid sightings and also, one in particular that belonged to a name I recognised Bradley Stratwell. I quickly put my phone away as Fern approached with our tacos and a beer for myself, she retreated to the kitchen to get her own. 'How do you know of the stratwell brothers?' I asked trying to be non chaconne, 'well I don't really' she replied returning with her plate and a few extra drinks, 'I was curious actually, about the disappearance and I was told that Tarron wasn't the first. I did some searching and those boys, the stratwells, they where the most recent..... but there are more right?'.

More? I pulled my phone out and opened up the browser, 'Fern, did you see this page?', 'yes in fact, it came up in the top searches for Elsea, quite an imaginative crowd you have here'. I ran my hand down my face and then took a long drink of my beer. What if these disappearance didn't mean mermaids what if there was some sort of killer... or killer family since the disappearances had been happening for quite a few years.

I munched on my taco and looked over to Fern who was pulling her hair out of her bun, her curls bounced down around her face and I felt my c**k twitch in my pants. Not now I thought to myself. It was hard not to let my mind drift off to dirty thoughts when I was around her, especially when she played with her hair, that was always a weak spot for me, I wanted to run my hands through it before grabbing a handful and pulling her into me.

'Would you ask around for me?' she asked suddenly, jolting my mind back to the present, 'uh yeah sure, I guess. But you realise it's a touchy subject right?, real people are missing and these are, well they are fairy tales Fern. They are made up to make people feel better about the ruthless sea, it takes just as much as it gives and we are the ones who pay the price. just make sure you don't go messing with the wrong people. I know you have made friends but not all of the locals will take kindly to the questioning. Just let me find out what I can first OK?'.

Fern seemed content with that and we happily ate our tacos. Fern as it turns out was not just a pretty face but was also a great little chef, the tacos had just the correct amount of seasoning and the salad was crispy and light. I attempted to stab a cherry tomato sending it flying across the room. We both giggled as I went to retrieve it, how embarrassing I thought to myself, who would have thought I would struggle so much to eat a silly salad not smooth at all. I looked up from the floor to see Fern eyeing me, she had a mischievous look on her face, a slight curl to her lips and a little wrinkle on the bridge of her nose. 'Just say it' I sighed, knowing she has something cheeky to say,

'that tomato was on a roll, I'm surprised you could... ketchup' she hiccuped before losing herself in laughter. She clearly thought she was a comedian the way she held her stomach and rocked back and forward, cackling to herself. Her curly hair fell over her face and her chest heaved as she tried to calm herself down. I laughed along with her, she was more funny than the joke to be honest, I couldn't help but laugh, it was contagious.

I set the rouge tomato on my plate and collapsed back on the couch while Fern retreated to the kitchen to get us both another beer. We where having such a great time together that we hadn't noticed the clock hit midnight.