Chapter 54 Hector
665words
"Don't make assumptions too soon," Ember breathed. "Look, we lost both our dad and sister. Hector, he had no other choice but to abandon our grandmother. Martha—"
"I knew it, it is the same Hector!" I exclaimed, making Ember jump.
She looked confused. "I don't follow."
"Martha, she pulled me aside the day I got attacked by that tentacle guy. Can't remember his name. Kayn told me, but I can't—Greg, or...Oh, wait, Graves. That's his name. But whatever, she told me that her Hector was coming for her."
Ember blanched. "She remembers his name?"
"She's not supposed to, is she?"
"No. Hector did a memory spell on her, so she would forget us," Ember began to choke on her words, and her eyes turned glassy. "I'm sorry, it's hard to talk about her."
I reached out and squeezed Ember's hand. "It's okay, I understand. If it's too much to—"
"You need to know," Ember slapped away a fat tear rolling down her cheek, and took in a deep, shaky breath. "It's hard to go into town for us, to walk past her and pretend like she's just some lonely, local lady. It's even worse to sit beside her, to listen to her go on about how her husband will come back for her. She…" Ember sighed. "She has such a strong belief that he will come for her one day. But he never can."
A lump formed inside my throat. "Can't they go somewhere far away, someplace to be together, where no one can find them?"
"That's the thing," she said. "They did, but they got caught. It's a miracle they're both still alive. It didn't go down so well for Aria, though."
"Oh, Ember," my brows furrowed. "This isn't right."
"I know, it isn't, but there's nothing we can do about it." Ember traced the pattern on the blanket with her forefinger. "This is why I was so drawn to you when you moved here. Our kind can sometimes be so...corrupted."
"Don't underestimate humans. We can be as bad, if not worse."
Ember glanced up at me. "So, you're okay about all of this?"
"No, I'm not okay with a lot of it," I admitted. "But if you meant about you being a mermaid, then yes, I'm so cool with it. I worry about my mom, though. What will happen if she does find one of you? She already has all these pictures."
"You need to make them disappear like my grandpa made all the other footage disappear." She balled her hands in her lap. "Look, I know this is important to her, but this could cost her life if she doesn't back up."
"I have no idea how I'm going to talk her out of it," I admitted. "This is her lifelong dream and years of hard work and dedication went into this."
"You need to find a way, Carly. You can't let her dig any further. She's already gone too far as it is."
"You don't know my mom. She can be persistent," I said. "She's bat crazy when it comes to her cryptids. You should have seen her and her crew on the cruiser. They're insane."
Ember bit her lip. "I'll talk to the old man, see if he can help us or figure out some other idea. I don't know, find the Yeti, or something."
"Bigfoot," I corrected, grinning. "How does Kayn feel about wearing a big, fluffy suit?"
Ember shook with laughter. "I think he'll do anything at this point to divert your mom from finding us. Actually, we could even get Hector to go as far as to dress in a suit as well. Imagine those two stooges dressed up in a suit to match their manners. It would be something to see."
We were laughing, but deep down, I worried. I had no idea how I was going to get Mom to back off.
