Page 37 of The Sea Witch’s Son (The Villains of Wolf Hollow #1)

Chapter 36

MELODY

The night terrors won’t go away.

Every time I close my eyes, I’m back in the pool. Struggling to breathe, unable to scream, I’m trapped in my own body until that one voice screams for me to wake up.

It’s always the same voice.

My bleary eyes beg me to go back to sleep, but I can never bring myself to do it. It takes hours for my breathing to return to normal, and even then, I can’t bear the thought of being trapped in the darkness again.

Just waiting for someone to rescue me.

The thought is enough to drive me out of bed. Hitting the lights, I start scavenging my mother’s bedroom, searching for the solution to my problem .

I breeze past the ornaments on the dresser and start pulling the drawers open, searching for the one item I never thought to bring with me.

Luck strikes me in the third drawer.

The two bathing suits look comical next to each other. The purple string bikini boasts ruffles that look like seashells while a plain black one-piece sits quietly beside it.

One is completely and utterly my mother while the other one is me.

After a moment of hesitation, I reach for the bikini. It’s tight around my boobs and the bottoms sit a little too high on my waist, but when I look in the mirror, all I can see is my mother’s smile.

Pulling some clothes over the swimsuit, I quickly pack a bag and sneak out the front door. My hood stays up and my head stays down as I walk along the road, listening to the animals howling in the night and the whispers floating through the forest.

There’s no one around when I slip inside the college. My shoes slap the marble tiles as I walk past the moonlit stained glass, the shadows of an old fairytale glistening around me.

My stomach is in knots by the time the scent of chlorine hits me. Nausea threatens to emerge, but a few chunky swallows keeps everything down. I force myself to keep walking, past the rows of lockers and out onto the pool deck .

It’s just as creepy as I remember. The dark glow of the underwater pod lights do nothing to illuminate the slippery tiles and the shadows slinking around the arena.

I let my bag fall to the floor. Panic starts to sink in the closer I get to the edge, but I don’t stop. I don’t stop until I’m hissing out a breath from the freezing temperature of the water.

Lowering myself slowly, I sink into the pool one inch of skin at a time. My breath catches when the water splashes my stomach, causing goosebumps to break along every surface.

I blow out a breath and sink down to my shoulders. Water splashes across my lips and bone-gripping fear spears through me.

I can’t do this.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

My head snaps to the side. A shadow moves at the other end of the pool, causing the water to ripple around him.

“I always found it was the darkness. Pressing down until you couldn't help but gasp for air. Not knowing whether you were going to wake up or not.”

I don’t move, I don’t breathe as the figure glides through the water, his shadow making the pod lights flicker with every stroke.

“I used to sleep with the lights on just so I didn’t have to wake up in the dark.” He chuckles softly, “It’s always the body the doctors are worried about. The long-term damage left on the lungs. They never look at the mind.”

I swallow thickly, watching the shark draw closer .

“How do you know?”

Violet eyes peer at me through the darkness, the pale colour of his hair glowing against the shadows of his face.

“I know a lot of things, little saint.”

I stare at him, watching the droplets drip down his face.

“Why are you afraid of water, Marlin?”

“Why are you afraid to sing?”

Silence stretches between us.

“You see, little saint, the answers are not always as black and white as they seem.” His eyes flick down my face, “Sometimes you have to try a different colour to understand the other.”

“What colour are you?”

“A dark shade of grey.” A smile flickers through the darkness, “But lighter than you wish to believe.”

“I doubt that.”

I’m watching him swim closer, trying not to stare at the muscles rippling under the water. He moves like a predator, all strength and stealth as that massive body comes to a stop in front of me.

“You, on the other hand, are much darker than people wish to believe.”

Water droplets cling to every inch of Marlin’s face. The tip of his eyelashes, the hard cut of his cheekbones, the soft texture of his lips.

All glistening and begging for my attention.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think you do.” He tilts his head, causing a droplet to slink down his neck, “I think you know exactly what I’m referring to.”

When I don’t respond, he slinks closer, sliding a hand through my hair.

“Why are you afraid to sing, little saint?”

He tilts my head back and stares at me.

My heart thunders in response.

“I miss my mother.”

“The line between hate and love is so very thin.” His eyes drop to my lips, “I wonder, was it love or hate you felt when you watched her body get dropped into the grave?"

The answer gets caught in my throat.

Marlin brushes my hair back from my face, touching me as if I’m a combination he’s about to break.

“After everything you did for her, she left you.”

Tears well up in my eyes, but they’re not from grief.

“She used to say let destiny take the wheel and everything will be fine . ” My teeth snap together as rage sweeps through me, “As if destiny was going to be the one to save her.”

Marlin doesn’t look away when I start to crumble.

“She refused to do the chemo treatments.”

“All she had to do was lie there and take the fucking drugs . But no, not Arielle St. James. She said if it was her time, it would be her time.” Tears splash on my cheeks, “She didn’t even try to fight. Not for herself and not for me.”

As much as I loved Arielle St. James, I hated her just as much .

For putting me through all that heartache just to take the easy way out.

For leaving me alone after all those times I never left her side.

Life wasn’t fair, and my mother made sure I got the short end of the stick.

“I told her I would never sing again.” My voice breaks as more tears spill over, “I told her I would bury my voice in the grave with her. That she had to stay or else she would take it from me.”

It was manipulative, trying to guilt my own mother into choosing life. It’s the most twisted kind of love, the most toxic kind of relationship a person could have.

“She owed you.”

Marlin states it simply.

No judgement. No shame.

There are so many reasons why I should hate him, but the reason I don’t is the same reason I do.

When I look at Marlin Seaborn, I see a cruel liar and a selfish manipulator.

And it feels like I’m looking in the fucking mirror.

“She owed me.”

I repeat his words, staring at the only person who understands. The only person who knows what it’s like to crave the darkness as much as the light.

His eyes flick over my face, caressing every shadow, stroking every vicious angle .

“So much pain for so little in return” Wiping the tears from my cheeks, he sighs, “At what point does the sacrifice outweigh the reward?”

The question dangles in the space between us, just waiting to be caught.

“I didn’t kill my father.”

“No.” His eyes flick to mine, “But you helped Erik cover it up.”

The air gets sucked from my lungs.

“The neighbour who filed the domestic abuse reports ended up marrying that same woman not six months later.” Marlin tilts his head, “Rather curious, is it not?"

“They were in love.”

“Your insistence on calling Erik a good man leads me to believe he was the one you would run to on the nights your father was in a mood.”

“Erik is a good man.”

Marlin tsks, “A good man does not murder the husband of the woman he loves.”

“Erik was the only one kind enough to help. ” I scream the last word, feeling my control shatter, “Do you know how many nights I had to listen to her cry? How many times I had to cover her skin in concealer just so she could go to work the next day?”

“He offered you a way out.”

“He offered me a life.” Pressing my palms to his chest, I lean in closer, “A life full of opportunities I never would have had otherwise. Memories that I never would have gotten if we had stayed.”

When my mother found out her husband had died, she wept with joy. She thanked the fates above for finally giving us a chance at a better life. For finally getting us out from under that monster’s thumb.

It was the happiest day of her life. She played the piano and we sang in celebration. We danced and we laughed, and not once, did it occur to her that I was the one who gave us that freedom.

I was the one who gave Erik the Vicodin.

I was the one who encouraged Arielle to give that same man a chance.

Marlin chuckles softly, “You told me your father had a lot of connections. That’s how you were able to keep the overdose from the autopsy report.”

“Someone needed to keep us out of jail.”

“And the Vicodin prescription. That was you too?”

When I don’t respond, a breathtaking smile breaks clear across his face.

“You were the brains behind the operation.”

Something close to admiration shines through those eyes. His approval washes over me like a tidal wave, soaking the aching spots in my heart and sending a surge of pleasure through my veins.

He’s looking at me as if I’m strong and capable.

Like I’m his equal .

My blood thickens with the realization that I gave him too many pieces tonight. Too many truths slipped from my mouth, so now I need to steal something for myself.

A piece of him for all the shattered pieces of me.

“Marlin.” Swallowing thickly, I can’t bring myself to look away, “Why did you pull me out of the water?”

Silence stretches out between us until finally Marlin clears his throat.

“I’m afraid you were right, little saint.”

The gravel in his voice sends a shiver through me. His eyes drop from my face to the water, as if he’s found the answer he was looking for.

“I wanted to be the one to hold you under.”

The cold grip of fear slinks up my spine.

“That’s not funny.”

His lips ease into a smile, a horrible smile that has me backing away.

“Do you know what I love about fear?” A large hand suddenly wraps around my wrist, pulling me closer, “It has the power to leave a lasting impression, little saint.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“When the darkness closes in, whose face do you see? Is it mine or is it Finley’s?” He lets out a long sigh, “Because the latter just won’t do.”

His grip on my arm tightens and so does the panic creeping up my throat.

“Marlin, don’t even think-

Water crashes into my mouth and I start to choke.

On the fear. On the water.

On the man pulling me deeper into the darkness.

The villain who won’t let me go.