Page 101 of Sworn to My Heart
“Alin, come on! Luca and Mariano are on their way home,” Cora shouts to me from outside the bathroom door.
“Get your tail out of the water and come down already,” she continues to push, and I roll my eyes in response, but inside, I’m just as excited as she is.
Luca and Mariano have been out of the country for two weeks, visiting their father and closing some deals they weren’t willing to share with either Cora or me. I missed him so much, especially since he couldn’t talk to me much on the phone.
“Come on!” Cora bursts into the bathroom, pulls back the shower curtain, and surprises me.
“Now, let’s go!” she orders, watching every move I make until my legs return to me.
“I still can’t believe you kept this a secret from me; it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen,” she exclaims excitedly, making me laugh.
Cora hasn’t changed, and I hope she never does. She’s a part of me I wouldn’t give up for anything.
I stand up, and the dizziness of the past week hits me again. I have to lean on Cora for a few moments but quickly recover.
“Sorry, the dizziness hit me again,” I apologize, seeing the worry on her face.
I smile at her, trying to show that everything is fine, but she doesn’t buy it.
“Alin, you need to see a doctor,” she states.
“No, I can’t see a doctor. I can’t let anyone do tests on me,” I try to reason with her, and she sighs, frustrated with my stubbornness.
“Besides,” I add, “I never got sick when I was in the ocean, so if there’s a problem, I can go back home and get rid of it.”
She nods reluctantly, and we hurry downstairs.
Within ten minutes of waiting on the couch in the entrance hall, the door opens.
“Alin? You waited for me at the door?” Luca laughs, and Mariano follows him inside. Cora and I immediately stand up with joy and jump on them in a hug.
Suddenly, loud breaking noises are heard, and I jump in place. Luca and Mariano draw their weapons.
I look toward the bar in the entrance hall, where the noise came from, and see the floor covered in broken glass.
“How did that happen?” I ask in surprise, and everyone seems to be trying to figure out what’s going on.
“Look!” Cora says suddenly, pointing to the ceiling where a large bubble of liquid is hovering above us, the alcohol from the broken bottles.
“Alin! This isn’t funny! What a waste of all that alcohol,” Mariano says as he and Luca lower their weapons.
“It wasn’t me, really!” I say, but then another wave of dizziness hits me, and I rush to the bathroom with an unfamiliar pressure in my throat, emptying the contents of my stomach into the toilet.
Cora follows me into the bathroom immediately.
“Alin, something’s not right with you. Even your powers aregoing haywire. If you don’t want to see a doctor, at least go see your parents,” she pleads, and I have to agree with her.
Luca stands behind Cora, seeming to have overheard the conversation and supports her stance.
“It looks like I’m going to visit my parents,” I announce, raising my hands in surrender.
“Alin, Cora, we’re here!” Suddenly, Bay’s voice is heard from the doorway.
The three of us step out of the bathroom stall, finding Bay, who has arrived with Pedro.
It seems something is developing between them, and I still haven’t decided if I like it or not.
“Alin isn’t feeling well, Bay. Could you go with her to her parents?” Cora immediately asks, starting to worry too.
