Three - The Mermaid is Clueless

BLUE 

I hated the way Hunter was looking at me, like I was crazy. He touched my ankles and pressed it gently. “Does it hurt here?”

“No.” I shook my head.

He touched some other part of my leg, his expressions concerned. “Can you talk about what happened at the beach?”

“I don’t remember anything.” I admitted.

“Where do you live?”

“I live in the west side of the Ocean near the Palm Island. I was supposed to get engaged with my best friend but I didn’t want that to happen so I swam away and...and I realized I’d swam into the deepest end. I thought a shark was chasing me so I swam harder and then...” I knew I was getting hysterical, I still continued. “Some fishermen caught me in their net.”

“Uh-huh.” That’s all Hunter said.

He didn’t believe me!

I could tell by his expressions.

I didn’t even expect humans to understand me either, but it still hurt my feelings.

“Let’s help you on your feet for now, okay?” Hunter suggested. “Here, let me hold your arm.”

Hunter placed his arm around my shoulders and the other arm slipped around my waist as he pulled me up into a standing position.

“I can’t. I can’t stand...” I said.

But then suddenly, my legs had a strange sensation almost magical like they were finally getting a grip of the land. I felt better, the pain was leaving my feet slowly and I stood on my legs without much effort.

“Put your right leg forward and then your left. Keep doing it.” He instructed.

I tried doing it and once again I was thrilled how I could walk like humans. I’d been swimming all my life and now I could walk like them too.

I laughed, feeling so wonderful. “I can walk now!”

Hunter nodded and then he let go off me and walked towards the cooking area, folding his arms across his chest, he watched me. “Try walking until here. I will catch you before you fall. I won’t let you get hurt.”

“Promise?” I asked, glued to the spot where he’d left me.

“Of course.”

---

HUNTER 

Blue seemed hesitant at first and then she started walking towards me in slow steps. Small steps, one at a time and she was doing it.I knew it had all been in her head, you know, since the poor girl had some kind of an mental disorder. It must have been sad to be alive in the world and not know what to do in circumstances.

For now, I probably looked like a parent of a one year old, waiting for my child to take the first baby steps towards me.

Daddy is waiting here baby, come to daddy!

I groaned. That sounded so wrong even in my head. I wondered what I’d signed up for the minute I’d picked her up from the beach.

Slowly, she took steps towards me and when she reached the counter, she smiled at me. A real, genuine smile. There were tears in her eyes. “Thank you, Hunter.”

And at that point, something riled up deep inside me. Why was she thanking me? She shouldn’t. She already knew how to walk, whatever happened to her earlier had probably just fogged up her memory. “Anytime.” I said.

Blue sat down on the kitchen stool and ate her sandwich in silence. She removed the top bread and ate it first, the ham next and the last bread followed after. She ate it all separately and I tried not to laugh but it was hard.

The next morning, I woke up to find Blue still asleep in bed. She was sleeping with her mouth partly open, snoring softly. She lay beneath the blanket that she was wrapped in last night. With her glowing aqua hair and her petite body, she was downright adorable. She would totally be game if circumstances were different and if she’d been right in the head and met me at some random bar. But Blue wasn’t normal. I gathered that much and it really was against my nature to have dirty thoughts about someone like her.

Someone so innocent and selfless.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and gazed up at me with her clear blue eyes. Now that I looked closer in the sunlight, her eyes had a violet hue to it, they were a blend between blue and violet.

Why did she look so perfect?

“Did you sleep well?” I asked her.

She nodded, smiling and then ran her hand through Leslie’s soft fur. “He’s really nice to cuddle with.”

“Yeah. Careful, don’t fall for him though. He’s a ladies man.”

She giggled and then sat up straight and the blanket covering her front slipped down to her waist.

“Jesus Christ! Cover yourself, Blue!” I shrieked at her.

She flinched and pulled the blanket to her front. Her expressions told me she didn’t understand what the big deal was, like exposing boobs to strangers was normal behavior as normal as serving tea to guests.

“Listen up, Blue. I don’t know what they taught you from where you come from, but you don’t show your assets like that to men you just met, okay? It’s private. Very private.”

Blue stared at me in confusion. She tilted her head. “Assets. What assets?”

Oh come on.

“Your breasts and your...your...”

I’d say pussy, vagaina or some other words like that but it didn’t feel appropriate because it was her.

“Your dark triangle.”

“My what?”

“You don’t just let people see you naked like that. It’s something very private to you. Understand?”

“But I swam like this all the time and the men didn’t mind.”

Which planet were these men even from? Planet of Apes?

I had my bets she was a sex slave to some pervy old man. That could be a possibility, she ran away from him in some ugly circumstances and then hit her head on the rock bed and lost her memory. I knew I was drawing up conclusions, but there had to be some explanation to the mystery. I couldn’t leave her unclothed like that. What if my half-sister or any of my friends decided to visit me. They’d see a naked girl in my bed and call me a caveman outright.

I needed to do something. I dialed my best friend, Fred. He had a solution to every problem.

A few rings later, he answered. “Hey man.”

“Fred, I need your help.” I said, as I threw on a basic t-shift over my head. I balanced the phone on my shoulder as I made my way to the kitchen and pulled out a cartoon of milk, sugar and eggs.

“You need my help at nine a.m which calls for some emergency. Ex-girlfriend try to murder you yet?”

I knew who he was talking about.

I snorted. “I’m already armed if she tries anything. The last thing I need right now is a restraining order against her.” I prepared the batter for waffles.

“Don’t get too cocky. So what’s up?”

“Can you run an errand for me? It’s kinda urgent and I can’t leave the house until this matter is settled.”

“Tell me what you need.”

I cleared my throat. Bracing myself for his smart-ass comment that would follow. “Women undergarments. Bra size thirty-four and a few other things. I’ll text you.”

“I’m not sure if I heard you right. You want me to buy you a bra? Huh? Is there something you’re not telling me, Hunt?”

“I’ll explain later. Just get me the things.”

I hung up on him before he could make any more comments.

---

I prepared the waffles and added an extra whipped cream on it. Waffles were the only thing I was good at making for breakfast. I missed the cook Tina from back home. Just remembering her breakfast put me into severe depression.

“Um, Hunter?”

I heard the sweet voice call out to me. She seemed hesitant about something and fidgeting. “I really want to use the bathroom.”

There was a certain urgency in her voice, I quickly led her to the attached toilet. No matter how beautiful she was, I didn’t want her to wet my bed. “I hope you don’t require instructions on how to use it, right?” I asked her as I handed her one of my old t-shirts.

Thankfully, she shook her head or I didn’t know how I would have survived the embarrassment of showing her how to do it.

“Good.” I had ran out of patience for teaching toilet etiquette. I pointed at the t-shirt. “Take a shower and wear this.” I proceeded to show her how the shower worked and asked her to help herself to my toiletries and spent the next ten minutes showing Blue the functions of a t-shirt. I wondered how long I was supposed to do this? How hadn’t the girl learned anything at all?

When I checked the clock, I realized I was late for my lectures.

Oh well, I’ll sleep in for today.

I heard the sound of a bike pull onto the street. I knew at once it was Fredricko’s. A few minutes later, I heard the knock on the door.

That bastard had gone all out and bought stuff from Victoria’s Secret.

“What the fuck, dude?”

He threw me a look. “Well, I thought you’re going on a pre-marriage honeymoon to Hawaii so I figured I might as well buy a few sexy pairs.” Then he threw two boxes of condoms on the floor.

“Asshole.” I said as I handed him the money. “You already know how broke I am. And I didn’t need condoms!”

Fred had gotten everything I’d asked for.

Panties -Check

Thirty-Four size Bra- Check

Birth control Pill - Check

I’d wondered if something had happened to Blue that perhaps she wasn’t ready to tell me. The pill would definitely avoid any unwanted pregnancies and she’d thank me later.The question was, how do I get Blue to take them without her asking me a gazillion questions. Fred was already giving me a questioning look, his expressions getting darker by the minute. I knew he was already jumping to conclusions so I gave Fred a quick recap of my current circumstances.

His mouth was a surprised ‘O’

“You don’t believe me, do you?” I asked him.

“You can’t blame me. It all sounds unbelievable. You sure she’s not a runaway or perhaps a burglar? Check your drawers at night and keep the knifes hidden under your pillow. Just in case....”

I laughed. “You’re being ridiculous. I’m absolutely safe around her.”

Blue emerged out of the steaming bathroom a few minutes later, and it was kind of weird to see her wearing my shirt that stretched up just above her knees making it look like a loose dress. Her hair was wet from the shower and smelled of my soap.

She smelled like me.

She glanced between Fred and me. “Who is this?” She asked politely.

“Blue, this is my friend, Fredricko. And Fred, this is Blue.” I made fast introductions.

“Hi.” She said, and then her gaze shifted to something that was on the floor. She picked it up and inspected it. “What’s this?” She smiled. “Is it some snack?”

The box of condoms!

I snatched the box out of her hand faster than you can say the word condom. “Let’s just say if you were to stay here with Hunter long enough, he’d be more than glad to teach you how to use it. Right Hunter?”

I glared daggers at Fred. That bastard.

“All you need to know is that it’s not a snack.“I said with a smile.

“It has something round in a wrapper. Is it candy?” She asked curiously.

You should have seen the expression on Fredricko’s face. He was starting to look like a mannequin.

“Um, Hunt, can I talk to you in private for a moment?” Whatever trance that he’d been a while ago, he’d snapped out of it.

He pulled me near the window, away from Blue’s ear shoot. She settled down on the bed and began petting Leslie, laughing as she did. The dog had taken a great liking to her in a very short time.

“What the hell was that?” Fred questioned.

“Trust me, I’m as confused as you are.”

“I don’t know any grown up woman who hasn’t heard about condoms. Could she possibly be autistic?”

I shook my head. “Nah. Not autistic, but definitely some other mental disorder.” I continued. “Look she’s not my problem but it’s not safe to just let her go like that. What if she was abused at the house she was at or maybe neglected?”

Fred nodded. “I know where you’re getting at. She’s really pretty though. Can’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt someone as beautiful looking as her.”

“There are some really disgusting people out there so yeah, it’s possible.”

And then we heard a loud scream piercing through the walls. Blue had done some of her own exploration and touched the hot Waffle Iron. “My hand! It hurts!” She cried.

“Oh, Fuck!” I yelped and dashed towards her. I took her hand in mine and placed it under a jet of cold tap water.

She relaxed a bit but the crying hadn’t stopped. “Don’t touch anything without asking me first! You understand?”

She continued to cry like a damn baby. That’s what she mostly did. Cry for every little thing. I didn’t mean to yell at her like that but the too eager attitude of hers was getting on my nerves. Why couldn’t she just sit at once place without causing trouble? I had serious anger issues and I was doing everything in my power to not scream or throw something against the wall.

“I just wanted to taste that.” She whined.

I pulled the waffle out of the iron and placed it on the plate, dousing it with chocolate syrup. “Sit here and eat.”

People had a hard time dealing with me mostly because of my bossy nature. Girls like to be around me until they got to know the real me. I was someone who constantly had a temper and dished around orders and expected the person to do it. Fred was the only friend I had because he thought I had a good heart under all the tough exterior (whatever that meant)

She sat down on the island bar, grabbed the waffle and began eating it with her hands, the syrup dripping down all over her chin.

Fred looked away and chuckled. I threw him a pointed look.

“Just adopt her already.” Fred suggested. “She’s adorable.”

“If you like her, you’re free to take her home.” I said.

“She’s not some stray kitten.”

“That’s what she seems like right now. A fucking stray kitten.” I said. “I’m going to take her home tonight, even if she lives on another planet.”

We both glanced back to find her licking the chocolate syrup off her arms.A few minutes later, Fred left the place asking me to call him again if I needed him for something. Blue was napping on my bed, Leslie right beside her.

An hour later, I woke her up and asked her to wear another one of my t-shirts.

I was going to drop her back to her house.