I jolted awake the following morning, curled up in a blanket on the bathroom tile, to the front door slamming. When I ran to investigate, I found Mom in the entryway.

"Catch." The Chevrolet's keys jingled as Mom tossed them to me, and I stumbled to catch them. "There's four hundred dollars in the glovebox and a tub of water in the backseat for Sedna. I also got the air conditioner temporarily fixed. Should last you to Washington."

I blinked. "What?"

She handed me a sticky note with an address. "Go before I change my mind."

I sat with the Road Atlas and made a route to the beach. It was almost a twenty-hour drive away. My body was numb as I stuffed clothing and toiletries into bags. I was a tornado, leaving a mess and only grabbing what we needed. I was afraid that if I stopped to think, I'd second guess my actions.

When I woke up Sedna and explained that we were leaving, she dug her claws into the tub and tore out a chunk of porcelain with horrifying ease. A piece of home to take with her.

Her slender body tensed and trembled in the heat as I carried her to the car. She only relaxed once her torso hit the water. With a chirp, she settled with her head underwater and her legs hanging over the plastic blue tub. Rainbows seemed to shimmer in the scales covering her lower half. 

The lines of frills fluttered against her ribs. Her gills. 

"Spend the nights in Walmart parking lots," Mom advised, as I sat in the driver's seat. "The surveillance cameras will keep you safe... it's what I did when I drove here."

I nodded. "I don't understand why you moved to the desert, considering our lineage."

"I ran out of money. Got a hired at the local grocer and never left."

"Nothing is stopping you."

"I did my best, Moray."

I shook my head. "Try to take care of yourself." It was as close to goodbye as I could manage before I closed the door and drove off.

I couldn't look back as gravel ground beneath the tires. I didn't want to watch my childhood's cracked shell disappear. It was as if my body was breaking apart under the strain of emotions I couldn't bury. Leaving was both a release from prison and the loss of home.

When I glanced at Sedna, she was waving. 

I focused on the road and turned on the AC. I pressed my hand against the vent and watched the air flutter my black hair. 

Senda whistled and chirped as we passed our old elementary school. She tapped on her bin to get my attention. When I looked back at her, she made a writing motion. I rummaged through my bag then handed her a pencil and a deck of cue cards.

She wrote, It's the world!

Oh, Baby, all those years in the tub must have been so lonely for your aunt. But I was a child, and I did the best I could for my sister.

Sedna kept her gaze out the window as we drove along the US-95 N. Water splashed as I zigged and zagged through traffic, but I did my best to follow speed limits to avoid police. It was late morning when we passed through Las Vegas. The interstate seemed to be level with the tops of skyscrapers as it wove through overpasses.

Can we eat at a casino? I'm sure no one would find us suspicious, Sedna scribbled. 

I snorted a laugh.

We followed Mom's advice and parked the car in a Walmart parking lot somewhere in Oregon. Curled up in the driver's seat with an old blanket, I listened to people coming and going throughout the night. My eyes were sore as I drove the second day, and we spent a second night in a Walmart parking lot.

Sedna's screeching woke me up the third day. A man peered in through the window. When we locked eyes, he knocked on the passenger window. I didn't take the time to find out what he wanted. I turned on the car and sped away.

He probably just wanted to make sure we were okay, Sedna wrote.

Regardless, I wasn't going to find out. The roads turned more rural. Stretches of farmland gave way to forest. Pine trees covered in emerald moss blocked the sun as the bumpy road turned to gravel, then ended.

I turned off the car and got out to look around. In hindsight, I should have been terrified, but I wasn't. I couldn't hear waves or smell sea spray, yet I knew the beach was close. Something told me I was home. Sedna must have felt it too. She sat like a dog awaiting a treat and pointed in the direction I knew was the ocean.

I was contemplating how to transport Senda when she chattered and hissed. She bore fangs I didn't know she had.

Gasping, I tensed.

An older woman with a hunting rifle and a teen boy with curly hair, both in plaid, stood in the treeline. They would become family, but at that moment, they were strangers.

"This is private property," the boy who would become your Daddy growled. "You can't hunt here."

The woman placed a hand on the boy's head and sniffed the air. "Do they look or smell like hunters, Gael?"

"We're not hunters," I insisted.

Gael sniffed the air as he took a step forward. "She's kidnapping a mermaid!" he growled, charging me.

The woman grabbed Gael by the collar, and he yelped. "That's not it either." Releasing her grip, she looked at the boy and commanded, "Sit."

With a whimper and a pout that was almost adorable, the boy sat on the ground. "But there's a mermaid in her car."

"Use your nose, puppy. Notice they don't smell like ocean or gun powder." The woman smiled at me with yellow eyes. "So, what's your story?"