her lip and debated leaving the key in Rose’s mailbox. The Burrow wasn’t a high crime place. With all the nosy neighbors, no one would break in without someone giving a full description.
The typing dots appeared below Rose’s text. They disappeared before another text.
‘Please, Reen.’
‘OK,’ Reen typed back. Five minutes. She’d say goodbye, and that was it. Reen released a breath and buckled her seat belt. She plugged in her phone and turned on her traveling playlist before backing out of the driveway.
#
Reen took the quickest route to The Siren. Even though the town moved by her in a blur, the flickers of memories from her past filled in the gaps as she kept her eyes on the road. As she passed the pier, she grinned, remembering how many times she and Dad had fished off there. Then, there was the lighthouse. Tingles rippled up her arms. Brody and Reen used to sneak over there after hours and watch the water in the distance, only lit by the rotating light above them. They hadn’t gone as far as to break into the locked building, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. In the summer, the mosquitos were enough to drive them away quicker than they came.
Some of the shops were different, but many were the same. After school, she and Rose would stop by Mr. Talbot’s convenience store and spend their allowance on candy and ice cream, filling up their bellies with sugar before swimming it off when they got home. That was until Rose stopped swimming altogether. Reen had tried so hard to change her sister’s mind, but it was impossible, and it broke apart the secret language the girls shared with their mom. There were no more hours together playing and splashing in the surf, or seeing how far either could hold their breath underwater.
Instead of pushing through those feelings of anger and hurt at breaking their bond as children, Reen sat in them. They were going to help get her out of here that much quicker. Her shoulders tensed, nearly reaching her ears. All the Barros women had the uncanny ability to root themselves in something they were passionate about. Reen wasn’t any different. She’d left at eighteen and hadn’t returned since. Mom refused to acknowledge her children after Dad died, and Rose remained, caring for the shattered remains of their family.
Somehow, she’d stirred the remnants of the mess inside of her and the only way to stop it was to leave. The goal of her visit was to see Mom, and she’d done that. A wisp of guilt tightened around her stomach, but she was determined to leave as soon as possible. Mom wasn’t the woman she remembered, and she didn’t remember Reen. There was no use sticking around to watch Rose finally move on with her life. Her sister didn’t need Reen getting in the way. Rose had everything under control, with or without her.
Three texts came in rapid fire on her phone, and she groaned, already knowing who it was. Jeremy tended to write out every single thought he had the second he had one instead of crafting one larger, cohesive text.
She pulled into the lot at The Siren and parked by the entrance. He asked her again when she was returning to work. Replying with her flight schedule would get him off her back, but she thought better of it. He could wait a little while longer for her response. She’d blame ‘catching up with family’ as her excuse for not getting back right away. She debated on taking her phone inside, but she didn’t want to bother with him anymore, so she left it in the car.
The salty sea air washed over her. In her travels, she’d been careful to stay within landlocked states, so the memories of her past wouldn’t tempt her. The infinite horizon reached into the distance behind the restaurant. She’d miss the view when she left. Since she’d leaped over a huge hurdle, maybe she’d open herself up to unfamiliar places with water views when she moved next.
The Siren looked almost the same as she remembered from the outside. The inside, however, had been completely overhauled. The structure of the room had changed. Instead of the ripped booths outlining the place, there were only four in the center, and the rest were tables with chairs. The pale blue walls were the same, but the pictures and trinkets around the place had increased tenfold. Netting covered one corner of the room with an assortment of plastic sea life attached to the rope. Mermaid tails popped through several of the wooden slats while colorful shells covered much of the surfaces.
‘Reen,’ Rose said, coming from the kitchen. She held a tray of wet glasses in her hands.
Reen turned her attention to her sister, even though she had the urge to keep exploring. Seeing something new in The Burrow surprised her more than she’d thought.
‘How was your night?’ Rose placed the tray on one of the tables and crossed her arms.
Reen blinked, wondering if her sister knew where she’d slept the night before. ‘Fine.’
‘I hope my bed was comfortable enough for you.’
‘Yeah,’ she said, eyeing her sister.
‘Can I buy you lunch?’ Rose asked.
‘You said five minutes.’
Rose shrugged. ‘Airport food is expensive. I could get you something to go.’
‘I really should get going.’
‘When are you leaving? Are you going back to see Mom? I can give you the code—’
‘Now,’ Reen said. ‘I need to get back.’
Rose shook her head. ‘Oh. I—’
‘Don’t do this,’ Reen said, as the ache in her chest bloomed. It was the same every time she had texted Rose. The part of her that still belonged to this place.
‘Are you sure you don’t want anything?’
Reen hadn’t eaten much other than the toast at Brody’s. Her hangover cures tended to be of the greasy variety.
‘Can you make something quickly?’ She had some time to spare and at least if she gave Rose a proper goodbye, she wouldn’t hear about it for the rest of her life.
Rose’s smile beamed. ‘Great, let me get you a menu.’
It was early enough that all the seats were open. Reen slid into a chair at the corner table. In eighth grade, when her crush on Brody began, she’d always sit in the corner booth and watch him wash dishes through the kitchen window. He’d sneak her mermaid milkshakes when his father wasn’t looking.
Suddenly, Missy sat at her table. Her eyes – Brody’s exact match – narrowed. ‘Hey, Reen. Welcome back. How long are you staying for?’
Reen sat up straighter and looked over her shoulder for Rose. As Brody’s older sister, Missy had joined with Rose in taking on the roles of overprotective siblings. Rose and Missy had been best friends since preschool. It worked in her favor when Reen got in trouble at school and had two older kids to help her out. But after she and Brody started dating, Missy dropped that part of the relationship. It could have partially been Reen’s fault since she and Brody didn’t care much for rules when they were together.
‘I’m leaving today.’
‘You saw my brother last night,’ Missy said.
Reen glanced over her shoulder into the kitchen, trying to keep her face impassive. She wasn’t about to let Missy get the better of her.
‘I did.’ Reen looked over her shoulder again, and saw Rose was still in the back. Missy’s eyes locked on hers.
‘I know you stayed with him,’ she said.
Reen recoiled. Nothing stayed a secret around here. ‘I—’
‘He doesn’t kiss and tell, but you remember how small this place is? I’m curious about how many more lives you want to unearth before you leave again. I had to clean up two messes last time.’
Reen tensed, twining her fingers together in her lap. ‘I said I’m going today.’
‘As long as you mean it this time.’
Rose approached the table. ‘What’s going on?’
Missy