I watched as Jason’s father curtly nodded and his mother just stared at her feet. Who was this man that had complete control over them?
“We better get going.” Jason mumbled, his voice hoarse.
Calder looked back to us and damn if his gaze didn’t send a shiver down my spine. “Run along, then. I don’t want to interrupt your time with your…friends.”
“Thank you, sir. I hope you have a good day.”
With Atalanta in his arms, Jason hurried off further into the aquarium. Theseus and I followed behind them.
Our pace brisk, we didn’t halt until we were far into the building, in a dark corner surrounded on all sides by fish tanks.
Jason let out a heavy sigh. Turning to Atalanta, he said, "I’m so sorry about that. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No, he didn’t. Creeped me out more than anything.” She let go of his hands and hugged herself. “Was that jackass really your uncle?”
Jason clenched and unclenched his fists, his nostrils flaring as he breathed heavily. “Unfortunately.”
“What kind of hold does he have on you guys?” Atalanta asked as she began to absently rub her wrists.
Jason gritted his teeth and stared at her. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk about it. His eyes flicked around the area, at me, at Theseus, at anything else but her. He began to study one of the fish tanks as if the little fish were the most interesting things in the world.
“Hey,” She put her hand on his cheek. “Just tell me one truth.”
He inhaled deeply. “I hate him, but I was taught to respect him. It’s complicated, but right now… I hate that he touched you and I’m so sorry you had to see that.”
She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her tip toes while he leaned over slightly. It almost looked cute, with her hand still grasping the stuffed turtle.
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen again.” There was something in the way she said it that lead me to believe if it did happen again, she wouldn’t be the helpless damsel twice. Especially with knowing what she did to those girls.
She looked back at Theseus and I. “There are a few things I want to talk to the two of you about, but for now, can we just have fun? Go look at some fish? I’m tired of drama for the moment.”
Theseus approached them as Atalanta let go of Jason’s neck and practically picked her up in a large hug.
“Yeah, let’s go look at the fish.”
I kept quiet as the four of us wandered through the aquarium, dancing around the topic of Jason’s family. Atalanta loved seeing all of the fish. She crooned at the guppies and excitedly pointing out random species that she recognized. Most of the tanks had a little button on the side which played a recording of a woman’s voice informing us about the species inside the tank. We never pushed the buttons though, as Atalanta would simply point out the plaques with the same information to Theseus. I watched Theseus roll his eyes every time she did it. But instead of reminding her that his eyesight was perfectly fine, he just shook his head and smiled at her.
I felt bad as I watched him stare at her mouth, eyes furrowed in concentration as she spoke animatedly about something but then would completely miss when Jason had something to add. I obviously didn’t understand the difficulties of reading someone’s lips, but I guessed that sign language wouldn’t be as demanding when we were in groups like this. Yet, Theseus was really good at pretending to be able to hear, and I assumed that was why the others seemed to forget simple things like getting his attention when they spoke, or not talking over each other. Atalanta did well to remember it most of the time, at least.
“The sign says they have a turtle sanctuary. You guys want to go check it out?” Atalanta asked, gesturing to the sign with the hand clutching her stuffed turtle’s fin.
“Sure.” Theseus nodded.
When we go to the doors of the sanctuary, the attendant told us that only so many people are let in at a time to see the turtles and we needed to wait a few minutes before entering.
“I wasn’t aware that turtles migrated this far north.” I pondered as I studied the board which had information on all of the turtles currently staying with them.
The attendant smiled. “They typically don’t. All of our turtles here were transported from the south. The doctors here are experts and can help even the worst cases.”
Jason leaned in and whispered into my ear. “A few of the doctors here are our kind. Let’s just say they have a knack for healing sea life.”
I chuckled. With all of the powers our kind seemed to display, healing wasn’t too farfetched.
Atalanta struck up a conversation with Theseus about choosing a last name for the stuffed turtle. He kept throwing out silly names like Billy Bob and Juan Bon Bon. Seeing the smile on her face warmed my heart.
I glanced at Jason, who was also staring at her, his smile matching mine.
I took a deep breath and walked in front of him, cutting off his view. “You know…I’ve always been jealous of you. Knowing who your family is. Where you came from.”
He blinked, taken aback by my sudden confession, and then started laughing.
I scowled. “What?! Don’t laugh! You’re all Mr. Perfect, with the perfect family, perfect grades, you’re the captain of the swim team and the damn student council president.”
“I’m sorry,” he said between snorts of laughter. “I suppose it does look like that from the outside.”
“Yeah, your uncle…”
“My mother’s side of the family can be a bit…controlling.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “A bit?”
He shot me a warning look that told me not to dig too deeply. I held up my hands in an attempt to placate him.
“All I’m trying to say is that I was wrong. Your uncle seemed like a dick, and if he’s anything to base your family on…well then, I guess you’ve had a rough time of it and I’m sorry.”
“Well, I would be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that I wasn’t somewhat jealous of you. Your family doesn’t seem to dump expectations on you. You have a lot of freedom to be who you want.”
“Of course they dump expectations on me. My abuela always wants me to study harder and become a doctor and my grandfather wants me to take over his farm. But I don’t let their wishes stop me from being me. They might be disappointed if I don’t do what they want with my life, but it is my life and I only get one.”
He nodded slowly, his eyes glazed over in thought.
I placed my hand on his shoulder. A silent gesture of support. I couldn’t promise that we wouldn’t bicker anymore —it was just too fun to piss him off— but I made a promise to myself that I would stop judging him.
“What are you two talking about over here all serious looking? I thought we decided today would be fun.”
“Sorry, Speedy. I was just declaring my undying love to Jasey-bear. Unfortunately, he doesn’t return my affection.” I pouted and gave her my best puppy dog eyes. “My heart is broken.”
She smirked and looked at Jason. “He’s not your type?”
“I’m not into blondes,” he replied smoothly.
I clutched my chest in mock hurt. "You wound me.”
I slid my arm across Atalanta’s shoulder and turned her towards the door to the turtle room. The attendant held the door open for us to walk in.
“Come on, Atalanta.” I harrumphed. “I bet the cute turtles can mend my broken heart.”
Chapter Eight
Atalanta