Enchanted by a Siren

Chapter 9: Getting Lost

Zen was confident that she could find her way back to the Patterson’s house if she just figured out where she was. Her phone was dead, as per usual. She always forgot to charge it at night and usually didn’t bother with it anyway. It had twenty percent battery left when she got to school this morning. The worst part is she hadn't even noticed it had died until just now when she took it out to open a navigation app and all it gave her was a black screen.

She could ask for directions, but she was used to figuring things out on her own. She had gotten lost in cities much bigger than this one. She always managed to find her way in the end, discovering the world as she went along.

She took a right impulsively, but she still had absolutely no idea where she was headed. She'd never been here before and nothing looked even a little bit familiar to her, but she just squared her shoulder and kept going, too proud to admit the possibility that she was utterly lost. If she hit the ocean she should be able to find her way, or at least, that is what she told herself as she crossed street after street.

After what felt like eternity to her she had taken several turns in unknown directions and she was now in the heart of nowhere with no clue which way to go next. She wasn’t even too sure she would be able to retrace her steps if she tried, but at that exact moment she couldn't see a better option. So, she turned and headed back the way she came. After a few blocks she became genuinely worried as nothing looked familiar, but she let out a breath of relief as she saw something she recognized, which told her she was pretty close to where she had started off.

She stood on the sidewalk, eyeing her surroundings. She felt exasperated as she tried to figure out which way to go next. She hated to admit defeat, but it seemed like she would need to ask for directions after all. She headed into the first store she saw, an adorable little coffee shop called ‘The Morning Roast’. It wasn’t all that big, there were only four booths and a few of tables with some scattered customers. Most of them typing away on their laptops. There was a young couple in one of the booths, giggling away at each other over their coffees, but other than that it was pretty quiet.

She approached the counter where an elderly man smiled at her, ready to take her order. Grey hairs were dotting his dreadlocks which were being pushed down by a very strangely shaped hat that matched his uniform.

“Sorry, Sir. I’m a bit lost… Do you by any chance know how I can get to San Diego High School?” Zen asked nervously. She didn’t remember the name of the street the Patterson’s lived on, but she could find her way from the High School.

“San Diego High School, that’s nowhere near here. Is there someone driving you?” The friendly man asked with raised brows.

“Um…” Zen hesitated, she wasn’t really in the mood for a lecture.

“Can I call you a cab?” He offered with a concerned expression.

This is why she never asked for directions. It would be far too embarrassing to admit to this man that she didn’t have nearly enough money for a cab ride. Instead, she decided to lie.

“No need, my car is parked just around the block. My phone died and I’m just a little lost. I’m new in town.” She lied, but topped it with a smile knowing the old man would believe her. They always do.

“Oh, alright then. Do you know how to get on the San Diego Freeway? It will take you right past there.” He said with a smile.

Zen’s heart sank. Walking on the freeway, great… Why didn’t she pay more attention to the road when they drove here? She knew exactly why... She pushed down the thought with a polite smile at the old man. “Thanks for your help.” She added before turning and heading in what she hoped was the direction of the freeway.

Thankfully, there were many signs indicating which way to go to get to the freeway. So, she found it relatively quickly, but when she reached it the sun was already very low in the sky and there was no way she was going to be home before it set.

There wasn’t much she could do about it now and she was for sure not going to hitchhike. So, she steeled herself and started in the direction of the High School. Only hoping that she wasn’t going the wrong way.

The sun was dipping away into the horizon and she watched it go. Her feet already hurting, she was going to feel this in the morning. The cars rushing by sending gusts of wind into her wasn’t helping the situation much. Nor was the flip flops she had chosen to wear, thinking she was going to be walking on the beach.

The cars had started to turn on their headlights and she watched her shadow shrink as they zoomed past. Another one was passing by and she watched her shadow elongate and grow smaller and smaller and smaller, then it stopped, and remained the same size. The distinct glow of headlights emanating around her. Someone had pulled up behind her.

She swung around throwing her hands up in front of her face as the bright lights blinded her. She heard the car door open and was squinting to see who it was when she heard Calum’s relieved voice. “Zen! We found you! We’ve been looking everywhere! Why didn’t you wait for us?” He called, coming closer, blocking the light until she could make out his worried face. 

“I knew something was wrong. I told my Mom I wanted to look for you, but we had to wait for Toby. Are you okay?” He asked as his face came into full view, now only a few inches away from her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Glad you found me though.” She admitted, and meant it. She felt the relief flood her aching feet as a thought entered her mind. ‘This enchantment is more useful than I thought.’ But she ignored it. She knew it was wrong, she couldn’t use Calum like that. Like some personal danger detector.

He placed a hand in the small of her back and led her to the car, opening the door for her. Even the pain in her feet couldn’t overshadow the gentle feeling of his hand on her. In her entire life no one had ever doted over her like that. She felt an unwanted rush of emotion at the thought, but she blinked it away and got into the SUV. She took extra long buckling herself up so she didn't have to deal with the worried gazes she felt boring into her.

She hated this feeling. It wasn’t fair to Calum, she knew that, or at least, she thought she did… But everything inside of her wanted him to remain enchanted to her. To keep caring about her and thinking about her in every waking moment. To keep doting on her and adoring her. To be inexplicably in need of her. 

It was selfish and unfair, she couldn’t do that to him. Also, it wouldn’t be real, she reminded herself. In the back of her mind she believed that to be true, but she couldn’t help feeling that it didn’t even matter. If he wanted her, was it wrong for her to give him what he wanted? For her to want him back… More than she cared to admit to herself.

“Where on earth is your cell phone, Hun?” Calum’s Mom exclaimed, looking at her in the rear-view mirror as Calum took his seat next to her. Her eyes softened as she saw Zen’s expression, as if she understood what she was feeling.

“It died and I got a little lost.” Zen replied softly, unable to keep the guilt from her voice. She felt like she had done something wrong.

“Everyone has been calling you. We were worried sick!” She said as she put on her indicator to merge back into traffic. “When you didn’t come in, Calum insisted that he wanted to go check on you, but I figured you just didn’t want Toby to feel more embarrassed than he already did.” She smiled at Zen in the rear-view mirror and turned her head to check for incoming traffic.

“Yeah, I didn’t think he’d want to see me.” Zen replied, averting her gaze, embarrassed to admit it.

“He didn’t even ask where you were.” Calum chimed in, the irritation clear in his voice.

“Now, Calum. Toby was a little preoccupied.” His Mother protested.

“That’s no excuse.” He spat under his breath, low enough that it didn't warrant a reply, but Zen could almost feel his Mother rolling her eyes at him.

“It’s fine, Calum. I honestly didn’t expect anyone to notice I’m gone.” She added quickly, still feeling guilty that she'd made everyone worry.

“Well, for future reference, whatever adult you’re with is responsible for making sure you get home safe. In this case that would mean me, Honey. So, I’m taking you straight home. I’m just glad we found you. You would have had terrible blisters walking so far in those shoes and you could have gotten hurt, you know.” His Mother reprimanded, her voice still somehow as caring as always.

Zen wasn’t sure what to say and instead just nodded with an apologetic look, before she turned her gaze to the window, desperate to end the conversation. She knew there would be a similar one waiting for her when she got to the Pattersons. She couldn't help the fear that gripped her at the thought. What if they decided to throw her out? To complain about her to the exchange program and get her sent home?

She didn't want to go home yet, she still hadn't gotten any answers and she didn't know why, but she felt like there was a clue here that she just had to find. Like she was closer than ever to another sliver of truth about herself, her past, her kind. 

Not to mention Calum and how the enchantment might affect him if she had to leave. Although, it could be the answer on how to break it... Maybe with thousands of miles separating them her hold on him would waver and disappear completely, leaving her as insignificant to him as she was that first day they met, when he had seen her as nothing more than some strange girl with blue hair.

“Can I sleep over at the Patterson’s tonight?” Calum suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

His Mother looked at him with raised brows, but quickly caught herself and looked at the road again. “Well, you’d need to ask Zen how she feels about that, Hun.”

He turned back to look at her with a smile that made her want to sink away into the seat. She was definitely not sure this was the best idea. She had caused enough trouble already, but with the way he was looking at her, that open question in his ocean blue eyes, it was extremely hard to say no. “Well, what do you say?” Calum asked when she didn’t reply for a few long seconds.

“Why do you want to?” The words came out before she could stop them. She didn't know why that was what she wanted to ask. Obviously, it could be the enchantment making him want to be with her, but she was curious what his answer would be. If he was just blindly following the tug of the enchantment between them, or if he could even come up with any sort of answer that wouldn't just make him sound like a dog chasing his own tail. 

“Because I’m worried about you. Today was crazy and I just want to make sure you’re okay.” He said with a wink and she could feel her cheeks heating up.

“Um… Sure.” She replied, unable to stop the small smile tugging at her lips.

“Great, then it’s settled.” Calum stated, a finality in his voice as he looked ahead.

“Not so fast, the Pattersons need to agree as well.” His mom interjected, clearly unimpressed with his triumphant tone.

“I’m sure they won’t mind. I’ve slept over there millions of times.” Calum replied with confidence, and Zen stifled a laugh at the little sparring match between the two of them.