On instinct, I pump my arms as fast as I can, trying to resurface. I swish my tail back and forth in the warm, salty water, my mind an internal war between wanting to stay on land with Lexi or wanting to return to my family. I hover in the water, caught in a game of tug-of-war.  If my mind were a flower, the petals would be casually being plucked off, each alternating between the choices.

Home.

Pluck.

Lexi.

Pluck.

Home.

Pluck.

Lexi.

Pluck.

Home. Lexi. Home. Lexi. Home.

LEXI, my brain seemed to scream with the intensity of Logan Sanders yelling "FALSEHOOD!"

    Oh yeah, Lexi showed me this wonderful app called YouTube! I've recently been watching this guy named Thomas Sanders, who sort of talks to his own personality traits, and they each have a name...it's magical. (A/N: FANDERS WHERE YOU AT)

I feel the water rush against my face as I rise to the surface and break through into the air that feels chilly compared to the ocean's warmth. I fall over onto the sand as my breath catches in my throat and my tail starts to turn back into legs. I can't tell what's on my face: ocean water or tears. I was so close to seeing my family.

But...Lexi's here.

It is now that I realize that I'm forgetting to breathe. I inhale the crisp air, choking and coughing and gasping. 

Why my tail just came back, I have no clue. But I do know one thing:

Lexi's here. And Lexi's what I want.