Rikki's POV

Keep swimming, just keep going. I thought. I was exhausted but anything was better than being near him.

I felt sick at the thought of being in the same room as him.

I had no idea where I was and I knew I would have to reach the water surface at some point, but I didn't want to.

I felt free in the water, like nothing else going on in my life really mattered.

When I got to the water's surface I noticed that it was getting dark.

I had been swimming for hours. I could see that Mako was the closest to me so I decided to go there to rest and hope that Emma and Cleo wouldn't be there.

I couldn't face them, the first time I saw them after the party (in school) I could see the worry in their eyes and it made me feel so guilty knowing that I caused that.

Ever since we became mermaids we told each other everything, no secrets.

Wait...what did I have to be afraid of? I'm a mermaid with an unbelievable power!

I could burn him from the inside out. Although he deserved so much more than that.

He deserved the worst pain imaginable for what he did to me.

I had thought about what the first time would be like and I always imagined it would be with someone that I really cared about, and it would be my choice to decide when it would happen.

And what if I wasn't the only one. There could be other girls to afraid to speak up about him. I had to do something about it, and I would.

A tear rolled down my cheek, but it wasn't another one I had shed feeling sorry for myself.

It was one for the anger building inside of me.

"Rikki are you all right?" I instantly recognised the voice as Cleo's.

"We've been looking for you everywhere and couldn't find you." This voice I knew as Emma's.

"I' fine, really." I said trying to reassure them. I turned to face them and I saw them exchange looks, wondering if I was really fine.

I tried to look happy, like I normally would have when the three of us were at the moonpool.

"Come on, I'll race you back." I said before ducking under the water's surface and raced off knowing they were behind me.

It was dark by the time I got home. I was sitting on my bed staring down at my phone wondering how I was going to do it. I had planned to call Jamie and ask him to meet me somewhere quiet, like the beach. It was the perfect place; no-one would be there.

As I dialled the numbers my hand started to shake. I kept telling myself I had no reason to be scared of him but I didn't quite believe it.

"Hey Jamie its Rikki," I started to say trying to sound as flirty as I could.

"I was wondering if you could meet me somewhere tonight, like the beach. Come alone."

"Sure I'll see you then." He answered in a sickening flirty tone.

It was like he did nothing wrong, like it didn't matter. He was about to pay for what he did.

I waited at the beach, sitting on the sand and staring out at the waves coming in and out again.

"Hey." He called from behind me.

I stood up and turned to face him, I wasn't scared of him now, all I felt was hatred.

I held up my hand to begin burning him and I watched as he began to scream in agony. I started shouting. "This is nothing compared to the pain you caused me! You're disgusting and deserve nothing more than to rot in hell for the rest of your pathetic life!"

I felt in control of the situation but as I looked at him screaming on the sand I felt a flicker of sympathy for him. By getting revenge for what he did it made me just as bad as him.

I stopped and for a moment I thought he was dead. That was my first mistake.

Within seconds he had jumped up and pinned me to the ground.

I had one hand firmly over my mouth so that my screams couldn't be heard by anyone else but him.

I thought he was going to kill me.

"I don't know how you just did that, but if you ever try anything like that again I will do to your friends what I did to you. Cleo and Emma...Isn't it? You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them would you? Because if it did it would be all your fault." He spat the words at me in an angry tone that I had never heard before.

I didn't realise I was crying until I could feel the wind against my skin.

He got off of me and walked away. I sat up on the sand crying and stared out at the ocean. The moon provided a small amount of light but it was enough. It would be a full moon in two weeks.

I was back where I started, one step forward and two steps back.

What could I do now?