Zane tore into Denman's office, blowing past her front desk. The place was packed with shouting reporters, each of them trying to get the attention of one of Denman's lab coat-wearing assistants, who were the designated interviewees. Zane walked confidently, pushing past people carrying cameras until he reached Denman's office door, which was surprisingly unlocked. He slammed the door behind him, making Denman jump as she spun around to see who'd barged in. She'd been alone, her desk piled high with research. She looked exactly the same as Zane remembered, steely blue eyes glaring at him from behind a curtain of white-blonde hair.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Linda?" Zane demanded, marching to stand inches from her. "You're going after our goddamn kids now?"
"Charlie's an adult." Denman shrugged, quickly composing herself. "I gave all of you a chance to work with me. If I remember correctly, you turned me down. I had to get your attention somehow."
"It wouldn't have mattered if we had worked with you, you would have gone public with that video either way." Zane clenched his teeth.
"You're probably not wrong." Denman said simply. "But it certainly would have been easier for all involved-"
"You put a camera in my home." Zane's voice was terrifyingly quiet. "You've exposed my child's secret to the world. He's been a merman for less than a week and he's lost any chance of a normal life he could have had." He stopped, shaking his head as his anger overwhelmed him.
Denman raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize he'd changed such a short while ago. That's… actually very interesting. How exactly did it happen? At Mako?"
Zane lifted his chin, clearly uninterested and unwilling to say another word to her on the subject.
"You see, I'd been wondering how you'd been able to hide him for so long…" Denman paced, puzzling things together to herself as if Zane were not in the room. "I'd collected so much mermaid data and then all of a sudden this new strain of DNA started showing up… because Charlie had only just changed…." She furrowed her brow.
"You're NOT to say his name again, Denman. Or another word about him." Zane took a threatening step towards Denman.
"Zane…" Denman rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she placed her hands on her hips. "When are you going to realize that you want me to?"
"Excuse me?" Zane raised both eyebrows. "That will never happen, Denman."
"I've been doing nothing but studying mermaids for twenty-five years, Zane." Denman spoke easily. "You wouldn't have let Charlie get sick without taking him to the doctor, why wouldn't you want as much information as possible about what Charlie's going through now?" She paced slightly closer to Zane, almost circling him. "When are you going to stop fighting me and work with me? Did it ever occur to you that my research might actually help your boy?"
"Help him right into a cage for the rest of his life." Zane spat back.
"Oh, come on, you know that wouldn't happen-" Denman shook her head.
"It doesn't matter." Zane held his hands up, finished with the discussion. "You will not contact anyone in my family again." He turned on his heel and started for the door.
"You're really going to regret that decision…" Denman's sing-songy tone echoed off the steel walls, freezing Zane in his tracks.
He pivoted, a look of pure nonchalance plastered across his face. "And exactly why is that?" He crossed his arms over his chest.
"Because you've only found one of the cameras I had placed." Denman smirked, sitting into her hip. "Because right now, Charlie's been dragged out into the public eyes, but Rikki hasn't. Or Callie." Denman lifted a shoulder. "Mermaid or not, can you imagine how many questions people would have for her?" Her face became smug. "I know a lot, Zane. And I have tons of footage. Right now you're dealing with one merman forced public. It can quickly become a lot more interesting if you really want it to…"
"You're sick." Zane couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I'm a scientist, Bennett." Denman replied coolly. "And someday you're going to wake up and realize that I'm not the bad guy here."
Zane snorted. "Not from where I'm standing."
"But from where everyone else stands…" Denman softened her tone. "People are grateful for my research, for what I've presented." She paced a bit, seeming to try to explain herself, as if she actually wanted Zane to hear her. "To you, the secret you and your friends have been keeping has gotten out. To literally everyone else in the world, a huge scientific advancement was made. History was made, Zane. People are going wild with the news." She took one step closer to Zane. "For years I have been mocked, made fun of, and gossiped about because of my researching a subject that I knew for a fact was reality. I'm finally vindicated." She couldn't keep the wide smile from spreading across her face. "And all I want to do is learn more. Let Charlie work with me. He can stay at home, or wherever he wants, really, I'd stay local. We'd run tests, do some studies, learn more about what really happens when he turns-" She spoke quickly now, almost lost in her thoughts. "And I've got to tell you, Zane, just from what I've already gathered, O believe there are some significant differences between male and female mermaids-"
"I do not… fucking… care." Zane said stiffly, pointing a finger inches from her face. "Stay away from my family."
"You've heard my offer." The ice returned to Denman's voice as her face hardened. "Work with me. Or I keep releasing secrets. Take twenty-four hours to think it over. I'll be waiting for your decision."
Zane slammed the door behind him, shoving his way through the sea of reporters that mobbed him the second he stepped out of the office.
Charlie groaned sleepily, squeezing his eyes shut tightly as he rolled over. His head spun as he shifted, realizing that he'd somehow fallen asleep sitting up, leaning against a wall. He winced as the exposed brick scraped against his skin, squinting at the clock across the room to see the time.
"Damn, it's eleven already?" He rubbed his temples. "Callie, we really slept in…" He turned to look the other way. "Cal?"
A few seconds of silent searching informed him that he was very alone. He checked the time again. The moon should have set an hour ago, but he was still nervous about walking out of the bunker on his own. He surveyed the room, taking stock of what activities the night must have held, and realizing that he didn't remember much of anything.
"And that'd be why." He said to himself, picking up the now-empty bottle of whiskey. "Good move, Char." He muttered. At lease he'd been safely inside all night, away from the moon.
Charlie walked to the door, testing the knob, which was still locked. He leaned against the door frame.
"Callie? Anybody?" He called, resting his aching forehead against the cool wood. "I'm still locked down here!"
Only a few moments passed before more than one pair of footsteps pounded down the stairs. Charlie blinked in surprise as the door swung open to reveal Cleo and his mother. "Oh, hey." He said, shrugging. "I figured you'd be Callie."
"Where is Callie?" Cleo frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Charlie raised one shoulder, yawning. "No idea. She was here last night, but when I woke up…" He gestured to the empty room.
Cleo turned to run back up the stairs, almost crashing into Callie, who had been taking them down two at a time.
"Sorry, guys." She panted, unable to meet Charlie's eyes. "I was upstairs."
"And exactly what were you doing up there that was more important than being here?" Cleo raised an eyebrow.
"It was, uh… really late." Callie nodded. "I'd forgotten about a paper that had to be submitted by 6am today. Charlie was… out like a light." Two spots of pink appeared on her cheeks as she stammered. "I fell asleep upstairs, I'm sorry. And I did lock the door; I didn't think it'd be a big deal." She finished lamely.
"So much for you keeping an eye on Charlie." Cleo couldn't believe what she was hearing as she looked at her daughter. "We'll have to find someone else to spend the full moon with him next month."
"I fully support that plan." Callie said under her breath.
"Charlie…" Rikki spoke directly, seriously. "Denman made the announcement." She exchanged a worried look with Cleo before continuing. "We need to talk to you upstairs."
"Alright." Charlie said easily, gesturing for the ladies to head up the stairs first. He elbowed Callie as he followed them. "Dude, way to bail on me last night, I'm probably going to have to spend the next one with Will now-"
"Can we talk for a moment?" Callie caught his arm, pulling him back.
"Sure…" Charlie frowned, taking in Callie's panicked expression. "Callie… what's wrong?" He reached out a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear.
Callie jerked backwards as if he'd stung her. "Sorry." She said quickly, holding up her hands. "I'm just a little on edge after… after last night."
"Last night-" Charlie frowned.
"Please." Callie held her hands higher. "I've been in my room practicing this speech and I've just got to say it all at once-" She spoke so quickly Charlie's aching head almost couldn't keep up with her, but he nodded anyway.
"Listen." She clasped her hands, almost seeming to plead with him. "I'm really sorry for bailing on the whole… situation last night. I just got really freaked out after… what happened." She wrung her hands, unable to face Charlie.
"I mean, I started it. It was my fault. You were talking about the moon too, and it might have had something or other to do with it, but the bottom line is that nothing would have happened at all if I hadn't started it. I don't know what I was thinking, honestly, it's not like I planned to kiss you, it just sort of happened…"
Charlie's heart fluttered in his chest. He and Callie had kissed last night? And he couldn't remember it? It just wasn't fair… Callie continued speaking, but her words blurred in his mind as he desperately tried to remember even a second of that kiss. He eventually tuned in enough to realize that Callie was getting increasingly more upset as she jabbered on and on.
"Cal, Cal, stop." He laughed, reaching for Callie's hand. She flinched slightly, but allowed him to take her hand in both of his, held tightly in his warm palms.
"Please, Callie." He spoke closely, gently. "I'm sorry, but you've got to tell me about the kiss, I'm not going to be able to think about anything else until you do."
Callie froze. "You don't remember?" She could barely force her lips to form the words as a sort of resigned fear settled in behind her eyes.
"I think you're right about the moon. I remember feeling it call me last night during the movie, it was like I could feel it out there." He moved slightly closer, taking Callie's other hand in his. He wasn't sure why, but it felt so good to hold her; comforting. "I remember we were drinking… and watching bad movies." He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "And then… nothing. Morning."
Callie's face flushed blood-red as she stammered, trying to compose her thoughts. "Yeah, well, I, um, got really drunk and kissed you…" She paused, momentarily breathless as she remembered the way the two had ravaged each other just a few feet from where they stood right now. The way he'd groaned into her mouth as she pressed into him… Callie swallowed hard, feeling her heart pound in her chest. "And then you passed out. And I went upstairs. To send that paper, like I said." She popped her shoulders, clearly done with the subject.
"Damn." Charlie shook his head, blinking hard. "I don't remember any of that. Any of it."
"Yeah, well…" Callie yanked her hands from his, shoving them into the pockets of her shorts. "It wasn't anything worth getting excited about."
"Still, though." Charlie laughed dryly. "How totally hilarious is that? I mean…" He ran a hand sheepishly through his hair as his eyes fell to his shoes. "You and me… so weird."
"Yeah?" Callie raised her eyebrows, her mouth falling open. "I mean-" She cleared her throat. "Yeah. Damn whiskey." She started up the stars past Charlie, anxious to get the hell out of there.
"Cal, wait."
Callie sighed, clenching her jaw before turning back to Charlie. "Hm?"
"Well, it's just…" Charlie cocked his head to one side curiously. "You, uh, seemed pretty stressed a minute ago, and you had a speech planned and everything… are you sure everything's ok?" He narrowed his eyes a bit as they locked onto hers, trying to read them. "Did anything else happen?"
Callie's breath caught in her throat as she froze for just a moment, feeling herself beginning to be drawn into his gaze. She shook her head rapidly, holding up one hand as she forced her face into a pained smirk. "I was stressed…. I was worried…" She punched his arm, harder than she'd intended to as her mind scrambled to compose itself. "I was worried that you might think it, y'know." She shrugged one shoulder, grimacing. "Meant something. Because it didn't." She shook her head, knowing that she was in the middle of one great big episode of word-vomit. "Just making sure you don't, like, think I like you like you. Like that. You know? Just, ew. I don't know what I was thinking." She rolled her eyes as she took the first stair, her hand grasping onto the handrail to stop it from shaking. She jogged up the rest, unable to look Charlie in the eye any longer.
"Oh." Charlie watched her go, surprised at how disappointed he'd been with her response. In fact, he almost wished he hadn't asked at all. Sure, the two of them had never been attracted to each other romantically before, but did the very idea of the two of them really gross her out that much? They'd grown so much closer recently…
"Why do I even care?" Charlie said to himself as he slowly climbed the steps. I wasn't like he liked Callie or anything, was it? Charlie couldn't put his finger on it, but something had definitely changed between them overnight. He just hoped he could fix it.
Charlie took a deep breath as he stepped into the Sertori's living room. "All right, guys, go ahead and fill me in on Denman-Gate, what's going-"
The room fell deadly quiet at his entrance. Lewis immediately clicked off the news, which the group had been huddled around.
"Wow…" Charlie stopped in his tracks, taking stock of the solemn atmosphere in the room. His eyes flickered over to Callie, who had an expression of utter shock on her face as her eyes remained glued to the now-black screen. "The, uh, whole gang's here, huh?" He was surprised to see Cleo, Lewis, Bella, Will, and Rikki all present. A heavy weight set into the pit of Charlie's stomach as he looked at each of their faces. Something had happened. Something bad. "Except… where's Dad?"
"He's… in a meeting. I expect he'll be home soon." Rikki stepped forward. "Charlie, you should sit down."
"No." Charlie shook his head. "No more sit-down-Charlie talks. Just tell me what happened. Did the announcement go badly?"
"Denman announced." Rikki swallowed hard. "And she aired a video."
"A video?" Charlie's brow furrowed. "A video of what?"
"Oh Charlie…" Rikki closed her eyes tightly. "She… she-"
Wordlessly, as Rikki stammered, Callie reached for the remote and flipped back on the television. The news had been doing nothing but playing and replaying Denman's announcement since she'd given it.
"That's me…"Charlie froze as he recognized the image on the screen. Suddenly he couldn't breathe. "Holy shit." He exhaled, eyes wide as he watched the short video. He whipped around to look at the others. "Me?" He could barely force the word out as he shakily pointed at the television screen. "She… she told the world about me?" He clapped a hand over his mouth as his heart began slamming in his chest.
"She didn't say your name-" Bella offered, standing from her place on the couch.
"But people are figuring it out." Lewis stepped forward, crossing his arms. "No one seems to know you're here, though. Not yet. We're actually pretty lucky you were here for the full moon."
"I thought she couldn't release video?" Charlie looked to his mother frantically as he stammered over his words. "And how did she even get that? That's me from just yesterday."
"She'd planted a camera." Will rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing at the stiffness of his joints.
"And she wasn't allowed to release the footage she had of us, we were underage and she'd kidnapped us." Cleo closed her eyes in anger before continuing. "But, Charlie, you're of age. She did obtain the footage illegally, but I don't think we're going to win that argument, the world is going nuts."
"It had to have been her that tampered with our sprinklers." Rikki had been pacing, deep in thought. "The repairman must have planted the camera. That's why the system cut on so many times while we were outside, how did I not put this together sooner?"
"And that's why the announcement was delayed." Lewis nodded, clenching his jaw. "She must have had the camera linked to a digital transmission directly to her recording devices. She delayed the presentation because she'd just gotten the footage and needed to edit it and build up a bigger audience."
"Guys, what do we do now?" Charlie's words hung in the air as each of their eyes fell back on the news report.
Everyone jumped as the front door flew open. Zane slammed it behind him, striding into the room angrily. "That bitch." His hands flew to his hips, practically shaking with frustration.
"You talked to her?" Rikki hurried to her husband, worried by his behavior.
"Yeah, I fucking talked to her." Zane said irritably, his eyes finally landing on Charlie, who was standing a few feet away from him, watching the video replay on the TV. Zane's stony expression cracked slightly. "Char…" He pulled his son in for a quick but bone-crushing hug. "You ok?" He raised his eyebrows, examining Charlie closely.
"Sure, I'm fine." Charlie managed a sort-of shrug, trying to sound convincing.
"Spill, Zane." Lewis spoke up. "What did she say?"
"Well, she had more than one camera planted." Zane rubbed at his temple with one hand. "And she wasn't interested in telling me where the others might be. Or how many of them there were. Are."
Cleo's hand flew to her mouth as her eyes darted around the living room, searching.
"Bottom line, though." Zane continued. "Is that she wants us, well, Charlie specifically, to work with her. She wants to run tests on him, make appearances with him, etcetera. If we don't agree to cooperate she threatened to expose everyone else as mermaids. She gave us twenty-four hours to decide.
"No way." Charlie is not working with that woman." Rikki shook her head vehemently.
"That's what I told her." Zane sighed, leaning against the table wearily. "So we need to make a plan. Start figuring out our options before this gets out of control."
"We've been talking about that." Cleo spoke up. "We were thinking we should move? Central Australia, or out of the country?"
"Even if Denman doesn't expose us, odds are good we'll be discovered anyway." Bella rested her chin in her hand glumly. "It's not going to take people too long to figure it out."
Will nodded, crossing his arms. "She's right. People will be throwing water left and right, especially around Charlie. Plus, anyone who doesn't go out in the rain will be noticed."
"And we could dye our hair." Cleo raised a shoulder. "Change our looks? Go by different names?"
"That's a good idea." Rikki slid across the couch to grab a notebook and a pen. "What else?"
"Guys?" Charlie's voice disappeared among the group's heated suggestions. He cleared his throat before raising his voice. "Hey!"
All seven pairs of eyes focused on him as the room fell quiet.
"I want to work with her." Charlie said firmly, trying to sound more confident than he actually felt.
The room exploded with protests at Charlie's announcement. He held his hands up after several seconds, hushing them.
"Just… listen to me." He spoke slowly, surely, choosing each word carefully before speaking it. "This is what I want to do. And you have to admit, it's by far the best solution."
"Is it?" Zane said sarcastically, sucking in his cheeks as he tried to control himself.
"Yes." Charlie defended himself as he paced the room. "Look, she's already told the world that I'm a merman." He paused, swallowing hard. The word still felt so strange to say aloud. "There's nothing we can do about that. It's done. So I work with her; I cooperate." He lifted a shoulder, tilting his head to one side. "Maybe she'll actually help us. We could learn more about-"
"Lewis has already run any test we can think of." Rikki was still shaking her head.
"Not on me!" Charlie hit his chest slightly harder than he'd intended to. "No one has run a single test on me yet, and-"
"No." Zane's voice cut through the room, though his tone was terrifyingly low. "I am not having this discussion, Charles. We have not worked our whole lives to protect our secret from this woman just to turn around and help her."
"No, you haven't." Charlie answered levelly, pressing his lips together. "And I hope you can understand that's exactly why I want to do this." He softened his tone as he continued, looking to each person in turn as he made his case. "She shouldn't get to win this, Dad. She'd love to tell the world about mom, Cleo, Bella, anyone else. She's offered their privacy in exchange for my cooperation, and I want to work with her. This is what I'm going to do." He finished, his words strong. "I am an adult. You can't stop me."
"An adult who lives under this roof." Zane stepped closer to his son, his hands firm on his hips.
"Maybe it's finally time for me to move into my own place, then." Charlie raised his voice as he matched his father's stance. "I do know the family secret now, that's why you wouldn't let me move out before, right?"
"Oh, just stop, you two." Rikki shouted. "Now!" She looked to each of them, her eyes narrowed in anger. "With all that's going on right now, do we think we might be able to conduct ourselves like the adults we claim to be?"
Zane clenched his jaw in response before turning on his heel and marching out of the house. The door's slam echoed off the walls of the now-silent room.
"I'm sorry, mom." Charlie spoke quietly after a few moments of quiet. "But I want to do this. I'm going to do this. Please, don't fight me." His eyes pled with hers. "At least think about supporting me?"
Rikki sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly as she walked to stand in front of her son. "Char, I will always support you." She exhaled, her eyes searching his. "But this is all an awful lot to process, and you've only had a few minutes to do so-"
"I've wanted to work with her ever since you told me she wanted our cooperation. Since you told us two days ago." Charlie's words drew a look of surprise from Callie. "But now, this confirms that it's what I need to do." He gestured to the television. "The only chance we have of ending up a semi-normal family again is if you guys can stay out of the spotlight. They'll get bored with me eventually. They won't get bored with five of us."
Silence spread across the room once more as each of them considered his words, some exchanging uneasy looks with others. Lewis seemed to be having a silent argument with Cleo, using only his eyes to plead with her. Finally, he closed his eyes for several seconds and spoke without meeting Cleo's laser-like gaze.
"I… can… reach out to her, Denman, if you want me to." He offered timidly.
"I can't believe you're encouraging this." Rikki slammed her hand angrily on the wall as she turned to Lewis, who had gotten smacked on the arm by Cleo the moment the words had left his mouth.
"I'm not encouraging anything." Lewis placed a reassuring hand on Rikki's shoulder, removing it at lightning speed as she shot him a look that could melt steel. "But Charlie is right. He is an adult. An adult whose life has changed completely overnight. This is what he wants to do; I'm just offering to set up the meeting. I kind of figure…" He tilted his forehead toward Rikki, lowering his voice slightly. "That it's in our best interest not to alienate each other. We've got to be united."
"Do it." Charlie stepped forward, shoving his hands into his pockets in an effort to look like he wasn't panicking inside. A flicker of guilt flared in his chest for several seconds, making his pulse quicken before it subsided somewhat. A grimness had set into his expression, making him look a full ten years older than his twenty.
"Ok?" Lewis waited patiently for Rikki's response, though he was still avoiding Cleo completely. "Is that alright?"
"Just… do it." Rikki threw her hands in the air, done with the conversation altogether.
"On it." Lewis ducked into the other room, dialing his phone as he went.
Charlie rubbed his temples as a slow throbbing set in behind his eyes. The guilty feeling was back, and this time it was stronger. His stomach twisted painfully as he looked at the expressions on his friends' faces. So much had happened. So much was happening… he suddenly realized he had literally no idea what he should do next.
It seemed he was in good company. Each of the others was either lost in their thoughts or staring blankly at the silent television. Charlie's eyes fell on Callie, who was still sitting frozen in shock. He dropped onto the couch beside her, leaning his elbows forward on his knees.
Callie started, she hadn't noticed him approaching her. "Hey." She managed.
"Are you… alright?" Charlie asked her quietly, leaning in slightly.
"Am I alright?" Callie replied incredulously before lowering her tone. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question? You're not really going to work with that bitch?"
Charlie nodded. "It's what's best for everyone." There was a pain behind his eyes as he spoke the words, almost resigned.
"But is it what's best for you?" Callie tilted her head slightly to one side, concern growing for her friend as she realized that he was more upset than he wanted to let on.
Charlie, in that moment, felt an inexplicable desire to move closer to Callie as their eyes met. He let his shoulder lean on hers lightly as he continued. "I want to do my part. I need to." He raised a shoulder and dropped it, making his body jerk. "Our parents were able to keep this secret from her for most of their lives. Now, it's my responsibility to help them keep it." He sighed deeply, clearly lost in something else. "I need to talk to you." He stood abruptly and walked into the kitchen, swinging the door closed behind him.
Callie darted a look around the room, but no one seemed to be paying them any mind. She followed Charlie a few seconds later, praying he didn't want to talk about what had happened between them last night. It had been torture enough the first time. Did he remember? The thought almost terrified her enough to turn back, but she pushed through the kitchen door a second later.
She spotted Charlie on the far end of the room, though whatever she'd expected from him, it certainly wasn't this.
Tears glistened at the corners of Charlie's eyes as he turned to face her. Callie hadn't seen Charlie cry in years, not since he'd been a young child. Thought the tears didn't quite spill over, they were there. He stood with both arms crossed tightly, looking like he needed to talk so badly he might bust.
"What is it?" Callie whispered loudly as soon as she got close enough for him to hear her.
"This is my fault." A single tear spilled down Charlie's cheek as he made his confession. Embarrassed, he turned his back on her, hunching his shoulders to hide his face.
"What?" Callie couldn't image where this was coming from. "Char, you didn't know there was a camera-"
"My mom told me to use the back door if I went out." Charlie was almost talking to himself more so than Callie. "The repairman had just arrived; he was there to fix the sprinklers because they'd been cutting on when they weren't supposed to be." He began pacing, his hands balling into fists at his sides, hitting against his legs angrily as he walked.
"Keep going, champ." Callie pushed, still failing to see the point of his frustration.
"That night…" Charlie spoke hurriedly. "The night we spent, you know, practicing changing back to human form quickly, remember that?"
"Of course I do." Callie nodded. "What about it?"
"Well…" Charlie was practically panting now as the words came flying out of his mouth. "When I got home and parked in the driveway the sprinklers were on. And what did I do? Did I go around back? No." He hit his leg hard with his fist, spinning to face Callie. "I ran straight through it and in through the front door. I thought it would be a good chance to practice…" He let his voice trail off, guilt becoming a throbbing pain in his chest.
"…And that's the video Denman showed the world." Callie finally put the pieces together, furrowing her brow.
"If I'd used the back door like I was supposed to, she wouldn't have had that video." Charlie wrapped his arms tightly around himself.
"Only for it to be a different one, though." Callie took a careful step closer to him. "You heard your Dad, she's got other footage, other cameras-"
"Yeah, I know that's what she says, Cal." Charlie shook his head, leaning in at the waist. "But think about it. She hasn't shown us one second of footage, or a single photograph to prove she has anything at all. No one has even found any of the other cameras she supposedly planted. I mean." He exhaled. "She had to delay her press conference to prepare my video, right? I heard my mom talking to yours about it a few minutes ago." He clenched his jaw briefly. "She clearly didn't have anything else ready to go. And even if she did…" Another thought occurred to him. "Why not show both? It would have only strengthened her case."
"Charlie, this is not your fault, ok?" Callie reached for his shoulder, squeezing it tightly before letting her hand slide to his elbow. "Listen to me." She said gently. "Whether or not Denman has video of anyone else, she was going public. She was going to tell the world mermaids were real. Things were already changing before that psycho pulled such a low move. I can't believe she had cameras in our homes." She pulled Charlie's elbow toward her, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Our homes have always been safe spaces. You didn't know."
Charlie let his head drop heavily on Callie's shoulder. He breathed her in, closing his eyes as he inhaled. After all of the stress he'd been carrying over the last few days, it felt good just to be held by someone.
Charlie felt something else, something he'd been feeling off and on at different intensities all morning. It was strange, but he felt a connection to Callie that hadn't been there before. It was so strange, as if being close to her cooled a fire he hadn't even realized had been burning. But why? And why now?
"Um, Char?" Callie tapped his shoulder, her voice strained. "A little tight, bud."
"Oh, sorry." Charlie immediately released her; he hadn't realized just how tightly he'd been holding onto her.
"Charlie?" Lewis popped his head through the doorway. "Hey." He spotted him. "I just got off the phone with Denman. Are you, uh, still sure you want to meet with her?"
"Yes." Charlie answered quickly, before he could change his mind.
"Alright, then." Lewis's eyes darted from Charlie to Callie, clearly picking up on the all-too-obvious tension in the room. "I'll be right back."
"We should probably get out there." Callie nodded toward the living room before ducking through the door after Lewis, her cheeks flushing an increasingly familiar shade of pink.
Charlie sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache start to build in his temples. The last think he wanted to do was have yet another serious sit-down talk. He was a merman, and all he did was talk about it. He wanted, no, needed the ocean.
"You'll get there." He exhaled as he followed his friends into the living room.
"Alright." Lewis clasped his hands together as Charlie joined the rest of the group. "We're all set to meet with Denman today at one."
"One? Today?" Zane bristled, crossing his arms. "That's damn quick, don't you think?"
"We're being proactive." Lewis spoke firmly. "She won't expect us to respond so quickly. And a few hours is plenty of time to come up with exactly what we want in return for Charlie's cooperation."
"I'll call my Dad." Zane clenched his jaw as he pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing as he moved away from the group, shaking his head.
"That's a good idea." Will paved, one hand running anxiously through his hair.
"Alright then, guys." Rikki crossed her arms, looking around the room. "Let's make a plan."