Chap. 12
Jessie
We all get back to shore as quickly as possible, hopefully being careful enough to avert Anna's journey. We're all shaken up and worried out of our minds.
When we finally get back after what seemed like the longest swim home of our lives, we all gather back at the boat house. The air is grim and we're all quiet, thinking probably the same things. I decide to break the silence.
"Alright," I say crushingly. "What are we going to do?"
Will shakes his head. "Isn't it obvious? We have to tell her. What other choice do we have?"
Bella speaks now. "The only question is how much we tell her." We all nod, knowing she's right.
"So to what extent do we go?" asks Cleo.
I shake my head. "We don't tell her about you guys. There's no sense dragging you under with us if there's no need to. This is our problem. We need to deal with it ourselves."
"Not without our help," Will says. "We have to be careful. Not just for you guys but for all of us. One wrong move and we could all end up in deep water."
I nod. "Right."
Cleo speaks again. "Ok," she says. She begins referring to my last comment. "The only problem with keeping us three from her is the fact that we were just there. How exactly do we explain that?"
"We don't until it's a problem," I reply. "The important thing is focusing on what we tell Anna up front. We can carefully work our way through the rest."
"So what exactly does she know?" asks Rikki.
I think about it. "She only said that she knows we're mermaids and that it happened in that cave."
"She doesn't have much to work with, then…" says Rikki.
Bella looks distressed. "What if she goes back there?"
Will shakes his head. "She won't. She promised me she wouldn't."
Bella looks confused. "When?"
I wave my arms to distract their attention. "Focus!" I say. They snap themselves out of it and apologize.
"With the little she knows, how 'bout we just connect the pieces for her to the most basic thing you can get?" suggests Will.
My face probably looks confused. "What do you mean?"
He explains himself. "She only knows your mermaids and that it happened on Mako. Just give her the extreme basics. You guys change when you touch water, the crystals and the reaction are what caused your transformation and moon is weird to you guys. That's it."
I consider this. "That's probably our best option. What happens when she starts asking questions about other things?"
He shakes his head. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. The important thing is making sure your secret's safe with her."
I nod knowingly. Suddenly, I realize Mary's been quiet this entire time. I look over at her. She's just staring blankly at the floor with her arms crossed, shaking her head.
"Mary…?" I ask. "Are you ok?"
I don't know what I did to set her off, but she suddenly storms towards the door and leaves the house. We all look confused. Will starts after her, but Bella stops him. "Will, I've got this," she says.
Then she goes out the door after Mary.
…
Mary (credit to katara4494 for this scene idea!)
I stand there with everybody, just listening to them talk about what just happened and how to fix it. I shake my head as I hear their words.
I didn't know if I could do it, if I could bear it. This whole thing was under control two weeks ago and now its blown up in our faces so much that I don't know what to do.
"Mary?" Jessie suddenly asks. "Are you ok?"
The minute her words come, I lose it. Without any explanation, I run out of the house. As I do, I feel tears streaming down my face.
I look around and decide to sit on the edge of the dock. As I go and fall to my knees, I let out a sob. I sniff and wipe my tears. I just needed to do that once, and once I did, I could calm myself down.
It didn't take long to hear footsteps come up behind me. I sniffed again. I assumed it was Will. "I'm not in the mood, Will," I call out.
"Good thing I'm not Will," says, to my surprise, Bella as she approaches. She stands next to me. "Mind if I sit?"
I motion to the area of dock next to me. "Feel free," I say. She takes a seat next to me.
We sit in silence for a minute. Bella finally breaks the silence between us. "Mary, are you ok?"
It takes all I have not to burst out a sob again. Luckily, I find myself able to hold it back. I shake my head instead. "No."
She sighs. "Yeah, I know the feeling." She chuckles lightly, trying to lighten the air. Instead, I turn to her seriously.
"How did you do it?" I ask her. I've heard Bella's story before, about Ireland and how she was only nine. "How did you do it all by yourself at such a young age? I'm fourteen and have all of you… and I still can't handle it."
She shakes her head. "I have no idea how I managed. But somehow I did," she explains. "And you're doing just fine."
I shake my head now, too and scoff. "No, I'm not. I can't even handle it to a point where I can keep my own secret, let alone everything that comes with it."
She quickly defends me. "When we found out about you, it wasn't your fault." She laughs. "It's not like you expected any other mermaids to be around watching you swim."
I laugh a little, too. "No, not really."
"And same with Anna," she goes on. "How were you supposed to know she'd show up in that cave right then?"
I roll my eyes. "I should have known better…"
"Don't talk like that," she replies. "You had no way to know." I shrug.
"But, Mary…" she says. "Being a mermaid comes with a price."
"And I don't know if I have what it takes to pay it…" I say.
"I know you do," Bella says. "You have more than enough. But you have to be willing. Otherwise, you'll go up in flames. Trust me, I know."
I look at her peculiarly. "How do you know?"
She sighs and stares off. "I was your age. I had a crush on a boy named Lucas." She smiles silly. "He seemed like such a nice guy. We knew each other really well. But one day, he got suspicious of me. He thought something was up."
I chuckle. "Sounds like Will," I comment.
She shakes her head. "Lucas was nothing like Will." She goes on, "Anyway, Lucas asked me what was up with me one day while we were on the beach. I was too crazy in puppy-love with him. I thought I could trust him, but I was blind."
I'm on the edge of my seat now. "Did you tell him?"
She nods regretfully. "I did. He didn't believe me. So, to prove it, he splashed me with water in front of everyone on the beach."
My eyes widen. "What did you do?"
"I ran for the water and disappeared. Then he believed me," she says. She sighs. "He couldn't believe it. He tried to tell everyone he knew about me, but no one believed him. I just don't want the same thing to happen to you guys."
"But I'm not even in love. Or like or whatever," I tell her.
"True," she syas. "But the real point of this is saying that you're going to mess up every once in a while. It comes with it, and there's nothing you can do about it." She smirks. "Cleo, Rikki, and I all made mistakes. But we turned out to be pretty good mermaids."
I laugh. "Yeah, you did."
"But Mary," she says seriously. "You'll be fine. We know you can handle this."
"We?" I ask.
"We." She smiles. "We mermaids know you can. And Will does too."
I get hopeful. "He does?" I ask.
She nods again. "Yeah. He believes in you guys and he trusts you."
I smile at the thought. Suddenly, I find myself throwing my arms around Bella's neck. "Thanks, Bella." She's surprised at first, but soon, she returns my hug.
"You're welcome," she replies sincerely. We break apart. "Come on, we'd better get back in there. She stands up and helps me to my feet.
And now I walk back in with confidence, finally realizing and really knowing that we're not alone with this. Not anymore.
