Chap. 12

Will

After I rushed the girls into the café with less than seconds to spare, they made it to the office and all dropped into their tails. I looked at the three of them lying on the floor as mermaids. At that moment, I realized I could handle it.

They began to struggle. I grabbed a few towels for them from the front room, went back into the office and closed the door. As they were drying themselves off, I began to think about it. I had known about Bella, Cleo, and Rikki for months now. I knew their secret and understood it, accepted it.

But what hadn't made sense in my mind was why it was suddenly different. Why had I flipped over Mary? Mary's situation was really no different from what I could tell. But all of a sudden, I had been freaking out over it. Why?

I realized now. I had a certain protectiveness over Mary, one that I didn't have with anyone else. I felt obligated to protect the girls, but with Mary, it was brought to an entirely different level. Not only was I obligated, but I needed to. I wouldn't ever forgive myself if anything happened to her. And now, that feeling was coming into necessary play.

I crouch down next to Bella as she still tries to dry herself. She looks up at me. "What's up?" she asks.

"I need to go," I say plainly. She looks deep into my eyes for a moment, then she understands.

"Ok," she says quietly in reply. I give her a kiss on the cheek and then leave.

As I jog toward our boat house and try to think about what to say. Nothing comes. Hopefully Mary will start it off. Before anything does have time to come, I arrive at our house. I go inside, but I don't see Mary. I call her name. No reply.

I go back outside and look around. I still don't see her. "Mary?" I call out again.

"Will?" comes Mary's voice in reply. It's coming from the water.

I walk over to the dock and look down. There's Mary, her head and shoulders just suspended above the water. Her body and tail are just visible through the rest of the water. My eyes widen, but not for the same reasons as before. "What on earth are you doing?" I almost yell.

Her face turns confused. "I'm swimming. What's the problem?" she asks.

"Swimming here? Where anyone can see you?" I say with exasperation.

"Relax, Will," she says with a slight chuckle. "No one's around."

She's kind of right. We do live in a pretty secluded area. It's just my worries getting the best of me again. "Well, we need to talk. You should probably get out."

I put my arms out to her. She takes them, grabbing about halfway up my arm in order to get a good grip. I pull her out of the water and she positions herself on the dock. She grabs a towel and begins drying herself. I help her in silence. When she is finally dry and turns back into a human, we go inside.

We both take seats on the couch next to one another. As we sit in silence for a minute, I realize she's not going to start. After all, I was the one who wanted to talk to her in the first place.

So I shakily start. "So, I've been thinking…" I realize I'm rubbing my hands together. She slowly nods, glancing at my hands. "And I realized that I can handle it."

She raises her eyebrows at me. "Are you sure?" she asks skeptically.

"Yes," I reply solemnly. "I've known about the girls for months-" For some reason, I see her flinch. "and I realize that it's no different with you. It's just…" I have a hard time thinking how to explain the next part. She nods for me to go on, so I try anyway. "It's just that you're my little sister. And when I found out that you're a mermaid-" Now I flinch, hearing it out loud. "I felt like I needed to protect you. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. And since you didn't tell me I just felt—"

Mary interrupted my rambling. "Thank you for worrying," she says. I must look confused because she proceeds to explain. "It shows me how much you really care about me." She smiles.

"I do care about you," I respond sincerely. "That's why I freaked out. I was worried; I didn't know what to do." I pause. I start again, this time more quietly. "I've seen and heard what's happened to the girls, and I couldn't let those things happen to you."

She nods. I know by her face that she understands and she gets it. But there's something else in her face, like something lingering. I address it quickly. "What?"

She almost begins to speak, but then she pauses and thinks. She finally decides what to say. "What were you doing before you came back?"

I stop dead. What am I supposed to say? I can't exactly tell her that I was at the café telling the girls everything I know about her being a mermaid, especially since she only thought Bella knew she was one and was one herself. I think fast. "I was at the café." Truthful enough.

I won't meet her eyes but she's piercing into mine. "Who with?"

I think about lying, but my mouth speaks before my head can stop it. "Bell, Cleo, and Rikki."

"Doing what?" she asks. She's not missing a beat.

I try to be broad. "Nothing."

"Really?" she says, raising her eyebrows in skepticism. "Because that's not what someone told me."

"Who's someone?" I shoot back.

"No one important," she replies. "But someone said they saw you talking very seriously to the girls and then a drink spilled on you all." My stomach clenched. I was afraid now. She continued. "I expected Bella to run, but not all three."

I stand up. "Mary, where did you get this information from?" I was yelling now. This whole protective instinct was really blowing up in my face.

"You have some explaining to do first," she tells me.

Surprising myself, I don't hold back. I guess knowing that she's a mermaid reassures me that she'll keep all of this a secret. "Fine, Rikki and Cleo are mermaids, too. And when I was talking to them, I told them everything I knew about you being a mermaid."

She looked exasperated. "Why would you do that?"

"To collectively protect all of you," I said quickly. "Now who did this come from?"

I kept my word so she kept hers. "Jessie."

"Jessie?" I repeat, now exasperated as well. "Why on earth would you tell Jessie about all of this?"

"Because she's a mermaid, too," she says. I'm surprised by her honesty.

"She… she is?" I ask.

She nods her head. "I told you I trusted you, didn't I?"

Now I nod. "So start from the beginning."

She hesitates, but then she begins. She tells me the whole story, not leaving out anything. She describes everything from the moon pool, the crystrals, the blue light, the tentacle, and more. She even tells me about Anna and LeeAnne. As she tells the story, the knot in my stomach clenches even tighter. This is all new, almost none seems familiar of what Bella and the others told me. This isn't good.

As she finishes, I gulp. I don't know what to say. She speaks first. "Well?"

"Well…" I repeat. "Sounds like you know what happened."

"No kidding," she replies sarcastically.

"The only thing is that doesn't sound familiar. It's almost nothing like what the others went through to become mermaids. But some of it sounds familiar with other situations they've been in."

"Oh…" she sounds disappointed, and almost afraid. "What are we going to do?"

I sigh. "I have no idea," I say truthfully. "We'll just have to look into it."

She looks almost upset. "Being a science experiment is exactly what I didn't want to do."

I slightly chuckle. "You won't be an experiment, but we have to try something." She groans.

"Don't worry," I say. "We'll just take it a step at a time."

This is the end of part 2! Part 3 is coming, may or may not take a while (probably won't, but I am working on a few other stories.) Thanks for your continuous support! God bless you all!