Rikki didn't remember the drive home. Suddenly she found herself walking through her front door. She dropped her keys into the bowl beside the door, her mind numb. She'd known that Nick was a bit of a loose cannon, but he'd done so much to look out for her... how could he stab her in the back like that? Sure, he was sullen, rude, and unfriendly, but Rikki had at least felt like he was trustworthy.
Time passed, Rikki watched as the sun set, leaving the kitchen in total darkness. Mags had not yet come home from work, she noted. At some point she wrote an email and sent it to Lewis, updating him on Denman. She told him not to tell Cleo or Bella, she didn't want them to worry, but she thought he should know what was going on just in case.
Slowly, gradually, Rikki realized that the hurt she'd felt so strongly had turned into something else completely.
She was angry. No, not just angry, incensed. What right did Nick have to tell Denman her secret? Who did he think he was?
Fuming, Rikki jumped to her feet, causing the chair to clatter to the ground behind her. She snatched her keys and marched out of the door, slamming it shut behind her.
There was no car in the driveway when she pulled up in front of the house, but Rikki could see Nick's bedroom light on. She didn't bother to knock or wait to be let in. Not caring how much noise she made, she dashed up the stairs and barged right into Nick's room.
"Jesus, Rikki, what the hell-" Nick jumped as she flew inside.
"Shut up." Rikki said forcefully, her face full of rage. "You don't get to talk right now, Nick."
Nick held up his hands, his face screwed up in confusion. "What did I-"
"You know exactly what you did!" Rikki yelled. "How could you?"
"How could I what?" Nick shouted back, matching her volume. "What are you talking about?"
"You told Denman." Rikki felt her voice cracking as she struggled to retain whatever composure she had left. "You told her about me. I thought I could trust you, Nick." She shoved his shoulders hard, forcing him back several steps.
"She already knew!" Nick's face was angry. "I didn't tell her anything she didn't already know, Rik, so someone else must have told her. Not me."
"Yeah right." Rikki spoke bitterly. "No one else knows, other than you and Hadley."
Nick's eyes narrowed. "And you really think he's trustworthy? Really? He's practically best friends with Denman. I mean, think about it. How do you really know that he isn't holed up with her right now telling her everything he knows about you."
"He wouldn't do that." Rikki said stiffly, though she was shaken.
"You have no idea what he would or wouldn't do, and you know it." Nick's tone was so quiet it was frightening. "Listen, because I'm only going to relive this once. As soon as I sat down in her office Denman leaned across the desk, looked me dead in the eye, and said that she knew you were still a mermaid. I spent the next hour trying to convince her otherwise. She knew already, Rikki. And she knew that I knew it too."
Rikki swallowed as she desperately searched for a comeback. "How do I know you're telling me the truth? How do I know you didn't tell?"
"You don't." Nick clenched his jaw. "But I don't care if you believe me. That's what trust is about, Rik. It's about believing someone without any proof that you should."
Rikki had nothing to say. She stood there, panting as she tried to catch her breath.
"I'm sure you can find your way out, you got yourself in here easily enough." Nick dropped into his desk chair and picked up a pencil, making a point to ignore Rikki.
Rikki stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say next. It was several seconds before she found words. "You apologised." She said quietly. "You said you were sorry"
"Yeah, I did." Nick didn't look up. "I meant that I was sorry I couldn't convince Denman you were human. I would have explained more but the bell rang. Plus, I didn't think it would be too good for Denman to see us talking too much. I wrote you a note explaining everything. I was going to drop it off at your place tonight." He inclined his head to a folded piece of notebook paper on the edge off his desk. "Read it if you don't believe me."
Hesitantly, Rikki reached for the paper and unfolded it. Sure enough, it was a long letter detailing exactly what he'd just told her. That Denman already knew what she was, that she needed to be careful. At the end of the letter he'd written 'I need you to be safe, ok? Call me anytime and I'll be there to help anyway I can. -N'
"You really didn't tell her." She spoke, more to herself than to him.
"Nope." The anger in Nick's voice was still clear. "Why don't you barge into your boyfriend's house and question him?"
"Nick..." Rikki felt terrible. "I'm sorry. I should have talked to you first."
"You think?" Nick didn't turn around.
"I mean it, I-" Rikki started towards him.
"Stop." Nick flipped around in his chair, stopping Rikki in her tracks. "I really don't want to hear it."
"But I-"
"No." Nick stood, fire in his eyes. "I can't believe you would think for two seconds that I would walk into that woman's office and tell her that you're a mermaid. After all I've been through with her, after all she's taken from me..." He shook his head. "Just don't talk to me."
"I'll go then." Rikki took a couple steps backwards.
"Good." Nick turned back to his homework, not looking as Rikki walked out of the room and out of the house.
That night was the longest night she'd ever experienced. She tossed and turned, having fitful nightmares that never seemed to end.
Rikki walked into school the next day feeling like a zombie. Denman could have popped out at any second, but Rikki wasn't sure that she cared. She already knew everything, what was left? Deep down, Rikki knew that there was plenty more Denman could do to hurt her or ruin her life, but Rikki couldn't make herself panic.
Nick didn't show up at school that day, not even for Mr. Cruz's class. Rikki hadn't expected him to, but she felt disappointed all the same. Denman continued interviewing students, shooting cool glances at Rikki every time she walked into the room.
Rikki had already packed up her things when the bell rang. Denman stepped in front of her, blocking her way out of the room.
"Rikki." She spoke with a warm smile on her face. "I'd like a word with you in my office. Now." She smirked as she turned to walk up to the front of the classroom.
"Uh, actually-" Hadley stepped in, an anxious expression on his face. "I need Rikki to, um, run to the office right quick, it's important."
"I'm sure someone else can do it." Denman laughed, smiling brightly at Hadley. "I'd like to speak with Rikki."
"It's ok, Hadley." Rikki managed a wry smile. "I'll be glad to run the errand later." She shot Hadley an 'it's ok, don't worry' look and followed Denman out into the hall.
"So, Rikki." Denman's smile faded into a smirk as they sat down at her desk. "How long have you been a mermaid? Did you ever really lose your powers?" She leaned forward on her elbows. "How did you and your friends trick me?"
"I'm not telling you anything." Rikki said firmly. "You can't force me."
"Ah, see, you're very wrong." Denman's eyes pierced Rikki's. "You see, if you're a mermaid, I'd say it was a safe bet to guess that Miss Cleo and Miss Emma are still mermaids as well, yes?"
Rikki crossed her hands over her chest, not making a sound.
"Well, that's easy enough to test, isn't it?" Denman gave Rikki an icy smile. "All I'd really have to do is toss a little water on them, right? And then I'd know the answer pretty quick."
Rikki still refused to answer, shooting daggers at Denman with her eyes.
"That's why I have an offer for you." Denman spoke quietly, scarily. "You tell me everything I want to know. Everything. And I won't go after your friends. I'll leave them alone to live their lives the way they please but you're mine until I say otherwise."
"You can't do that." Rikki leaned forward in her chair. "I'm a human being, you can't hold me hostage."
"You haven't been human for years." Denman scowled. "You're a fish, a freak. And you're what's going to make me a legend. Everyone will know my name after I release my research on actual mermaids. Complete with proof, of course."
Rikki could feel sweat breaking out on her forehead. "How did you know?" She had to ask, she had to know. "Who told you?"
Denman raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't sure, for a bit. I recognised your name, of course, and it was easy to find out you were the same Rikki I'd known in Australia, but were you a mermaid or not?"
"How did you find out?" Rikki spoke slowly.
Denman's expression was cocky. "You should really tell Hadley to watch out what he writes on paper. He wrote right on the reservation book that he and you were using the practice pool at the university. That was a pretty solid clue, enough for me to believe you weren't human. Though I'm surprised he didn't tell me himself..." She looked at Rikki thoughtfully. "And then there was Mr. Donovan's interview yesterday. He confirmed it, that you were definitely a fish."
"He did tell you." Rikki exhaled.
"Not in words." Denman laughed. "But he was so desperate to convince me you were normal. Any other student would have burst out laughing when I told them that you were a mermaid, but not him." She laughed harder. "He turned positively pale! And then he spent forever telling me that I was wrong, you were completely normal!" Denman leaned back in her chair, a satisfied look on her face. "I couldn't believe my luck. It's a shame, I always thought he was smarter than his idiot sister."
"You can't do this." Rikki's voice cracked. "You can't take over my life."
"It's your choice, dear." Denman raised her eyebrows. "Of course, if you decide not to be my little assistant I can always hop on down to Australia and... ask Cleo if maybe she'd be interested?" Her tone deepened. "We can do this together, with you working with me and your friends safe in their ignorance. Or I can toss a bottle of water on you and start snapping pictures, then go to Australia and do the same thing to your friends. It's up to you."
Rikki took in a long breath, opening and closing her fists as her mind raced. "I need some time to think about it."
Denman laughed lightly. "Of course." She said patronizingly. "You have one hour. Meet me at the training pool then, or I start making phone calls to travel agencies."
Rikki stood, pushing her way from Denman's office and racing outside to her car. She needed to be alone, she needed to think.
It seemed things were against her from every direction. Nick was sitting on Rikki's front step as she pulled up to the house.
"I can't talk right now." Rikki tried to push past him but he blocked her way.
"I'm sorry I lost my temper yesterday." Nick blocked her again. "How did it go today with Denman?" He caught her by the shoulders.
"Oh, just fine." Rikki said bitterly, shaking free of his grip and unlocking the front door. "I have to work with her and tell her everything or she's going to expose my friends as mermaids."
"What?" Nick followed her inside. "There are more of you?"
"Three more, but Denman knew about two of them already. She found out about them at the same time she found out about me." Rikki paced the floor anxiously. "Now that she knows I'm still a mermaid she's threatening to catch them too if I don't cooperate."
"That witch." Nick sank into a chair, shock clear on his face. "I can't believe she'd stoop that low."
"It shouldn't matter to you, you're not in any danger." Rikki leaned on the kitchen counter, wishing she could splash cool water on her face without growing a tail.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there today." Nick spoke gently. "I couldn't face her."
"And I got to do it alone. Thanks." Rikki knew Nick wasn't at fault in any way, but she needed to blame someone other than herself. She resumed pacing quickly back and forth.
"Hey-" Nick reached for her arm, stopping her as she passed him. "It's going to be alright."
"How?" Rikki yanked her arm out of his grasp. "She's going to do tests on me, she wants me to tell her everything. I can't even run away, she'll go after my friends. Emma is still out of the country but Cleo is still at home! And if she finds out about Cleo she'll definitely find out about Bella too, and it's all my fault-"
Nick caught Rikki in his arms, wrapping them around her in a tight hug. Rikki hated herself for it, but she felt tears stinging at the corners of her eyes.
Nick tightened his embrace, easily rocking Rikki back and forth. She allowed her head to drop onto his shoulder, breathing heavily.
"We're going to figure this out." Nick spoke in a voice more gentle than she'd ever heard him use. It almost sounded like a completely different person. "There's got to be a way to convince her not to got through with this."
Rikki didn't say anything. It felt good to be held in Nick's strong arms, to be comforted even though she didn't believe his words. After several minutes had passed she felt her breathing begin to slow.
"Are you alright?" Nick cupped her face in his hands, gently wiping away a tear with his thumb.
Rikki didn't recognise the boy in front of her. His face was kind, concerned for her. His eyes were open and warm, looking deeply into hers from mere inches away.
"I've got to get to the University." Rikki stepped away from him. "She told me to be there in an hour."
"And you're just going to go?" Nick followed her to the front door.
"I don't have a choice." Rikki said, defeated.
"Then I'm going with you." Nick said confidently.
"No, you don't have to do that." Rikki rested her hand on the doorknob. "This isn't your problem."
"No, it isn't." Nick shook his head. "But you need someone in your corner."
Rikki gave him a long look. "Fine. I'll drive." She pulled open the door and gasped.
Someone was standing on the front step, fist poised, ready to knock.
Zane tilted his head to one side, giving Rikki and Nick an appraising look. "I guess you didn't expect company?" He said cooly.
Rikki looked from Zane to Nick, then to Zane again. Now things were really complicated.