The next morning, Emma finds herself down at the local horse stables, wandering around the large property in search of Ash while trying to avoid any water troughs at all costs. Ash should be finishing up his last lesson for the morning right about now, so the former elite swimmer figured that she would come down to the stables and surprise him. Hopefully, Emma will be able to convince him to come down to the beach with her for an hour or so, considering that he has at least a two-hour break between giving horse riding lessons.
Both Emma and Ash have been fairly busy with work and school lately, not leaving much time for just the two of them to hang out. Not to mention they are both starting to feel the stress of the looming deadline for university applications and trying to decide on what they want to do when Year 12 finally comes to an end.
As a perfectionist, Emma wants her applications and course preferences to be done correctly the first time, but she doesn't want to end up choosing the wrong course or university for herself either. She is starting to freak out about the fact that she has absolutely no idea what she wants to do after she leaves school. It has been her focus her entire life. Well, that and swimming, of course. For years, she had planned on taking her swimming further and going to the Olympics, hopefully winning gold. Obviously, life had other plans for Emma and forced her to completely reevaluate her career choices. Her boyfriend Ash, while struggling with indecision also, has a different set of problems.
Ash has always wanted to become a veterinarian, he has apparently known this since he was five years old, or so Emma has been lead to believe anyway. She knows that Ash would make a great veterinarian one day, considering that he's smart, caring and has a huge passion for animals of all shapes and sizes (although horses are obviously his favourite). Choosing a career isn't an issue for Ash. However, he has previously confided in Emma that he is torn on where to go for university. It would be easier for him to stay in Queensland, but the Bachelor of Veterinary Biology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Sydney looks like a much better fit for Ash if he manages to get the insanely high ATAR required for the Sydney degree. It is clear to Emma that he would much rather do the course that the university in Sydney offers, but she understands his hesitation about leaving the Gold Coast. They have been here their whole lives, how could they just get up and move just like that, especially when everything has already fallen to pieces here?
That brings Emma back to the main reason that she is desperate to hang out with Ash today; if she has learned anything in the past couple of weeks, you can't take the people in your life for granted. You never know how much time you will have left with them. Tragedy happens randomly, which Cleo is, unfortunately, experiencing it worse than anyone else within the closely-knit friend group. Emma knows that this is an unsympathetic thing to think and could never say it to Cleo, but she can't help but feel that at least Cleo and Lewis were lucky enough to share how they felt before everything went wrong. They were so happy together and had the typical cliche romance that you would find in a cute movie. In Emma's opinion, it is better to have been loved and left heartbroken than to never love at all.
With all of this weighing heavily on her mind, the mermaid knows that she needs to talk with Ash about their relationship, even though it is going to be terrifying and she doesn't know if Ash will be on the same page as her. However, if Emma were to suddenly die tomorrow, she doesn't want to be riddled with regret. She needs to know that Ash understands how she feels, even though it is going to be the hardest thing she will ever have to say. After all, the couple has only been in a relationship for several months now, having gotten together during early October last year. It still feels all too fast for Emma, especially as Ash is her first serious boyfriend.
However, considering everything that has happened lately, Emma realises that Zane had been right that she had confided in him on the beach, which feels like forever ago now. Maybe Zane isn't a total airhead after all. Maybe it could be possible for Zane and Emma to have mutual respect and trust for each other within the foreseeable future. Although, she still does not understand why Rikki is still with him after everything he had put them through while he was known as the 'Great Mermaid Hunter'. Yeah, she and Zane still have a long way to go in regards to building trust with each other.
"Emma, hi!" An all too familiar voice calls out from somewhere behind Emma, quickly snapping the girl out of her thoughts. With a smile beginning to form on her face, she whips around and spots Ash walking towards her with a confused grin, his riding helmet tucked under his arm.
"Hey," Emma replies happily, taking a few steps forward to meet Ash halfway.
"What are you doing here? I know you're not a big fan of this place." Ash asks curiously, raising one eyebrow slightly.
"What, do I need a reason to come and visit my boyfriend?" Emma responds teasingly while placing a hand on her hip exaggeratedly.
"I suppose not," Ash chuckles before leaning in and giving Emma a quick peck on the cheek, causing the girl's heart skip a small beat.
"How was your riding lesson?" Emma inquires with curiosity while tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, hoping she isn't blushing too much.
"I think it went well. This particular group of kids is improving a lot and they are really enjoying the lessons. It also makes it so much easier with these kids actually listening to me. I wish it wasn't such a common occurrence." Ash says with a small shrug.
"I bet you were the kid that knew better during riding lessons," Ash adds teasingly with a laugh.
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Emma gasps exaggeratedly and nudges her boyfriend in the arm playfully while a grin tugs at her mouth. The mermaid rolls her eyes slightly when she sees Ash shrug innocently in response, without saying a word.
"Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to head down to the beach with me for a while, now that you've got a break? I just feel like it has been quite some time since we last did something like that, considering everything that is going on in our lives right now…" Emma continues speaking, glancing down at the ground for a split second, hating the sudden reminder of all the stress that is almost constantly consuming her.
"Yeah, sure, sounds good. I've missed just the two of us hanging out as well. Just give me a few minutes to put my helmet away and make sure that Jackson is good to hold the fort here for a couple of hours," Ash agrees, causing Emma to look back up at him again.
"Alright, cool. I'll wait for you at the front gate." Emma replies with a nod.
"See you in a few minutes," Ash says with a smile before turning around and walking back through the stables, towards the tack room. After a couple of seconds of watching Ash walk away, Emma then quickly turns in the opposite direction and begins walking out of the stables and back up towards the front gate. To be honest, she's glad to be leaving the stables and the riding rinks so soon, but she wouldn't go out of her way to tell Ash that. He already knows her dislike for horse riding anyway. She just wishes that he didn't have to fully realise that when she accidentally almost killed his horse.
Emma and Ash interlock their hands together as they start walking along the long stretch of warm sand while the ocean breeze rustles through their hair. Emma is currently laughing at a joke Ash just told and she can't help but wish this moment would last forever, not having to deal with the problems of the real world. Unfortunately, that's not how reality works. Something will eventually pop the blissful bubble that Emma and Ash are currently in. 'Just look what happened to Lewis and Cleo,' Emma silently reminds herself, a wrack of guilt washing over her knowing that two of her closest friends are hurting right now. She can't help but bite her lip anxiously as thoughts of what could be happening to Lewis return to the mermaid begin rushing through her mind. Emma quickly tries to regain her composure as quickly as she lost it, hoping that Ash didn't notice her expression falter for a moment.
Unfortunately for Emma, Ash did indeed notice the look of concern and anxiety that appeared on her face for a few fleeting seconds.
"What's wrong?" Ash asks worriedly, pulling Emma out of her spiralling thoughts. He stops in his tracks and turns to gaze at Emma intently, causing Emma to stop walking as well.
"Nothing. I just wish that this moment could last forever, you know? I don't want to have to go to work late this afternoon," Emma replies with a small smile. Ash stares at her with a slightly raised eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.
"Yeah, I don't think that's the whole story here, is it?" Ash says, his eyes boring into Emma's, trying to encourage her to be completely honest.
"I suppose not," Emma sighs as she pulls her hand away from her boyfriend's before beginning to sit down cross-legged in the sand while staring out towards the ocean. Ash quickly following suit, sitting down in the sand next to Emma, his legs stretched out in front of him. Silence falls between the couple for a couple of moments, both of them content to just stare out towards the sea and listen to the crashing waves and squawking seagulls for a little bit longer.
"How has Cleo been holding up?" Ash asks as he turns to gaze towards Emma, having eventually decided to break the growing silence between the two of them.
"Not very well. Then again, I feel like none of us are doing too great lately. It's hard being in such a helpless position like this. I can't believe no one has found any solid leads on what has happened to Lewis yet. But the police think Cleo might have had something to do with it? It's ridiculous." Emma begins to vent, continuing to stare out into the roaring, angry crash of waves.
"Mmm. I hope Lewis' family doesn't start believing that crap," Ash comments, glancing down at the sand for a moment.
"Wait, that reminds me. Speaking of Lewis' family, I should probably tell you that Cleo told Lenny that she's a mermaid." Emma says, finally glancing over at Ash to gauge his reaction.
"What?!" Ash exclaims, his eyes widening in shock.
"Apparently she only told Lenny the truth about Lewis and herself. She didn't want to put Rikki or me at any unnecessary risk." Emma quickly interjects before Ash begins firing millions of questions towards her.
"But, why?" Ash frowns in confusion.
"I think Cleo was getting sick of lying to everyone. The police, Lewis' entire family, Cleo's father and even the media have all wanted to dig up the truth from her. When Lenny confronted her at the cemetery after we all had left, that must have been the last straw for her. Apparently, he took the news fairly well and she is confident that she can trust him." Emma replies with a small shrug.
"Well, for Cleo's sake, I hope that she can trust him. It's a big risk to take."
"I guess it just proves that Cleo is still having a really hard time coping with all of this," Emma remarks sadly before drifting her gaze down towards the ground, suddenly determined to try and count as many grains of sand as she can.
"That's understandable. I mean, I would be completely devastated if you were to go missing. I'd probably end up driving myself crazy trying to find you, with or without crazy scientists being involved in your disappearance." Ash admits honestly, causing the mermaid to freeze up suddenly, her heart skipping a beat.
"Uh, did I say something wrong?" Ash asks in confusion, immediately noticing Emma's sudden tension, because of course he would notice it. Just the luck that the blonde totally needs right now. 'Come on, Em. You need to say it. Just get it over and done with,' Emma silently psyches herself up as she takes a deep breath and finally looking back up towards her boyfriend, who has concern puzzlement written all over his face.
"No, no, I… well, I guess I have been weighing up similar hypothetical situations too," Emma begins to explain.
"Oh?" Ash comments in surprise.
"If something were to happen to you, if you had been the one that disappeared randomly instead of Lewis, I would be heartbroken and feel so lost. I don't want to lose you, Ash." Emma says, her voice shaking ever so slightly.
"I'm not going anywhere, Em. I promise." Ash replies softly, reaching over and grabbing Emma's hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly.
"I hope not," Emma says with a small smile starting to pull at the edges of her mouth.
"But still, with everything that has happened to Lewis and Cleo, it got me thinking about us. I don't want to regret not saying something before it's too late, you know?" The mermaid continues to explain while Ash watches her intently. When Ash doesn't reply, Emma decides to continue talking before she starts losing her nerve.
"I don't expect you to say it back, and I'm sorry if it's too early to say this and it freaks you out, but I…" Emma trails off, her heart hammering rapidly against her chest.
"But, what?" Ash frowns.
"I love you, Ash," Emma admits earnestly, gazing directly into Ash's warm brown eyes. The mermaid holds her breath as she anxiously waits for Ash to respond, beginning to doubt that confessing her feelings wasn't a good idea after all.
"Is that really the thing that has had you so worried? I thought you were about to tell me that you were dying or something," Ash chuckles lightly, causing Emma to frown in confusion and annoyance.
"Um, yeah? It's kind of a big deal, Ash. I was worried that it was too soon to tell you; I thought you were going to be scared away from me." Emma replies, folding her arms against her chest defensively while continuing to stare at her boyfriend.
"What? It's definitely not too soon; we've been dating for months now. Why would I be scared off? I love you, Em," Ash exclaims seriously, running a hand through his hair for a moment.
"But… you never said anything about it?"
"I didn't want to put any pressure on you to say it back, just in case you didn't feel the same way about me. Plus, I guess I didn't realise that it needed to be said. But I am definitely in love with you. If I was going to be scared off at any point in our relationship, it would have been when you revealed you were a mermaid." Ash explains with a reassuring smile, shuffling in closer towards Emma.
"Yeah, I suppose that makes sense," Emma comments, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
"Zane actually told me pretty much the same thing a couple of months ago, but god I don't want to admit that he was right about something," Emma adds with a nervous laugh, still feeling flustered over the fact that she had been obsessively worrying about something for months when it wasn't even necessary. It's not the first time that she has done something like this, either. Overthinking everything is practically a part of who Emma is as a person, to be honest. She is grateful that Ash accepts that flaw of hers, along with many others.
"You talked to Zane about this before me? Wow, okay, I see where I stand." Ash huffs jokingly, causing Emma to roll her eyes in response.
"Yeah, I forgot to mention that I have a secret crush on Zane. I hope that's okay with you," Emma remarks sarcastically while plastering on a fake smile exaggeratedly.
"Ugh, fine. But he only gets to have you on Mondays." Ash replies, seemingly more than happy to play along with the joke.
"I guess that will have to do," Emma sighs defeatedly, but the wide grin on her face, unfortunately, ruins her annoyed facade.
"I guess it will." Ash agrees with a fond smile before leaning in towards Emma and presses his lips against hers, and the mermaid more than happily melts into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Ash's neck.