Chapter 6: Liv's Life Threatening Encounter

Rikki left her research materials on her coffee table as she heard her washing machine go off. She was meant to leave for Perth in the morning for her next dive. Although it wouldn't take long to complete, she always liked having her clothes cleaned and all of her other necessities in order so she wouldn't have to worry about anything when she came back. She had just returned to her couch when her phone buzzed. She picked it up and remembered she had a lesson with Liv today. She sighed, completely forgetting about the lesson and wondering if she had time today.

Rikki had been wondering if giving lessons was the right idea. This seemed to be more for Zane's benefit than anything. She and the girls had figured things out for themselves. What they didn't was provided to them by Ms. Chatham. Zane knew a decent amount about mermaids, he could take care of Liv just fine. Rikki didn't need to be in the picture. Zane was the one who had scheduled these lessons and Rikki wondered if they were going out too much. She and the others went out nearly everyday but that didn't mean Liv was going to do the same.

Rikki thought back to her friendship with Cleo, Emma and Bella. She hadn't talked to the three girls in so long. The most recent encounter was when she happened to run into Cleo and Lewis in the States a few years back. The conversation didn't last too long, Rikki wanted to talk about anything but their mermaid lives but that's all the two really had in common now. Maybe Liv just needed a friend, a confidant who knew how to live the mermaid life. Maybe Rikki should talk to Zane and try to lessen the frequency of their lessons. He had agreed earlier in the day, she was a teenage girl with other things going on besides being a mermaid. Maybe now was a good time to start.

Rikki picked her phone back up and called Zane's number. It didn't take long for him to pick up.

"Rikki, hey," he said once he picked up. "What's up?"

"Hey," Rikki said in reply. "Listen, I know I was supposed to come over for a lesson but I was thinking-"

"No, it's fine." Zane replied. Maybe he was one step ahead of her. "Liv hasn't come home yet. I think she might have gotten detention again."

"Oh." Rikki replied. "Okay. Well I guess I'll see you guys in a few days."

"A few days?" Zane asked.

"Yeah." Rikki said. "I have a dive in Perth, remember? I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Oh, right." Zane replied. "Great timing, Liv."

"Go easy on her." Rikki said. "She's going through enough as it is."

"Yeah, you're right," he said. "It's just… I don't want her to get hurt."

"She'll be fine." Rikki replied. "Just don't let her into the ocean whilst I'm gone."

"I'll do my best." Zane said. "We'll see you in a few days."

"See you then." Rikki said before she hung up the phone.

Rikki furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at her phone. Something about what Zane said in regards to Liv's whereabouts wasn't sitting right with her. Liv receiving detention wouldn't be the most shocking news. She was very similar to her father and Rikki knew Zane had a knack for getting in trouble. Still, there was something that was telling Rikki Liv wasn't in detention. Rikki placed her research back on the table, finding it hard to concentrate now. She was about to grab a glass of water when she looked out of her window to see the ocean in front of her.

Liv wouldn't, would she?

The young girl was never a big fan of their lessons. She was in complete denial until a few weeks ago. Rikki wouldn't deny, Liv wasn't adjusting too well. Liv was rebellious. She was Zane's daughter. Zane was constantly told not to go places and to be careful when he did things as a young teen. Rikki knew he couldn't be bothered to care and she and her friends often had to fish him out of the dangerous situations he landed in. Rikki sighed, having a strange feeling she was going to have to help another Bennett out of trouble, yet again.

Liv continued swimming out to Mako. It was a long swim so she was starting to get tired. She wondered if she would be able to swim back. She was sure her dad would come and get her if needed but he certainly wouldn't be happy about it. Liv wasn't regretting her decision at all. The water felt amazing and she enjoyed seeing so many sea creatures gracefully floating through the water. She wondered if she should just give her life on land up and start a new one here. There were other mermaids, there had to be mermen as well. She could simply live in the sea for the rest of her life.

Liv had just finished exploring a reef of coral as she turned to go into the moon pool. As she turned, she was met with the image of a Mako Shark, stating ferociously at her tail. Liv looked ahead and saw the coast was clear, swimming away from the shark as quickly as she could. Rikki had warned her about the dangers of sharks and Liv supposed swimming to the most shark invested waters along the coast might not have been her best idea. She remembered learning in school that sharks typically wouldn't attack humans but she also reckoned she wasn't a human at the moment, or at least not completely. This shark would probably love to chomp on her tail.

Liv turned around after she had been swimming for a few minutes to see if the shark was still following her. Not only was the original shark following her, a few of his friends had decided to come after her as well. Liv continued swimming away, trying to get to the moon pool. There were never any animals in the moon pool, maybe that would be a safe spot, a barrier they couldn't pass.

Liv continued swimming toward the open water, sharks in tow. When she felt comfortable, she made a sharp turn hoping she could gear them toward the moon pool. This would all be easier if she could fly through the water like Rikki was trying to teach her. Liv did want to learn in her lessons with Rikki but sometimes she truly was exhausted. Sometimes she didn't give her all. Now, she found herself in a life or death situation that might have been saved if she had taken Rikki seriously.

Liv was close to the moon pool. She was almost to the rocks and the entrance to the moon pool was only a few meters away. She was about to make a turn again when a shark cut off her path. They had cornered her to this wall. There was only one opening just in front of her but she would have to make it through that opening quickly. Liv closed her eyes as she began to concentrate. As hard as her life had been for the past few months, she wasn't ready to die. There was still so much she wanted to do and see. She wanted to graduate high school and live in the adult world. She wanted to visit another country with her friends and family. She wanted to fall in love with a boy. That wasn't going to happen if she was eaten now.

She finally felt a power run through her body she had never felt before. She opened her eyes and pushed off from the wall, somehow knowing she would about able to fly through the water. Liv saw bubbles form in front of her, knowing she had made it away from the sharks. She flew through the water for the first time. It was an odd sensation. What made it more odd was the hot, almost burning, stretch of water she ended up swimming through. That alone stopped her in her tracks. She needed to inspect what had just happened. As Liv turned around, she noticed the sharks were fleeing and the bubbles were diminishing around her. At first she thought she had created those bubbles but then realized they belonged to someone else. A familiar blonde mermaid came into her view and Liv didn't know if she should have been more scared of the sharks or of Rikki.

Rikki wore a glare on her face. If looks could kill, Liv would be surely be dead. She knew why Rikki was upset too. Liv knew she wasn't supposed to be out in the water by herself. She had thought Rikki and her dad were crazy. Maybe they weren't as crazy as she once thought. Rikki motioned for Liv to follow her and the younger girl did as she was told. She didn't want to be trapped by a school of sharks again. Liv followed Rikki into the moon pool, it was her final destination anyway.

"What the hell were you thinking, Liv?" Rikki asked once they surfaced in the moon pool, each moving to one said of the circular body of water. "You could have been killed had I not shown up."

"Did you not see me finally jet through the water?" Liv shot back. "I would have been fine."

"As happy as I am for you, it was still irresponsible." Rikki said.

"Did you ever go out on your own?" Liv asked Rikki hoping the older mermaid would shake her head and tell the pair to go home.

"Yes," Rikki answered to Liv's surprise. "Occasionally I would swim out here on my own. Mostly when I was upset."

"Ha, that's makes two of us." Liv sighed.

"Is everything okay, Liv?" Rikki asked.

"What do you care?" Liv retorted.

"I've grown to care about you a lot, actually." Rikki said. "This bond isn't one I can share with just anyone. I would never want a fellow mermaid to suffer. Speaking of which, I was wondering if you would like to make our lessons… less frequent."

"See, you don't care about me." Liv said, shaking her head.

"I do care about you, Liv." Rikki said.

"Then why are you pushing me away?" Liv asked.

"I'm not, I-" Rikki started before sighing. "When I was about your age, I wandered in here for the first time with two other friends. We were as close as we could be until… well, I realized being a mermaid was about the only thing we had in common. They treated me like I was one-dimensional, not taking much of an interest in my life outside of being a mermaid. They didn't even know where I lived until we had been friends for a year and that was only because your dad pushed me to tell them. Anyway, I think I've realized I've been doing the same to you, treating you as just a mermaid. So why don't you try me; what bothered you so much you felt the need to come out here?"

Liv was surprised at how open Rikki was being with her. Although she was fending being upset about her lessons becoming less frequent, she couldn't help but agree with Rikki. She was more than a mermaid and she recently felt as if that was all she could be between Rikki and her father. Liv felt as if a small weight had been lifted from her shoulders, one that had been there since her mum passed away.

"I used to be on a diving team." Liv said. "Obviously I can't do that anymore and I had a fight about it with my best friend today. I couldn't tell her why I quit though and I blew up on her in front of the whole school. I've felt guilty ever since."

Rikki nodded knowingly. She had lost countless friendships and relationships due to her secret. "It's not the worst thing in the world to let people know."

"Really?" Liv asked. "You think I could tell her?"

"That's up to you." Rikki replied. "We had a few people who knew back in the day. Most of them just stumbled upon it but they kept it secret and helped us out of situations we couldn't get out on our own. Like your father."

That was true. Zane must have known Rikki's secret for a while. How else would he have known to reach out to her when Liv transformed? Liv began wondering if Leah was someone she could trust with the secret. Then again, if Liv felt she could trust anyone aside from her dad, it was Leah.

"What situations did you end up in?" Liv asked.

"Where do I begin?" Rikki said with a chuckle. "There was one time some guy we knew got his hands on ambergris. The scent is mesmerizing to us mermaids. We were about to reveal ourselves to him when Zane and another friend stopped us from doing so."

"Yeah, I could see how that would end poorly." Liv chuckled.

"Yeah, it was a close one." Rikki asked. "So you were a diver, huh?"

"Yeah," Liv replied, solemnly.

"What else do you like?" Rikki asked. "Aside from all this mermaid stuff, what makes you, you?"

"Well…," Liv started, thinking about the other things she liked. "I love old-school pop punk. Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, Good Charlotte."

"It kills me that you call that 'old-school pop punk'." Rikki said. "That's the music I grew up listening to. Good Charlotte is one of the best bands I've heard live."

"You heard them live?!" Liv exclaimed.

"Yeah," Rikki laughed. "They were in Brisbane about five years ago. I'd love to take you with me the next time I go to a show. My friends tolerate it but they don't really love pop punk."

"That would be awesome!" Liv exclaimed. "Thanks, Rikki."

"Of course." Rikki replied. "What else do you like?"

Rikki found that night Liv wasn't only similar to Zane but very similar to Rikki herself as well. As Liv talked and revealed her love for chocolate ice cream, iced coffee and the Vampire Diaries, Rikki couldn't help but feel as if she was having a conversation with her fifteen year old self. Liv was smart, caring and sensitive under that rough exterior she put on. Rikki knew why she felt the need to wear that exterior but she wondered why Liv felt the need to do so. That was a conversation for another day.

"We should probably head home." Rikki said as she looked up and saw the orange sky in the volcano opening. "You're dad's probably worried sick."

"Oh, shit." Liv exclaimed. "I never told him where I was going! Let me just dry off to text him and-"

"I wouldn't worry about it." Rikki said. "There's no cell service here. I'll help if he is upset."

"Okay." Liv replied. "Thanks, Rikki."

"Don't mention it." Rikki said as the two dove under the water.

Liv focused on jetting off again. She hoped she could do it now, even when she wasn't in a life or death situation. As they exited the cave, Liv focused on the feeling she had before. Rikki looked as if she was waiting for Liv to figure out how she was going to fly off. Liv let the feeling fill her up again and then felt herself shot through the water. She was nervous at first but then she felt more secure as she saw another stream beside her. She could barely see Rikki through the bubbles.

Rikki smiled as Liv took off in the water. Rikki began to flap her tail too, taking off after Liv in no time. She relished in the feeling of flying through the water with another mermaid again. It had been nearly sixteen years after all.

Zane paced his main room floor as he tried calling Liv yet again. He didn't know how many times he tried to reach her, it must have been at least twenty calls and who knows how many texts at this point. It was nearing 8:30, if she had gotten detention she should have been out hours ago. Rikki also wasn't picking up, he hadn't reached out to her nearly as much. The fact Rikki wasn't answering was the only thing that kept him from calling the police. There was a chance the two had gone out for their lesson after all.

"Damn it, Liv!" He muttered as he received her voicemail yet again. He threw his phone onto his couch and ran his hands through his hair. He was about to pick it up and try again when he saw two silhouettes in his backyard, heading for his home.

"Liv!" He exclaimed as he realized she and Rikki were the two figures he saw in the sunset. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as if he hadn't seen her in days.

"Where have you been?" Zane asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Dad." Liv said with an eye roll.

"Don't roll your eyes at me." Zane said. "It's late and you didn't text me or answer my calls. Neither of you."

Rikki felt Zane's eyes land on her. It had been a while since she had seen him upset. She forgot how much it had upset her.

"I was out on the beach when I ran into Liv." Rikki said. "She asked if we could work on flying through the water and I forgot to let you know. I'm sorry."

Zane sighed as he looked between Liv and Rikki. "That was incredibly irresponsible of you, Rikki. Maybe all of this mermaid training was a bad idea-"

"Dad, no." Liv exclaimed. Zane lifted his eyes in surprise. Since when did Liv like going out with Rikki?

"I did want to work on flying through the water and guess what? I did it!" Liv exclaimed. "I could have texted you too, don't blame this on Rikki. The lessons have been helping and I… I appreciate both of you for helping me."

"You flew through the water?" Zane asked.

"I did." Liv said, turning around. "Right, Rikki?"

"Yep," Rikki replied. "She's a total pro now."

Zane smiled in response. "Well… that's great. But you have to let me know if you're going out from now on."

"Okay!" Liv exclaimed.

"Of course." Rikki said.

"Dinner's been ready for a while now." Zane told Liv. "Why don't you head inside and grab some?"

"All right." Liv said as she walked to the back door.

"So, what happened?" Zane asked Rikki. "This morning she loathed you and now she's acting like you're her best friend."

"I don't know." Rikki replied. "I guess… well, we went to the moon pool and talked about anything that wasn't mermaid. I think that helped."

Zane nodded his head, not saying anything. Why hadn't he thought of that? He felt so much pressure to make sure Liv was prepared to be a mermaid, pressure he made up completely on his own. Just because Rikki and the others had an insane kid unknowingly hunting them didn't mean Liv was going to have that.

"She is a girl too, you know." Rikki continued.

"Yeah, I know." Zane replied with a smile. "Thanks for taking care of her."

"No problem." Rikki said. "And I think when I get back, we should pull back on the frequency of lessons. She doesn't need to be a mermaid all the time."

"That's fair." Zane said. "I'll talk to Liv about it. If you want, you're more than welcome to join us for dinner."

"That's okay." Rikki said. "I've still got some packing to do before I leave."

"All right." Zane replied. "Have a good trip."

"Thanks." Rikki replied. "I'll catch you both later."

Rikki walked back to her apartment when a smile on her face. Something about making Zane happy always made her happy. She loved her job and she loved traveling but for the first time in a long time, she found herself desperately wanting to stay in Gold Coast. Maybe she was crazy but she felt she had a role in the Bennett family.

Rikki's smile faded once she arrived at her apartment. How could she have a place in the family when there already was a mother? She still didn't know Zane's marital status. She had been over to the house quite often but his wife might work a job with odd hours. Maybe they were divorced and Liv still had a good relationship with her mum. Rikki had no right to confuse the girl. She sighed as she unlocked the door to Claire and Nathan cuddling on the couch and watching television.

"Where have you been?" Claire asked. "Don't you have a big trip tomorrow?"

"Oh, you know… just here and there." Rikki replied. "And, yes I do. I should finish packing and go to sleep."

Rikki excused herself to her room where she packed her clothes for a few days. Suddenly she couldn't wait to get out of Gold Coast. She was about to go to her bathroom to collect her things when she heard Claire say her name.

"That's where you think she's been?" Nathan asked.

"I'm telling you, nothing else makes sense!" Claire exclaimed. "She's gotten back together with wine guy!"

"If only it were that simple." Rikki muttered to herself.