XI. Breakup

Cleo wasn't there in the morning.

At first, Lewis thought she'd swum off on her own to escape him, and though he wasn't going to bother her, he did go to find her. It was a large tank, and she wasn't used to it. There was no telling what might frighten or confuse her in the new territory.

He surged through most of the open water before taking more care weaving through coral and algae. There was a flash of tailfin around a bend of false rock formations, and he followed it at a distance, not wanting to embarrass her.

But the tail belonged to someone else.

The first noticeable difference was the colour. From a distance, chasing it around corners, he'd barely concerned himself with it, but now it was clear that the teal shimmer was nothing like Cleo's orange. He felt stupid for not seeing it before. He fought back a cry of horror when he drew close enough to see his new resident was a familiar face, but in merman form. He got the merman's attention and pointed up to indicate he wanted to talk.

"Nate?" He sputtered. "Is that you?"

"Oh, hey, Lewis!"

"Why are you here? Where's Cleo?"

"Must be back with the other babes. Denman put me in here to perk you up, or something. Whoa, don't look at me like that. Not in that way. I guess she thought we could have a bro talk. Level with each other, man to man or something."

From the start of his abduction, Lewis had gone through a whole host of strange things, but he was certain nothing topped the bizarre conversation he was having at this moment. "What are you talking about?"

"Look, buddy," he lay on his back, relaxed and confident, "I know it's hard to be half a fish while doing your thing," Nate missed the look of abject horror from Lewis, "but you'll figure it out. And the selection of babes, here! It's a dream come true!"

"It's the opposite of that," Lewis huffed. "Do you have any idea what those girls are going through? What Cleo is... no, never mind. You wouldn't understand no matter how I explained."

"So far, I haven't heard any complaints." The way he raised his eyebrows at the statement was unsettling.

"Because they're too traumatised!"

"Lewis, please. Not everyone's as depressing as you are. Denman's giving me my pick tomorrow. There's this girl with gorgeous blue eyes... I think she's the one, mate."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Lewis wondered what kind of therapy there was for Nate, if they ever got out. Clearly, he would need it most.

"Why? What's wrong with making the best of things? None of us want to be here, so might as well enjoy ourselves however we can. Denman makes sure the girls she brings me are a good match. It's not like they're forced. Just... coaxed a bit." He shrugged, dismissing the thought that any girl might be forced to like him.

Lewis thought Nate's reasoning was unbelievable, but even worse was the singing. "Line up, ladies! Line up ladies! I can't wait to see your file! I can't wait to meet you in the flesh!" He stopped suddenly, and Lewis thought he might be having a rare moment of thoughtfulness. "Wait. Should that last bit rhyme?"

"I can't even talk to you right now." Lewis fled to the pool, feeling strangely worse when not being distracted by Nate's twisted view on their circumstances.

Make the best of things. How could he make the best of things when Cleo was devastated? How could he pretend that there was anything okay about this, when she might never be okay again? There couldn't possibly be anything good about what had happened between them. And then he realised, if it hadn't been him, it could have been Nate. If Lewis hadn't been with her, and Nate had chosen Cleo, instead...

Maybe Nate had a valid point.

-x-

Cleo didn't know how she'd been moved while still asleep, and frankly, she didn't want to think too much about it. All she knew is that she woke up back with the girls, events of the past evening still a deplorable, muddled mess in her mind. She wished she would have said something to Lewis while she had the chance. If he thought she hated him... if that was how their last parting would forever be etched in her mind, as well as his...

Nixie didn't let her brood for long. She got her attention with an unforgiving smack of the water by her tail. Cleo only turned to face her with a hollow expression.

"Hey, sleepyhead!" Nixie grinned, "How'd it go? I heard you were with your land boy last night. Denman mentioned it. She says my turn is next. Not with him, I mean, but someone else since I got picked."

To Nixie's dismay, Cleo burst into tears. Unprepared to comfort by any human methods, Nixie pushed back against the rocks to give her some space.

"What's wrong? Was he bad to you?"

Cleo hiccoughed between sobs, "Where's Emma?"

"Not here. She's part of a new fitness programme."

She gave a cry of anguish, "With a mate?!"

"No, I don't think so. I heard something about a trainer, but we'll know when she gets back." Thoroughly confounded, Nixie put a tentative hand on Cleo's shoulder, as she'd seen Emma do for her once. "Why are you crying? Did he hurt you?"

"No, it's not that. It's not him. It's just... being forced like that..."

Nixie cocked her head and furrowed her eyebrows, "Is the land boy not attractive to you?"

"It's not that, either. I liked him a lot. I do like him, but it wasn't about us in there. I thought this would happen years from now, after a marriage, and our choice."

Nixie scrunched up her face. "Isn't a marriage your word for a bonding?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you performed the bonding ritual, in mermaid terms, you are... what you would call married. Mermaids mate for life."

Cleo sat up a little and wiped some of her tears away. "Really?"

Nixie nodded cheerfully, glad there was something she could do to help. "Mermaids don't have weddings like you land people. As long as two merfolk like each other enough to join, they do so and they're bonded."

"But how do the others know that they belong to each other?" she sniffled.

"Well, sometimes there are gifts. Pearls are popular as necklaces or rings. But really, it's not hard to see who belongs to whom. That's what announcement parties are for!"

Cleo took a long, deep breath. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Hey!" Nixie bobbed foreheads with her, in mermaid fashion, "When Emma gets back, let's have an announcement party for you!"

Author's Note:

Everyone needs a Nate or a Nixie in their lives to keep the pep-talks coming. But hurray! Lewis and Cleo are now married, according to mermaid culture! :P