Cleo walked through her front door at about eleven-thirty Monday night exhausted both physically and mentally. She was hopeful that she could just climb up to her bedroom and lie down without any issue. Of course, Kim would throw that entire plan out the window.

"Where have you been!? Dad is on the warpath for you. You are so going to get it!" It was clear that Kim was excited to see her sister's downfall.

"Cleo," Don rounded the corner from the kitchen as though he had been waiting for her. "You decided to show up." He spoke with a tone of sarcasm that meant he was more than disappointed. "Sit down."

Cleo took a seat on the sofa keeping her gaze down toward her feet. She hated the shame she felt over not getting dishes done, coming home late, weird behavior on full moons, anything to do with her secret life. It hurt knowing that if she could just tell her dad what was going on with her, that she was a mermaid, it would fix everything that had gone wrong between them over the last year and a half. But she couldn't. They had agreed not to tell their families. They were too close to the situation. Not only that, but she now knew that technically telling her father was very illegal, punishable by death. Though who would enforce those laws now, she had no idea.

"You know we agreed on ten o'clock for school nights." Don folded his arms over his chest. "Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry Dad. I just… lost track of time."

"Cleo you can't keep doing this! It seems like you're coming home after curfew at least once a week if you come home at all. Yeah, don't think I didn't notice you were out all Saturday. Either that or you're sneaking out after curfew to go God knows where in the middle of the night! I had hoped you were done with this, with scaring me, after running away six months ago, but its only gotten worse!"

Cleo sunk her head as he made her feel increasingly guilty.

"It's Lewis isn't it? I see the way that you two look at each other. I'm not even gonna pretend you two aren't more involved. Can you at least tell me you two are being safe?"

Her head shot up at the mention of Lewis and their relationship. "No Dad it's not Lewis. It's not like that between us. We haven't… done… that…" Her face began to flush trying to convince her father he had it wrong. "And before you ask, no there isn't anyone else."

"Well if its not sex, then I have no idea what you're doing out every night, and that almost scares me more!"

Cleo looked at him for a moment before turning her eyes back to the ground, unable to keep the shame and anger from spreading over her face.

Don sighed then took a seat next to her and put his hand on her knee. "Sweetheart, I know you're growing up. I don't ask you where you are all hours of the day because I respect your privacy. You have your own life to live, and I want to help you in it. But I'm your father first. It's my job to protect you. How am I supposed to do that when I have no idea where you are?" Cleo could tell from his voice that his anger was dissipating, being replaced with what she could only guess was fear. "The nights I sit up waiting for you…" Don's voice cracked a little. "…I can't help but think that this is all my fault, that I haven't been understanding enough, that I pushed you away somehow."

From the corner of her eye Cleo managed to catch glimpse of a tear rolling down her father's cheek.

Something inside of Cleo snapped at seeing just how much she was hurting him. In that moment she decided that she wanted to tell him. Maybe not the whole truth, but perhaps enough to get him to stop blaming himself for events that were so far outside of his control.

"Dad, this isn't your fault. You haven't pushed me away. I've been trying to distance myself, but not for the reasons you think." Cleo sighed then turned to face him his eyes full of sadness and helplessness though with her last words a tinge of curiosity. "There are things about me that I have wanted to tell you for a long time. But no matter how much I want to tell you, I can't. Not because I don't trust you, but because I swore I wouldn't." She let her eyes fall away from his. "You have no idea how hard it is for me to keep secrets from the people that I love. It's easier if I keep my distance, but it never changes that desire to just let it all come out. To be free from the weight of it all."

"Then let it out, sweetheart. If it's hurting you this much, you need to let it out."

"I told you I can't! I would give anything to tell you! But I can't. I'm sorry."

"Are you sure?"

She responded with only a downcast nod, a tear of her own now silently escaping.

He remained quiet, unsure of what to say, and now had his head turned down toward the floor. She sighed before continuing, "I know this won't really help, but I promise I'm not roped up in anything dangerous or illegal. I'm not even going out at night all by myself. I honestly think that if you knew what was happening you would be proud of and happy for me."

He sighed "You promise me you're okay?"

"Yeah Dad, I'm fine. I just…" Cleo trailed off wishing she could talk even about how fearful she was over the serious turn her life had taken. People had died over this secret, and the irony was it now made her want to talk about it even more.

"What is it?" Don asked after noticing his daughter's hesitancy.

"This thing about me... It's not a bad thing. But I never asked for it to happen, You know? I feel like I've lost control over my own life because I never had any choice in the matter. I feel like I'm floating down a river in a direction that kind of scares me, but I can't really do anything to stop it. I mean, how do you deal with that?"

Don gave a small sad chuckle. "Sweetheart, You've discovered the biggest lie about life: that we have any control over it. We don't, not really. Sure, we have choices to make every day, but most of them are reactionary. All you really get to decide is how you react to the unpredictability of life."

"What do you mean?"

"You have this thing… I don't know. Maybe it was meant to happen. Maybe it was random circumstance. Either way it's okay because it's how you react to circumstances that matters. Owning your problems, and moving on despite them, or ─ even better ─ because of them is what will come to define you. No, we cannot control the direction our lives take, but we can control our character through it all. Let yourself grow, become a better person because of this."

"Wow, Dad. That actually really helps."

"Of course, Love, that's what I'm here for. I never want you to feel like you have to hold everything in. I want you to be able to talk to me. Even if you can't tell me everything, I'm always gonna be here for you. And nothing, not even a few secrets is ever gonna keep me from loving you and wanting to help."

Cleo reached out now fully crying to give her dad a hug that he reciprocated. They sat like that for a while her dad rubbing her back as the stream of pent up tears continued to flow down her cheeks.

After a moment Don pulled from the hug. "Feel better?"

"Yes, thank you."

Don sat up, ran a hand on his face and sighed. "Okay sweetheart, I trust you. I don't know why, but I do. You're almost eighteen, as much as it pains me to admit it. So let's make a deal. If you're going to be out past curfew let me know so I don't tear my hair out with worry. And no more sneaking out at night. Please just tell me if you need to leave, I won't ask questions, not too many anyway."

"Okay Dad."

"And If you do get yourself into trouble, you tell me right away, alright?"

"Of course. But believe me when I say I can take care of myself."

"I believe you, but it doesn't mean you should have to. That's what dads are here for."

She gave her dad another hug and was surprised with how good she felt getting everything off of her chest.

"That's it? She's not going to even get punished?" Kim called from the stairs where she had obviously been eavesdropping.

"Kim!"

A/N: Hello Friends!

Hope you liked the chapter. I have always loved seeing Cleo's home dynamic especially her relationship with Don.

As always, if you like what you are reading, or you have a critique or a question, feel free to leave a Review!

Until next time!

Much Love,

Odd Lady :)