Chapter 2: The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

"Nate, you can't tell anyone." Cleo finally found her voice, as she slowly made her way around the edge of the pool. She needed to put as much distance between her and her old classmate as possible. He had already recognized her, touched her. He had called her beautiful in that same disgustingly flirtatious voice that he had always used in high school. What had he planned to do to the anonymous mermaid? What did he plan to do now that he knew who she was?

"Cleo Sertori." Nate spoke her name and caused her to shudder. She braced herself against the rocks. She watched his expression, brow furrowed as she attempted to decipher it. The pure confusion across his face almost caused a laugh to escape from her own lips.

"Cleo Sertori." He repeated, "Mermaid." It took everything in Cleo not to let the nervous laughter fill the cave. Maybe he was distracted enough that she could escape. Her eyes glanced between Nate and the exit tunnel. He could grab her again, but her tail was strong enough to push him off. She had done it once already.

Just as she pushed off the rock, Nate grabbed her hand.

"Wait." He commanded, eyes trained on her face. "How?"

"How what?" Cleo swallowed. There were so many questions he could ask. All she wanted was to leave, but she didn't pull her arm away from his.

"How long?" Nate looked down at her tail, and they slowly made their way up her body to her face. She felt more naked in that moment than she ever had before.

"Three years, almost four now." Maybe answering his questions would be a mistake, but Cleo needed to make sure he would keep the secret. The way he was looking at her terrified her. He could ruin her life. She looked at his dive suit and hoped that would be the one day he would forget his underwater camera at home, but there it was, a red light shone on her.

"Turn the camera off. Destroy the SD card." She pulled her hand away from his. Nate's own hand pressed a button on the camera, the light no longer staring Cleo in the eye.

"I can't destroy the card. This is going to be the story of a lifetime." And just like that, Cleo's worst fears were confirmed. He was going to post the video online. Everyone was going to discover that mermaids exist, and worse than that, they were going to find out that she was one of them. Once people knew she was a mermaid, it was only a matter of time before Rikki, Emma, and Bella were outed too.

"Nate, destroy the card, or you will ruin my life." Cleo asked one more time before she twitched her hand under the water. A current was created, and it moved Nate to the other side of the pool. Before he could even react, the mermaid dove underwater and swam as fast as she could back to the mainland.

It was much later than Cleo intended it to be when she arrived home. She had hoped, prayed, that her dad would still be at work, but he paced the living room floor until the door shut behind her.

"Cleo, where have you been?" He asked, anger radiating off of him. Despite the fact that she was a university student, an adult, Don Sertori could not stop acting like she was a child.

"I told you yesterday morning, I was staying with a friend on campus. We had a project due today." The woman pushed past the foyer and up the first set of stairs.

"We are not done!" Her father's voice boomed. "I have been texting and calling since last night." With that, Cleo patted her pockets and cursed under her breath.

"I forgot my phone here yesterday." She knew exactly where she had left it, as she always did when it was a full moon. Just in case, Cleo had an excuse for why she didn't answer. "I'm an adult. I'm fine. We were up all night doing the project, so I am going to bed."

Some days, Cleo thought that it might be easier to tell her Dad her secret. Maybe he would finally understand why she had acted so weird since she was sixteen. He wouldn't be so worried about her when she didn't come home on a full moon night, or maybe it would just make it worse. Keeping everything in only made her feel worse. She grabbed her phone and collapsed onto the bed.

Group Message: Mer-Mates ️

[18:13] Cleo: Nate knows.

[18:14] Bella: What?

[18:14] Bella: Cleo, I need you to explain

[18:14] Bella: IT'S 9 IN THE MORNING, CLEO. I JUST woke up.

[18:15] Cleo: I slept in the moon pool. It was raining all morning, so I stayed there. I guess when the rain cleared, he decided to go on a dive? He found the moon pool. He found me.

[18:18] Cleo: Bella, what do I do? He had a camera.

[18:18] Emma: I'm trying to sleep, can this wait?

[18:19] Emma: No, it can't. I just read the messages.

[18:19] Emma: Nate? As in Nate, Nate?

[18:20] Bella: Tone deaf, keyboard player Nate?

[18:20] Cleo: Yes. That Nate.

[18:22] Emma: You need to get that camera.

[18:23] Bella: Should I text him to get rid of it? He still likes me, I think?

[18:23] Emma: Absolutely not.

[18:23] Cleo: He only knows about me. Don't make him suspect you.

[18:25] Emma: Do you know when Lewis will be on land again?

[18:26] Cleo: It's as predictable as Rikki and Zane. I hope soon. I'm going to email them all.

[18:28] Cleo: I'm so sorry. I thought the moon pool was safe.

[18:29] Bella: So did we

[18:31] Emma: Get the camera. It will all work out, Cleo.

Cleo couldn't believe that she felt worse after the messages. She was alone in all of this. They were on the other side of the world. Dublin and Chicago were far enough away, they could come out of the mess unscathed. While that hope made her happy, it did not help the loneliness that she felt. Lewis, Rikki, and Zane would find out in days, weeks, or months. She could only pray that it would all be solved by then.

Message: Nate

[18:45] Cleo: I'll answer any of your questions, if you promise to destroy the video.

[18:47] Cleo: Please, Nate.

[18:51] Cleo: Can we at least talk about it?

No responses came through, and Cleo's chest tightened. For all she knew, he had already posted the video all over the internet. If she walked outside, reporters could be on her lawn waiting to get a picture of the elusive mermaid. She laid back on the bed, putting her phone on her chest. She hoped that he would come through for her.

A knock at her bedroom door brought her out of her thoughts. Her dad came in, and Cleo wanted to hide forever. He sat on the foot of her bed and placed a hand on her calf.

"Are you and Lewis having issues?" Don's voice sounded as uncomfortable as Cleo felt. She leaned up on her elbows, brow furrowed as she stared at him in confusion. Everyone knew that she barely heard from her boyfriend, but when she did, they were fine. They were happy, at least Lewis was. Cleo missed him dearly, but she couldn't keep him from his dreams, from good opportunities.

"No?" She questioned. She was sure her voice showed great confusion, but her father just showed discomfort.

"I'm asking because Nate is here, asking for you, and if you and Lewis aren't–" Her dad stood up and glanced from the door to her. Cleo shot up and sprinted towards the door. She was positive it did not make it look less suspicious, but at that moment she did not care. All she cared about was getting the memory card from Nate.