Forbidden Treasure - A continuation of "You're My Everything"

Chapter 8 - The Plot Thickens

"Blonde Man?!" I exclaim. "What're you doing here?" Blonde Man flashes me a malicious grin. The air is so still, you could hear a pin drop. 

"Oh, just here to soak up the sweet fruits of victory." I have no idea what he means, but it can't be good.

"Victory?" Rikki asks. "What on earth do you mean victory for?" Blonde Man laughs maniacally, 

"You don't get it, do you?" We all watch expectantly in silence as Blonde Man reaches behind his neck. 

He grabs a handful of his own skin, and jerks it forward. Our jaws drop to the floor.

Where Blonde Man had just stood, there was now a pile of discarded epidermis surrounding the feet of one proud redhead. It was none other than Charlotte Watsford. 

"Charlotte?!" we collectively exclaimed. 

"That's right," she says, now sounding like her normal weasley self. "It's me." 

We are all stunned, and are at a loss for words. I mean seriously, how wild is it that Charlotte could disguise herself so well?

"But why? How?" Bella asks. 

"It's simple, really," Charlotte explains. "At first, all I had to do was seduce Cleo, and you guys took care of the rest. I complicated things by getting with Rikki and Lewis, and I even planned on making my rounds to Emma, Bella, Ash, and Will. But as it turns out, they had already destroyed the fabric of their friendship themselves." 

I can't describe the shock, disgust, and pure anger that courses through my veins. 

"This is about our friendship?" Cleo asks, just about as confused as everyone else. 

"Well of course," Charlotte says, sneering cunningly. "I could never expose you guys as mermaids no matter how hard I tried. It's like there's some invisible force protecting you from being caught. So I figured, if I could never show the world the truth, I might as well destroy the next best thing you guys share-- friendship."

"So this was all out of spite?" I say, "Look what you've done to us! We're in shambles over this." Charlotte laughs once again.

"Precisely. It actually couldn't have gone better. You should have chosen me Lewis, I told you so. None of this would have ever happened if you had stayed with me."

Charlotte and her nonsense. She was so obsessed with me, to the point of ruining my life. What kind of logic is that? 

"How did you manage to look like a whole other person?" Emma asks, trying to put the pieces together. 

"Ah," Charlotte wags her finger in the air. "That was the best part. I contacted Dr. Denmon to orchestrate the whole thing. She engineered a biological suit from a famous Italian-American actor, fashion model, and spokesman. We knew he had to be so beautiful, nobody could resist his charm."

"I can't believe you were Fredrico!" I shouted. Everybody corrected me at once as to what his real name was. 

"Whatever," I say. I could never seem to get it right. 

"Why would Dr. Denmon waste her time on such a deluded, sadistic project?" Ash asked.

"Not being able to expose you affected Dr. Denmon as well," Charlotte explained, "She was on the brink of a scientific revolution, and you guys dodging our plans for so long ruined her career. She was so close to greatness, and you guys robbed her of it."

"My god," I say, "This is too much." I didn't think it was possible to be so upset, but here I am, my heart torn into pieces. 

This is simply too much to bear. I need to get away from here. 

I walk out of the hospital, averting my eyes from the rest of what I thought were friends for life. 

I get out of there as quick as I can, and head off to the one place I know can give me solace-- Mako Island.