Making a Splash

Forgiveness

Weeks had passed by since the "mysterious disappearances" of the three high school girls Veronica, Katie, and Monica. There were missing person posters all over town. Rumors spread like wildfire at school. Some thought it was in connection to Kyle's disappearance not so long ago. Others thought that Veronica had finally taken her bullying too far and that someone had made her pay the ultimate price.

Little did they know that there was at least a little truth to both of those theories. But only three girls at the school knew the full truth of the matter.

Finals had been hellish for Lily, Marie, and Emma, but not for the reason they had been expecting. It was hard to concentrate on studying after everything that had happened. It was true that they didn't have much choice in the deed they had done, but that still didn't make everything ok.

Even so, the three girls gradually moved on. They were finally free again, and on top of that summer break was here at last. That meant no school, no homework, and all the time in the world to enjoy the ocean as mermaids.

But there was still one thing missing in their lives. The fourth mermaid in their little group. Cleo.

Lily, Marie, and Emma had barely heard a word from Cleo ever since the incident with Grimlur. The only time she texted them was in response to their own texts, and it was always short and simple responses. Any time they asked if she wanted to go swimming with them, the answer was always the same. No.

Back from their latest mermaid swim, the three girls sat together at a beachside restaurant. Emma sipped some of her drink before talking. "I'm worried about Cleo."

"Same." Marie admitted. "She's been really distant ever since we became free of Grimlur."

"We didn't do anything to upset her... did we?" Lily asked. "I mean we helped get her free of that slimy monster."

"She wasn't just trying to use us as potential offerings... was she?" Emma wondered.

Lily shook her head. "No way. You saw how much she was pleading with Grimlur to let us go the first time we met him."

"You're right. I'm sorry." Emma said with a frown. "It's just... this has all been a lot to go through."

"How have you been, by the way?" Marie asked. "You still having nightmares?"

Emma rubbed her shoulder as she kept her gaze low. "Yeah. But they've been getting a lot less frequent. I only wake up screaming maybe... once a week."

"What have you told your parents?" Lily asked.

"I just said it was stress from studying for finals. I think they're buying it." Emma replied. "Not like I could tell them the real reason anyway."

Lily leaned back in her chair. "Back to Cleo though, what are we going to do? I don't want things to end like this."

"Me neither." Marie said. "But what can we do? She's barely talking to us."

"Only one thing to do." Lily said. "We have to go see her ourselves."

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Cleo stared out at the ocean stretching out before her. It was a beautiful sunny day. The water was crystal clear. There was a refreshing breeze in the air. A perfect day for a swim.

But despite that, she couldn't bring herself to go in the water.

It wasn't just today either. Ever since she had been freed of Grimlur, Cleo refused to go swimming out in the ocean. It was always calling out to her, but she couldn't bring herself to accept its invitation.

What was wrong with her? She never had any trouble going out in the ocean before when she was doing Grimlur's bidding? So why was this any different? She was free. She never had to involve herself with that insufferable cecaelia ever again. She should have been happy beyond belief. So why couldn't she just go for a relaxing swim?

Who was she kidding? She knew the reason why.

Cleo let out a sigh. "This'll probably be the first summer in a long time that I don't step one foot in the ocean."

"Cleo!"

The sudden call of her name made Cleo jump. She turned around and widened her eyes at who she saw. The three mermaids that she owed her new freedom to. "You guys?! What are you doing here?!"

"We were worried about you." Emma said. "So we took the bus here to try and find you."

"Ok but... why? I'm perfectly fine."

"Come on, Cleo. Do you really expect us to buy that?" Lily asked. "You've been distant ever since... you know what."

A few seconds of silence passed before Cleo let out a sigh. "Why do you three still want anything to do with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know full well what I mean! You know the things I've done! Six girls are now living their worst nightmare because of me! Nine if we count those three from your school! All of this is my fault!"

"Cleo, that's not true." Emma told her.

"The hell it isn't. I'm the one who made the deal with Grimlur. I'm the one who tricked innocent people just to prevent myself from going through that instead." Tears formed in Cleo's eyes. "I'm a despicable human being. I don't deserve to be free. I should be with Grimlur, letting him treat me like some plaything every night. I-"

Cleo was cut short as Marie swung her arm, slapping Cleo across the face. A stinging sensation erupted from her cheek as she held a hand against it. "Marie..."

"You listen to me very closely, Cleo." Marie told her. "Don't you EVER say something like that again. No one deserves to be that monster's plaything every night. No one. Including you."

"But I-"

"You didn't have a choice, Cleo. If Grimlur hadn't turned you into a mermaid, you would have died. If you hadn't made that deal with him, you would be suffering for the rest of your life. The one at fault for all of this is Grimlur." Marie said. "Yes, your hands aren't clean either after what you've done. None of ours are. But we did what we had to do in order to have our lives and our freedom. So don't ever regret that. Otherwise, it's just adding further insult to the girls you tricked."

Lily grabbed Cleo's hand and held it. "We can't say things will go back exactly to how they were. But we all owe it to ourselves to try and move on. To keep moving forward."

"And if you ever feel like the weight of it is too much, just call us." Emma told her. "We'll all carry it together."

"You guys... I..." Cleo couldn't hold herself back any longer as tears erupted from her eyes. She kneeled down and cried. "Ahhhh! I... I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Cleo felt her three friends kneel down with her and hug her. Their warmth comforted her from the coldness she felt from her past six months of sins. This was what she needed, even though she wasn't sure she deserved it still. True friends.

"It's alright, Cleo. We're here for you." Lily said. "Now how about we go for a swim?"

Cleo wiped her eyes and cracked her first genuine smile in weeks. "Sure. I can't think of anything I'd rather do."

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A/N: Hey readers. Hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, even if it was a bit on the short side. Next chapter will continue with the adventures of Lily and her friends. Perhaps even a new addition to the cast (hint, hint).

Until next time, readers.