Ari and Zac

Chapter 13: Total Devastation

Chapter 13: Total Devastation

Ari lay face down on her bed, her shoulders shaking. She couldn't deal with it. It was just too much. Last night had already ratcheted up her anxiety level so high she could barely breathe. And now this?

Now the one and only non-horrible thing in her entire life was gone.

Ari let out a muffled sob into her pillow. It wasn't fair. She was actually feeling better last night after her swim. She'd spent an hour in the water down by Pier 18, and then she'd snuck back home and fallen into a deep, restful slumber. She hadn't set her alarm, intending to sleep late, but she'd been startled back to wakefulness this morning by the sound of her bedroom door banging open.

"Ari! Wake up!"

Her father had thundered into the room, and she knew at a single glance that it was bad. Really bad. She couldn't remember the last time she saw him look quite that angry. At first, she thought he must have found out about the late-night swimming expedition, but it was even worse than that. She'd groped for her phone to text him some sort of explanation, but he launched into his tirade before she had a chance.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he'd yelled so loudly the windows rattled. "Do you have any idea how much damage you could've done?"

The scuba tank.

So much happened yesterday, Ari had nearly forgotten about the stunt she pulled in the aquarium. Her father had found out. She should've known he had all his businesses wired with nano-cameras for security. Her father had gone down to the aquarium this morning to investigate the incident and watched the damning footage of her sabotage unfold on screen.

"Your mermaid career is over, do you understand me? You're DONE."

He'd swept out of the room again before she could respond, slamming the door in his wake.  And just like that he managed to destroy her entire world.

Ari sat up in bed now, sniffling quietly. She heard her phone buzz with a new incoming text. Probably Lucy. Her sister was already at work when the whole ugly scene went down, but she probably heard what happened by now. Honestly, Ari didn't want to talk about it. She ignored her phone a moment longer, but the thought occurred to her that she might be wrong. It might not be Lucy. What if it was her dad? He'd been furious before, but maybe now he'd calmed down. Maybe he would give her one more chance.

She glanced over at the screen. Not her dad. Not Lucy, either.

Her eyes widened at the sight: another text from the boy at last night's party. Zac. She hadn't expected to hear from him again after the way she blew him off, but here he was on her phone. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

Zac: Hey mermaid, how was the swim last night?

Under any other circumstances, the sight of a message from a boy would have filled Ari with panic. She would have sat there agonizing over what it meant, and what she should reply. But not today. She honestly didn't care anymore. At this point, she only felt a numb hopelessness, singed around the edges with long-since burnt-out anger.

She sat cross-legged in her bed, resting her chin heavily against her palm as she texted back.

Ari: Don't call me that.

Zac: Why not?

Ari: Because I'm not a mermaid.

Zac: Aren't you, though?

Ari: Nope. Not even a little bit.

Zac: And yet I could swear I saw you mermaiding just yesterday in that aquarium...