Mermaids and Mysteries | H2O

Chapter XII

*Nala's POV*
I drag Tammy onto the dark shores outside Rikki's Café, where the music from the party is still blasting. Tammy was completely out of it and I had no idea why, I'm just lucky I found her before my lovely backstabbing, lying friend did. I couldn't believe Rikki would do something like this.

Things didn't add up, why couldn't she have just told me instead of making me go through this all alone? So many emotions were rushing through my head; confusion, frustration, betrayal, fear and hatred.

Rikki had set a boat on fire and her friend had attacked Tammy, perhaps they were the kind of spooky mermaids that drowned sailors in fairytales; sirens. I wanted answers and the only way I could get them was to face Rikki again, but not now.

"We need to go to Mako Island," Tammy hits her arms in the water, like a toddler.
"What?" I whisper, cautious not to attract attention to two mermaids outside a party.
"Mako Island, now," she demanded, rolling back into the water.

I grab Tammy's arm and she lets me slide her back up the beach. What was wrong with her? Has she been drugged? There was enough light from the full moon through the thick clouds to make out Tammy's face but this wasn't her.

It had to be the early hours of the morning and I was exhausted. I yell at Tammy to steam dry our tails, which she isn't too happy about. She looks as if she's about to cry, Tammy would never let me get away with ordering her around.

Reluctantly, Tammy dries us both off and we walked back to my house, leaving the party behind. If she was under the influence of any drugs or even alcohol, I'd want to make sure she's okay. She could sleep at my house, Tammy's parents would go off at her if they saw her like this; she'd be grounded for months.

As we're walking, my phone vibrates in my pocket, Ezra was calling. I feel bad for leaving him at that party but I let it go to voicemail, I couldn't explain where I'd been been without lying to him. After the call goes away, I'm surprised to see multiple texts from Rikki, asking to meet up at the café so she could explain.

Like I'd ever want to see that girl, ever again.

*Rikki's POV*
"Come on people, everybody out. Party's over," Zane shouted.

I lock the office door so Emma, Cleo, Bella and I can finally have some privacy. Bella and I do our best to tell Cleo where we'd been the past hour while Emma slept on the couch. Tammy was moonstruck, she was going to get caught by Denman, we saved her tail and that's that.

"Where are they now?" Cleo asked.
"No idea, they swam off before we got a chance to explain," Bella shrugged.
"Where would they go? We've got to find them," Cleo said, determined.
"Cleo, it's 1:00am. They would've gone home and I haven't the slightest clue where that would be," I retorted.

She sighed as Emma snored beside her. Maybe it was time we hit the sleeping bags and prepared for a long night. Three sleeping bags were kept under the couch incase of nights like these, we really should get a fourth one now that Emma's home. I was exhausted and thankful that sleep came quickly and easily.

+ + +

I was woken up by the sound of Cleo's cellphone going off. I groaned and rolled over while Cleo struggled to find the source of the ringing. It was too early for this, why hadn't she turned her phone on silent.

"Lewis, it's not even 7:00am, what's so important?" she mumbled.
"What? Lewis, speak slowly."
"You woke me up for that?"
"Fine, I-I guess you're right."

After a minute or so of listening to Cleo's "I love you" speech to Lewis, I'd almost drifted back to sleep, until she starts poking me with her pointy, heeled shoe; "Come on sleepy head, we've got to hurry."

Emma was still snoring but after a quick touch-up, Cleo, Bella and I had ran out of the café without another thought. The wharf was only a few minutes away from the café, on foot, we could make it if we ran fast enough.

Pushing through the rusty metal gates of the wharf, I spotted Lewis with his fishing line at the end of the jetty. Making sure we didn't stop to stare at Dr. Denman's boat, we ran to the end of the pier to meet Lewis. He seems happy to see me but points to a shiny boat, that Tammy and Nala are sitting in.

"Come to tell me some more lies?" Nala fires suddenly, I'm taken aback.
"We actually came to tell you what you need to know before jumping to any conclusions."
"Well, we're not interested," she shouts.
"What are you talking about?" Tammy asks Nala.
I lean in, cautious that any bystanders might hear, "Last night, your friend here was in danger of getting us all exposed by the creep in the big, white boat."
"I'm not going to believe a thing you say, let's go."
"Please, listen," Cleo cries out.

Tammy watches on with a confused look on her face, Nala obviously hadn't told her anything that happened last night. It was probably for the best though.

"Cleo, is it?" Nala fakes a smile.
"Yeah," she smile back.
"I trusted your friend with my secret after she'd made Ezra throw a drink at me. I trusted her to keep my secret because I didn't have any choice, she had a choice to tell me her secret and she didn't. Why should I listen?"

Shaking my head in disbelief, Tammy turns on the motor and guides the boat out of the wharf. She had a point but she needed to know to stay away from Denman so carelessly, I dive after her. I'm relieved to hear Cleo and Bella follow.

We caught up to the boat in no time. The others stayed below the surface while I attempted to grab onto one of the sides and pull myself above. It was tricky, but possible. Tammy was speechless, I guess Nala really hadn't told her anything at all about last night.

Before Nala had the chance to tell me about what a backstabbing liar I am, I told her about Denman; "She's on the hunt for a mermaid and she won't stop at anything, stay away from her or she'll come after us and we can join you in a circus act. Trust me, I know the lengths she'll go to to get what she wants."

I let go of the boat without fear, joining Cleo and Bella for a quick swim before I had to clean up the café with Zane.

*Tammy's POV*
"Wait, so the café manager's girlfriend was a mermaid?" I ask after Nala tells me what happened last night.
"And the café's singer and that other girl, Cleo."
"Well, isn't it good that we're not all alone?"
"They lied to me, Tammy. This whole mermaid thing is such a struggle, I wish I was normal again," she says, sadly.
"Come on, you have these super cool powers, you can swim with dolphins whenever you want and we have our secret Mako Island hide out."
"I guess," she seemed out of it, which reminded me.
"Did you say something about how I was stoned last night?" I say, changing the subject.
"Maybe not stoned, but you were definitely out of it," Nala tells me.

I think back to what Rikki was saying, she used the term "moonstruck" and said I almost got us all exposed. She chased a moving boat to make sure I knew what I'd done and how dangerous it was. Nala's stubborn as a mule though, she won't forgive Rikki any time soon.

*Cleo's POV*
Rikki had kind of scared me when she was yelling at Nala, but everything seemed to ease when we were floating above the reefs. Bella and I had both volunteered to help clean up after the party, it was the least I could do.

We walked up to the café, hoping to see Zane doing something useful for once and Emma soundly catching up on the sleep she needs. But in all the excitement to catch Nala and Tammy at the wharf, we'd rushed out without locking the door behind us.

Zane wasn't here but someone had let them self in. She sat with her back towards the door, files all over the table, blond hair, but it wasn't Emma's. She turned her head with a devilish smile, it was like something had hit me in the gut when I realized who it was.

Dr Denman.

Hey guys, thanks again for reading. Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I hope you're enjoying the story. It would mean a lot if you could vote and leave an honest comment about what you think. I hope you have a fantastic day.
- Myah xx