Heart of a Mer

Chapter One: Struggling

Just a short little warning before the story starts - Heart of a Mer is a sequel to the story Cry of the Mer which can also be found posted here and - like its predecessor - Heart of a Mer deals with a lot of hard and emotional themes and topics, including loss, PTSD, self-loathing, depression, physical and emotional abuse, and more. If these topics are upsetting or make you uncomfortable, please proceed with caution. Otherwise, buckle up and enjoy the ride. 

Katie's fin dangled over the edge of the couch. She breathed deeply through her nose and held the breath for a long moment, staring with an unblinking gaze at Lewis as he shifted the stethoscope against the violet scales rippled across her chest. He didn't speak for a moment, but his lips twitched slightly, as though counting silently in his head. The stretch of quiet felt like an eternity, but finally, he pulled the medical device away and turned to jot something down on a notepad.

The tips of her fin twitched and Katie chewed her lip, glancing away to hide her irritation. Even the slight scratch-scratch of his pen across the paper was annoying her today. She chewed absently on a fingernail, turning to stare across the room. Luna was laying on the floor a little ways away, her tail arched idly behind her. Her tongue poked out the side of her mouth as she fingered a puzzle piece. She'd really taken lately to quiet, simple activities. Katie imagined it helped absorb her thoughts, especially after a particularly bad nightmare.

A prick in her tail brought Katie to shift position, tugging the appendage away. She turned to find Lewis with tweezers still outstretched. He didn't seem to notice her annoyance and instead reached once again for one of the rippling scales. This time, she was a little more forceful about yanking away from him, her temper flaring. "Stop," she snarled, eyes narrowed to slits as she squinted at him. "Enough already."

Lewis's gaze flicked to hers. His chocolate eyes seemed infuriatingly unfazed. "It's okay, Kate." He spoke slowly as if to soothe her, and it only made her lash her tail in frustration. She didn't feel like being patronized. "I need to take a scale, okay? I know it's not the most pleasant experience possible, but you know your DNA is no longer stable. It could unravel at any moment. I need to keep an eye on it, and I need fresh samples if I'm going to look into reversing what was done to you."

A growl bubbled in her throat and her lip curled. She hissed at him through clenched teeth. "Lewis. You. Can't. Fix. It. Stop trying. I'm not a chip in the paint that can be fixed with a fresh coating. Consider the tail a glass figurine that's shattered, powdered into pieces. You can't reverse that. You can't fix it. So back off and leave me the hell alone. I'm tired of feeling like a lab rat."

A muscle feathered in Lewis's jaw and he glanced away, returning his equipment to the bag he'd brought it up in. "I'm only trying to help, Katie. I know it's been a rough two weeks, but we're all just trying our best."

Katie snorted and looked away. Her gaze caught Luna's for half a second. The younger girl's eyebrows had dipped together, a question sparkling in her gaze, but she didn't vocalize it. Instead, she pulled on her bottom lip with her teeth and set her puzzle piece down. Katie sighed. She watched Lewis out the corner of her eye as he stood and retreated from the apartment. The door pulled shut a little too forcefully behind him, revealing his frustrations.

Katie could still feel Luna's gaze burning into her. It caused the hairs on the back of her neck to prickle. "What is it, Luna?" she muttered.

"That was not very nice," Luna whispered in response. "I know you are frustrated and you did not sleep very well last night, but Lewis is not like the scientists. You taught me that. He is the only doctor I like. He only wants to help. I just think he does not know how, so he is being pushy in the one use he thinks he has."