Page 24 of Make Out With A Merman

He looks away, jaw set like he wants to say more, but won’t. “Just keep them away from the south channel.”

“No.” I fold my arms. “Not until you tell me what’s really going on.”

“Callie”

“Ryder.”

We lock eyes.

His hand twitches like he’s debating grabbing me, or maybe running.

And then

“Callie!” Jason yells from across the dock. “We got a kid too close to the drop!”

My heart flips. We both bolt.

By the time we get there, the camper, Tyson, from Cabin Five is safe. A little freaked out, a lot wet, and very confused about how he “just started floating the wrong way.”

Ryder kneels beside him, voice low and calm, checking vitals, asking questions. His whole demeanor shifts in these moments focused, fierce, a soldier in deep water.

I crouch beside them, resting a hand on Tyson’s back.

“You okay, buddy?” I ask softly.

He nods. “Yeah. But it pulled weird. Like… fast but quiet.”

Ryder and I glance at each other.

The same thing Max said.

The same wrong current.

Back at the main cabin, I corner him again.

“Ryder,talk to me.”

He shakes his head. “You don’t want to know.”

“I do.”

“It’ll change how you see the camp.”

“Good. Because something’salreadychanged, and I’m not going to stand by and pretend this is just another summer.”

He exhales hard, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not just a current. It’s a rift. Underneath us. Old magic. Something from before this lake was a lake.”

I blink.

“Oh.”

He watches me carefully, like he expects me to laugh it off. Float away.

But I don’t.

“Okay,” I say.

He narrows his eyes. “Okay?”

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