Page 42 of Make Out With A Merman

“What the hell was that?” he growls.

“Yourattention-grabbing intervention,” I snap. “Now that I have it, let’s go. Talk. Right now.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Like hell there isn’t.”

I march closer, arms crossed. “You think you can just shut down after everything? Pretend it didn’t happen? Avoid eye contact like we’re awkward teenagers who bumped knees at prom?”

He says nothing.

His jaw flexes.

So I push harder.

“Look, I get it. Control freak. Big scary lake. Monsters under the surface inside your head, too, probably. But that night”

“That night was a mistake,” he says.

The words hit like a slap.

But I don’t back down.

“Bull. Shit.”

“It distracted me,” he snaps, stepping forward. “Ilet it.And now the riptide’s surging even when the skies are clear, and kids are seeing glowing eyes in the water. I don’t have room for mistakes right now.”

“Oh, soI’ma mistake now?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t have to.”

We’re toe to toe now. His breathing’s sharp. So is mine.

“You hide behind this ‘must protect everyone’ routine like it’s noble,” I hiss. “But it’s not. It’s a shield. A big, shiny ‘do not feel anything’ excuse.”

He glares. “And you? You joke your way through every crisis like none of it matters. Like if you just smile hard enough, nothing can touch you.”

“Maybe because Ihaveto,” I shout. “Because if I stop laughing, I’ll break in half!”

That shuts him up.

For a second.

“You don’t take anything seriously,” he says quietly. “Not this camp. Not what we’re facing.”

My throat tightens. “You think that? After everything I’ve done for these kids? Everything I’verisked?”

“I think you bury your fear so deep in sparkles and sass that you forget how to be real.”

“And you think fear’s the same as weakness.”

He doesn’t deny it.

He just looks at me.

Wounded.

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