Sunset couldn't arrive soon enough for Jeff. Unfortunately, it was still some hours away. He wanted to do a few things before school. However, a lot of things he was just doing on automatic. He felt hollow, like... part of him was just dead. He would put a brave face to anyone he talked to, but...
"God damn it man up!" he said in the end. "You didn't lose Belle to some car accident or something. She's still around..." Maybe they could even still be friends? But... he had wanted to control them. He just... thought....
You just didn't want to get hurt again
Yeah, that was true. Fat lot of use it did. He couldn't control such a... perfect... friend, any more then he could stop the others from taking advantage of him.
Jeff browsed the internet half heartedly in his blacked out room. He looked about for any news of a cure, or any theory on what caused the sunlight to change. None was available, with just the general idea of 'getting on with things'.
Life... just seemed pointless.
The sunlight was funny, humorous, until it affected someone he actually cared about. Belle seemed happy with the transformation though. He got a message saying that she had even lost her severe dyslexia. He felt happy for her, really. He just didn't think the sunlight would give that to her, but he was genuinely happy.
To his shame, Jeff viewed some of the self-help websites that had sprung up, on how to deal with the sudden loss he felt. He kept the tears back as he read various accounts. He knew he would never have cared before... though even he shed a tear when he read about a girl who became a harpy, and her boyfriend became a little girl. That sounded awkward as hell.
Most people said the same thing over and over. 'Things happen, move on... just move on. Treasure the memories you had, but there is nothing you can do.' People were often quick to say there should not be any sense of guilt. Whatever happened, it was not his fault. He wished he could feel comforted by such words.
"Just start fresh," he thought leaning back. Still it felt almost like betrayal... like... but no. These people had gone through similar things, was he so weak that he couldn't manage it too? It's not as if he was married and he had his whole life ahead- well until the sunlight hit him one day too.
"Once mum's gone, Dad will be busy running things, and I'll... just do... whatever." He wasn't sure what trick his mother could pull off. His father was usually extremely precise when it came to this. Still, he couldn't think of everything- Why couldn't they be a normal family? Why... did he feel like he was just a machine, fulfilling his function. Every time he branched away, he would be pulled right back in. He envied other families that seemed able to just... well... they all seemed closer.
Finally the sun was low enough that it was behind his wall, and he could go see the mermaid. He walked up to her, and got the box to her. "Hey," he said gently. "Your... stuff is here."
The mermaid looked up and took the box. "Thanks.. I saw you run. You really didn't have to do that."
"Oh. You... saw that?" Jeff wasn't sure what to say. "It's a long story. My car..."
" I was wishing you did get hit by the sunlight. But I'm glad you didn't. I'm... surprised you didn't."
Jeff crouched down as those words hit. She actually hoped... but who could blame her. "I'm.. I'm afraid of what would happen to me, if it did get me" he said carefully. More afraid then she could imagine. Now that he saw her as being once human. "What's your name?"
"Rita," she said softly.
Oh... that's quite a nice name actually. "Rita... I'm sorry. I... I don't really know..."
"Why you've been such a jerk to me?"
Jeff bit his lip. "I... I know this is probably going to be crazy to you. I just wanted to cheer you up at first. But- things got out of hand." That was how it started. He just teased her.. but she responded badly... so things became more grandiose, and then he thought he could use her for Belle's future in some way... and then she just sort of became 'his mermaid' in 'his pool'... it just happened that way. It was easier to treat her as some 'thing'.
"You can't cheer me up," said Rita furiously. "I'm a freak."
"No-" Jeff said quickly. "You're not. I... I actually think you're pretty."
"Then why not join me in the pool next sunrise?" she said furiously with a splash of her tail.
Jeff tensed at those words and wiped away the water from his face. He was eager for his own retort but relented. No, she could be as angry as she wanted to be. She had some serious problems. "Look- I got some spare money... what if I arranged a pool made at your own house?"
"That would cost tens of thousands of dollars," said Rita.
"Yeah... well... I might be able to get something cheaper. It wont be as big as this one." Even Jeff couldn't just make something like this from nowhere. A three thousand dollar pool was going to be his limit. He wasn't sure it was enough.
Rita seemed to consider it but shook her head. ".. just give the money to my family. I was the breadwinner before, now they are struggling in their rent. If you can... just give it to them."
Jeff nodded. "Consider it done. It's... the least I could do." he said softly, his eyes cast downward.
Rita stared at him some more. "What happened to you?"
Jeff slumped his shoulders. " the sunlight... took my girlfriend away. I... I don't have anyone now," he whispered with a haunted depressed tone. "Nobody..."
The mermaid looked at him with a serene, sad expression. "I'm sorry..." She was sorry it took something like that to make Jeff come to his senses too.
It was a harsh way to learn.
