Dad winces at the sight of the bruises around my neck. His gentle hands pushes my long hair out to inspect the damage. 

"Maybe you should go for a swim and see if it improves. I think you heal a little faster the last time you were wounded," he murmurs, eyes blanking out as he remembers the shark attack when I was younger. The wounds from the attack took a long time to fade because I was afraid of the shark's reappearance if I go back to sea.

I nod mutely. I stare at dad a little longer before I tell him what has been happening the past week.

"Val made friends with a group of humans. Among them are vampire-werewolf twins who protect the group from bullies," I tell him. 

"Twins? Bullies?" he asks in bewilderment. "You mean humans get bullied in school by other supernatural?!"

"Yeah, it doesn't happen often because there are not many humans and the twins protect them just fine. I didn't want to join Val's group because I feel different from them."

He stares intensely into my eyes. He's trying to understand it from my perspective and then gets it. He strokes my hair in comfort, yet his eyes betray what he is truly feeling. I can see the fire anger in them. Anger at who? I don't know.

"Everyone thinks you're human though, right?" he asks in concern. 

"Yes, I made sure of it," I tell him confidently.

He lets out a long sigh. It sounds defeated. "I am getting you out of that hellhole."

I don't respond. I don't even know what I want anymore. 

"Go in and take your towel. We're going for a swim," dad instructs, nodding at the front door. 

I oblige to his instructions. Between the walk to our spot, comfortable silence fill in the gap. I can tell dad is doing a lot of thinking. Dad's phone blasts out his usual The Walking Dead theme song.

"Caesar here," dad answers. He talks on the phone about work while we make our way. The moment we reach, he wave me off and he turned back towards the house so the phone signal would improve. 

I let out a contented sigh when the waves gently caress my ankles. I ignore my instincts that push me to run into the deeper water. Thirty seconds has passed and my feet are still human. 

I stare at my legs in wonder. Does this mean I can actually control my shift? In my mind, I unconsciously knew that. I mean, I was able to retain my Siren form when I was out of water during the shark incident. Dad thought it was because of the adrenaline and instincts that helped me stay in that form. 

Now I know better. 

I close my eyes and search deeper within my soul, wondering what else I could have missed. I don't have a mermaid friend to help me, so dad has only been telling me what he knows from what he learnt before and from my biological mother's experience. 

The bruise in my neck throbbed painfully. It makes me hiss in pain. 

Water.

My consciousness whisper the word repeatedly. 

Water. Water. Need. Water. 

Fine, if it's water I need. I give into my instincts and let the transformation take over me. I spot the huge rock where I sometimes perch on to sunbathe and swim over. The sun feels nice against my scales and skin.

Sing.

I furrow my eyes in confusion. What is my instincts thinking? What would singing do in this situation? I look around to make sure the coast in clear. As usual, there are no signs of unwanted company. 

Why do I need to sing?

Sing. To heal.

There is no one to hear me anyway, so no harm trying. I take in a deep breath and started singing a simple tune.

Twinkle, twinkle little star...

The songs fades away, replaced by a foreign language. I can feel the magic filling me up, especially around my neck area. I get lost in the song. The song feels so good. The magic that comes with it feels even better. 

Before I can snap myself out of it, I notice another presence. Out of panic, I dive back into the sea for fear being spotted by the unfamiliar shadow at the beach. 

"How can anyone enter the territory?" I whisper to myself, hiding behind the rock. I need to find a way to tell dad. 

I hear footsteps against the sand. The intruder is getting into the water and is swimming over to my position. 

However, the swimming movement stop and there's a scream for help.

 Coldness wash over me. That voice. What the hell is Val doing here?

I swim as fast as I can and grab her waist securely. She was barely conscious when I reach her, making me even more scared. I cannot let my best friend drown or worse, die. 

"Valerie," I say when both our heads are up in the surface. I slowly paddle us towards the rock since it is closer to us than the beach. 

She coughs out seawater and her red eyes water. 

"I don't even want to drown again," she gasps out. 

"Wise choice," I reply sarcastically, helping her settle on the rock. 

Once she feels a little better, I am prepared to pull myself out of the water to transform when she examines my Siren form. The way she looks at me make me feel shameful. It makes me feel different. 

Valerie seems to know what I'm thinking because she suddenly touches my face. 

"Don't," she starts to scold. I look at her helplessly. "I've been wondering what your other form looks. You can't blame me for staring."

I don't know what to say since she grabs hold of my hands and examining my strong sharp nails. 

"Why did you come here?" I ask her. She looks at me oddly since my voice sounds different in my Siren form. 

"I was going to go to your house, then I hear... someone singing. Like, I don't know, it makes me curious. Compelling, almost. I didn't realise how far I am until I find myself in the middle of the ocean," she tells me truthfully, looking as confused as I am. 

I feel myself pale. "Oh God, I'm so sorry, Val."

"It was you singing?" 

"I - I sang to heal my bruises, but I didn't realise..." I babble and then cry out of fear. I nearly killed my best friend because of my stupidity. What have I done? I really am a monster.

"Shut up, stupid. You're not a monster. You didn't know," Valerie scolds. 

The tears still fall. 

"Regardless, we are going to keep what happened a secret," Val says seriously. "My family - especially my dad - cannot know this happened. Are you listening to me, Mel?"

I nod silently. 

"If my dad ever found out, I am never going to see you again. Ugh, overprotective Minatours. Why couldn't I inherit their genes or be a Demigoddess? I mean like, I get the Demigoddess part is tough since my blood is diluted or the genes will only appear once I'm 17," she rants. 

I smile out of amusement. Valerie shakes her head and then stare at my face again. 

"Umm," she says nervously. "It may not be appropriate or anything, but is it okay if I ... uhhh ...."

I give her a look of confusion. 

"May I touch your tail? Or whatever you call it... uhhh... oh man, this is so awkward." Valerie blushes out of embarrassment. 

"Okay," I say, trying to fight a smile. 

Her hand slowly touches my waist, the border between my scales and skin. She gently runs her fingers down, making me shiver. If the scales weren't there, I would have gotten goosebumps. 

"Holy shit, your tail is long. Oh man, that sounds wrong," she babbles. 

I laugh out loud. 

"Only you would find whatever you said sound inappropriate," I tease. 

She rolls her eyes. 

I look back at the shore. "I should get you back. You better wash off the seawater and my Siren scent, it's pretty strong."

"Supernatural beings and their extraordinary sense of smell," Val grumbles. 

"I only have good sense of smell if I'm in this form, Val," I remind her. "If I'm human, I am as human as you too."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm ready to leave this uncomfortable rock." 

"Can you stand?"

I make sure to transport my best friend to the beach in one piece and let myself shift into my human form. Val stares in an astonishment. 

"Lucky thing you shift with clothes on," Val comments, trying to dry her own clothes. "Imagine how awkward it is to strip nude everytime you shift. Heh. I had nightmares when Vaughn appeared naked once. So bloody gross."

I laugh again. 

I lead her towards my house, hoping that we won't run into my father. It's better she clean herself up at my place rather than hers. 

"Hey, Mel," Valerie says softly.

"Hmm?"

"You're not a monster. You have a good heart, please remember that. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

There's only one Valerie in this world and I'm glad she's my best friend.