WHEN THE SEA CALLS
Chapter 51: Secrets and Lies

Chapter 51: Secrets and Lies

Louie thought about what secrets Rhea could be hiding from him and the reasons behind it. He decided he was going to wait patiently until she felt comfortable telling him. He also made up his mind to speak to her on his birthday about who he is. Louie stared at Rhea who had released her breath again.

He should leave. He thought. He shouldn’t make Rhea uncomfortable.

Louie stared at her for the last time before leaving. He met Reece on the way.

"Have you confirmed we did not hurt her, wizard," Reece said.

Louie was surprised. How does Reece know that he is a wizard? Did Rhea tell him that? Louie shook his head. Rhea would not have told him.

He decided to ignore Reece. He won’t admit being a wizard to Reece.

"Hey! I am talking to you," Reece said almost in a yell as he flicked his fingers across Louie’s face.

Louie frowned. "Hey! Don’t flick your finger on my face like that. And don’t you think you are disturbing the peace of those sleeping?" Louie said. "That is noise pollution."

Reece frowned. "What did you say?"

Louie ignored him and found his way out to the clinic. He had seen Leslie seated on her seat but had decided not to speak to her.

He still had a lot in his head that was yet to be processed. He was also afraid that speaking to Leslie would only open up more secrets and he is not ready yet.

He doesn’t want to know any secrets before his birthday. All he wants is a peaceful birthday celebration.

He headed back to class. The dark clouds had cleared up completely; he could see a few students walking down the hallway.

They must be heading to their next classes. He thought.

Louie stared at the students as he thought about what had happened a few minutes ago.

Who would have thought that these students were frozen and could not move a while ago? Now, it felt like nothing had happened.

"You are still here?" He heard Reece’s voice.

Louie groaned. What does he want?

He ignored Reece and kept on walking. Reece hastened up his steps and soon caught up with Louie. He wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Hello, wizard boy."

"Can you stop calling me that?" Louie said.

"But that is who you are," Reece answered.

"I am not a wizard. I do not know what you are talking about." He pushed Reece’s hand away. "It’s best you avoid me. And Rhea too."

"I can avoid you. But not Rhea. Do you know who she is?"

Louie rolled his eyes. He doesn’t want to hear who Rhea is from anybody else. Rhea should be the one to tell him. He is still angry at himself for letting her find out he is a wizard through Myles. He won’t let that happen again.

Louie ignored Reece’s question and kept walking. Reece caught up with him again.

"Wizard boy. Don’t you want to know who she is? Reece asked. "She is..."

Louie stopped walking. "I do not care who she is to you. What I know is that she is my best friend and that is all that matters."

Reece was taken aback. Why is Louie not curious about who Rhea is? Does he know who she is already?

He wasn’t planning to tell Louie who Rhea was. He only wanted to know what Louie knew about Rhea so he could tell him they needed to keep that a secret.

He stared at Louie. "You must know who she is. You shut me up so quickly."

Louie stared at him but said nothing. He does not know what information Reece is trying to get from. He won’t tell him a thing.

Reece smiled. "You don’t? You look so confused right now." Reece decided to play a prank on Louie. "I will tell you who she is."

Louie ignored Reece, walking away. He wasn’t going to listen to Reece say who Rhea was.

"She is my girlfriend," Reece announced, and that made Louie stop.

What? Rhea is Reece’s girlfriend?

He turned. "What did you just say?"

"I am sure you heard me. She is..."

Louie dashed towards him and punched him hard in the face. Reece was shocked. He did not expect Louie to react that way.

"What did you do to her to make her say yes? Did you threaten her?"

Reece spit out blood from his mouth and smiled. "It’s none of your business!"

He has played a simple prank on him. Why did Louie take it so seriously?

Reece walked out of Louie who was stunned at what had happened.

Is Reece telling the truth about Rhea being his girlfriend?

He punched the wall angrily. He won’t let Reece hurt Rhea. Never!

Louie glared at the students staring at him and they walked away quickly. He left the hallway and went to the garden instead. He did not go to the class, or he would go after Reece again. He got to the garden and sat on the bench, his eyes closed.

When did it begin?

Louie groaned. He had promised himself not to believe what Reece had said but he could not stop himself from thinking about it. He had so many things to think about.

Maybe Rhea is not a mermaid like he thought. Maybe the secret she is hiding from him is her relationship with Reece and not some special secretlike he thought. Maybe Reece is the reason she was able to breathe when Celia could not.

Louie began to connect the dot. He has suspected their recent closeness though Rhea told him it was nothing and they are just neighbors.

Why would she lie to him? He wondered.

Rhea has always been truthful to him. If there is anyone who is not, that should be him, not her. He was the one who hid his wizard identity from her.

He took a deep breath. He should not doubt Rhea until he hears her side of the story.

Louie decided he wasn’t going to think about it.

He has to trust Rhea. This is a time to trust her.

"Louie?" Someone called and Louie opened his eyes.

It was Rhea. Louie sat up quickly. "Rhea? What are you doing here? Why are you not in the clinic?"

"Leslie said I could go. Why are you here?" Rhea asked.

"Taking some fresh air," Louie answered.

"Did something happen? You do not always miss class."

"Nothing happened, Rhea. I just want some time off studying."

Rhea stood up. "How about we jump over the fence and leave the school?"

Rhea had a smile on. Louie was surprised.

Why does he feel that something is not right? Rhea doesn’t like to miss class. Why is she suggesting that they miss class now?

Louie stood up. "Rhea, let’s go back to class."

Rhea shook her head. "I don’t want to."

This is not Rhea. Louie was convinced. There is something wrong here.

"You are not Rhea," he mumbled. "Who are you?"

"I am Rhea your best friend. Come on..."

Louie frowned. "Myles. Don’t play games with me."

Rhea chuckled and turned around. She became Myles.

"How did you know it was me?" Myles asked.

"Rhea doesn’t speak like you did," Louie answered. "I was also surprised she came to see me when she had tried her best to avoid me."

Myles sat beside Louie. "You haven’t spoken to her about it yet?"

Louie shook his head. "I haven’t. What are you doing here by the way?"

"I saw Reece. He was wounded. When I asked him how he got the wound in his mouth. He told me you both got into a fight over Rhea."

Louie scoffed. "Did he tell you what he did?"

"He did not. I did not wait for him to do that though. I was worried about you. Tell me. What happened?"

"He..." Louie groaned. He was getting angry again. "I do not want to talk about it. When did you find out about your new power?" Louie asked.

"Why don’t you want to talk about it?" Myles asked but Louie ignored him. "Fine. You don’t have to if you do not want to talk about it."

"I think something is going on between Rhea and Reece," Louie said.

Myles busted into laughter. "What do you mean?"

"I think they are going out."

"They are not," Myles answered.

Myles sounded so sure about it. But Reece was sure about it too.

"Reece told me himself. He would not be playing pranks on me. Is he?"

"I think he did."

Louie rolled his eyes. Reece dared to play a prank on him? But why would he do that?

"Did you find anything about the bluestone?" Myles asked.

"I asked a question first. You should answer that."

"I found that out a while ago. I think it has to do with the bluestone. Tell me what you found out."

"Leslie is a mermaid," Louie said. "You know that right?"

"I suspected," Myles answered. "Is that the only thing you find out?"

"Reece. I saw blue light coming out of his wrist. I do not know how that happened."

"Is that all?" Myles asked.

"You knew that too?"

"I saw that."

Louie sighed. "That should be all."

"Are you sure?" Myles asked.

Louie furrowed his brows. Why does he have a feeling Myles knew something but wanted him to find that out himself? That must be the reason he insisted that he go.

"Is there something you wanted me to find out?" Louie asked.

"Rhea. Isn’t anything strange about her?"

"What? You think there is something strange about her?"

Myles shrugged. "I don’t know. I do suspect something."

Louie furrowed his brows. What did Myles suspect?