Julie wrestled away from Miley's grip. "How could you!?" Julie shouted, her face was one of absolute betrayal.
Miley swam forward, Julie backed away. "I knew how much you wanted this, NEEDED this. You'll forgive me, in time."
"You tore me away from my family! I will NEVER forgive you for this!"
"I said the same thing when I was turned into a mermaid. I was wrong."
"You were human once?"
"I was 10 years old, on vacation just as you were. My family was about as dysfunctional as you could get. We thought getting away from the stress of work and school and everything would bring us closer, but our problems followed us here. I was short with them one day and stormed off. That's when I met a mermaid; she gave me a tail, and the ability to breathe underwater and we spent the day together, just as we did. It was the most fun I had in ages. I couldn't contain my happiness, so much that I wished she was my mother."
"MOTHER!?" Julie was horrified. "You mean she... with a...!?"
"Oh, certainly not!" Miley answered. "That is how you create a sister! Only mermaids of similar ages do such a thing. No, she made me her daughter, by feeding me her milk. Like you, I was terrified, but at the same time, that rich, creamy liquid was like ambrosia. I drank until I was satisfied, and that's when my human life ended. Like you, I resented my mother for what she did, but since I needed her to guide me, I had no choice but to be with her. It wasn't a week until I began to look fondly upon her, and my change."
"But... I love my family, they'll miss me; and I'll miss them."
"Maybe you won't have to?" Miley pointed out a figure at the shoreline, it was Derrick, calling Julie's name. "You could have both."