I Saw You In The Water [Joshler]

Twenty three 🐚

"Ty, what do you got there?" Josh rolled over to look at Tyler

The boy quickly stuffed his hand into his pocket and smiled warmly.

"Nothing." 

Josh shrugged his shoulders and rolled on his other side. He didn't really care what Tyler had in his pocket. The brunette sighed softly and walked out of the room. Josh was laying in bed, he complained that his bum was sore so he had to lay down. Tyler blamed himself, no matter how gentle he tried to be he still ended up hurting Josh. He walked outside the house, the hot summer sun hit his skin mercilessly, Tyler quickly hurried to the shed. He opened the door and grabbed a shovel. He made sure Josh doesn't see him from outside the window. Tyler emptied his pockets into a small metal box and taped it shut. He rattled the box making sure the lid would hold and proceeded to dig a deep hole in the ground. The brunette would wipe his forehead occasionally and glance att he metal box. He was full of doubt, the boy was unsure whether he was doing the right thing or just being selfish. Deep down in his heart, he knew that it was wrong but that tiny feeling was coated with a thick layer of his version of righteousness. 

Tyler looked at the hole he had dug. It was pretty deep, the soil in that is was mixed with sand so it was really easy to dig. Tyler grabbed the box and lowered it into the hole. His fingers shook as he filled the hole up with dirt again. He smoothened the surface and raked his fingers through it to make sure the ground doesn't look weird. The boy placed a few rocks to remind him where he had buried the box. Just in case. Tyler had no intention to dig the box up ever again but something inside him told him to mark the spot so he did that. A few grey flat rocks were ina shape of an oval but still looking like they got there naturally, without altering. Tyler covered them with a small patch of grass and stood up. He placed the shovel back in the shed and watched his dirty hands and knees. 

Tyler stared in the mirror in the hallway for five minutes trying to make the most neutral facial expression ever but even under that mask of indifference he still looked guilty. Tyler bit his lip anxiously, Josh was already up. He wore one of Tyler's old loose t-shirts. Josh didn't like pants or any piece of clothing in general but Tyler convinced him to put something on since his dad is coming back home today. Tyler still didn't get a call from him, he wasn't worried. His dad tended to get carried away, he really liked fishing with his friends. Tyler imagined his dad coming back all tanned with a cooler full of exotic fish he had caught. 

"Ty?" Josh called from the bathroom

"Yes, love?" Tyler answered

"Where is my necklace?" 

Tyler slowed down his pace. He slowly opened the door and looked at Josh who was crouched next to the bath looking on the ground. 

"I don't know, where did you put it?"

"I didn't put it anywhere. " Josh looked up "You took it off me. Where is it?"

"Love, I really don't know, did you search in the bedroom?" Tyler tried to sound as innocent as possible but he knew damn well where Josh's necklace was

Josh looked at the floor, behind the toilet and shook his head. He stood up with a heavy sigh and stared Tyler in the eyes. 

"You had it last."

Tyler scoffed

"Do you think that I put it somewhere?" 

"Yes." Josh squinted his eyes "Where is it, Tyler?"

"Look, I have no idea where that damn thing is, now could you please help me clean up the house?"

"No." Josh's eyes darkened "Where is it?"

Tyler clenched his jaw, the lies burned his tongue but he kept spewing.

"Josh, for god's sake, I don't know where your necklace. I care about it the least, if you cared about your precious necklace so much you would've kept it near you. And now you're coming at me with accusations like I give a shit about your stupid shell on a string. You lost it, it's your problem, not mine, don't blame me for your own clumsiness and be grateful and help me to clean this damn house because you're going to be living in it. " Tyler was out of breath, his voice rose gradually "That's the least you can do."

"Okay..." Josh's voice trembled, his pretty eyes filled with tears "I'm s-sorry." 

Tyler's heart broke seeing Josh cry but he did nothing to comfort him. He just pushed past the crying man and walked downstairs. He didn't know what took over him. He felt jealous of the ocean. Tyler was angry that Josh still loved the ocean more than him. It made him so angry that he had the nerve to yell at Josh, the one he promised to cherish forever. 

Tyler slammed his fist against the table, his eyes flashed with rage. He threw the dirty spoons in the sink angrily. Tyler felt faint sniffling behind him. He looked behind him to see Josh slowly coming downstairs. He rubbed his reddened eye with the back of his hand. Tyler turned his face away from the man, pretended that he didn't care. Tyler created an argument out of nothing, made Josh feel like the one who's guilty and most importantly, he made Josh cry.

Tyler made a few calls to his dad. At first, he wasn't answering, now the number he was trying to reach was out of reach, his call went straight to voicemail. Tyler was still sure that his dad just lost the track of time. He used to do that often. Tyler closed all the windows, the wind was rising. The storm came from the ocean. It was sunny a few seconds ago and now the sky was completely covered with thick dark clouds. Rin started hammering down without a warning. Tyler flinched at he sound of thunder. He wasn't afraid of it that no there was something eerie about it. He stared anxiously out the window where the sea met the land. He looked at the piers hoping to see a little boat but the pier was mostly empty. Tyler knew how angry an ocean can get. 

"Dad, call me whenever you can, okay?" Tyler's voice was quite shaky "I'm worried."

It was the third voicemail he sent to his father. Tyler tried calling again

"Dad, where are you, please call me." 

They spent the whole day cleaning the house, not saying a word to each other. It was dark already, Tyler's dad wasn't home. Tyler felt so lonely in that house, a heavy weight sat on top of his chest. Josh had his eyes looking down, he avoided eye contact or physical contact with Tyler. He felt cold, Tyler didn't like it. It made him even sadder because he knew that if Josh had to choose right now, despite all of their promises, Josh would've still chosen the ocean over him. Tyler used to be afraid of the ocean now he hated it with all his heart. But Tyler knew that he had won.

Because of Tyler, Josh will never go back into the ocean. Never again.