where the water meets the moon | e.d.

fifteen

addison

"i think cheeseburgers would have to be a better summer food than watermelon," evan says, dangling his fishing pole in the water.

i adjust the hat on my head that i found in the research room, and assumed it was avery's. the white bucket hat shields the sun from my eyes, and that's the only reason i'm wearing it right now.

"no way, dude," i scoff, reeling in my line a little for i apparent reason. "watermelon is the all time summer food. it's refreshing, sweet, filling, and besides it—"

"hey," a voice interrupts our conversation, and we turn to the door where we see ethan.

he's scanning the ground of the deck and asks, "have any of you guys seen my hat? it's white and i left it on the research table..."

i widen my eyes as i realize that i may have just made the biggest mistake ever. if ethan can get mad at me for putting an uneven amount of ketchup on his plate at dinner, he'll probably throw me overboard for taking his hat.

before i can react, his gaze travels up to us, and lands on my head.

"i'm sorry, i thought it was avery's—" i start, already starting to pull it off.

"no, it's fine," he says in a surprisingly calm voice, raising a hand to signal me to stop. "i don't need it right now."

even evan looks at him like he's lost his mind.

my hands stop at the brim of the hat, and i raise my eyebrows. "you're gonna let me... borrow it?"

"sure," he shrugs. "just put it back when you're done."

i step forward, growing a little concerned at his behavior. "are you feeling okay?" i whisper.

"i'm fine, addison. it's just a hat."

"but... it's your hat."

"i know," he says like he's having trouble understanding me.

"so you're not gonna like— threaten to murder my family dog for taking it?"

"addy, leave it," evan whispers through clenched teeth.

ethan simply rolls his eyes and goes back inside.

i stand there, shell-shocked, at the interaction that just happened.

was ethan being... nice?

'ethan' and 'nice' are oxymorons.

even when i give him advice at night, he always acts like he hates me the next morning. but i still go back each night because i know he needs someone to listen to him and tell him what he should do.

"what the hell was that?" evan whispers, eyes wide and staring at the door ethan just left from.

i gulp. "i don't know. maybe he's like... concussed?"

his face breaks out into a smile as he turns to me. "no, addy. i think that's just progress. maybe it's not as bad as you think, your guys' situation, i mean"