where the water meets the moon | e.d.

twenty-four

ethan

may 28

"still not talking to me?" i ask as addy brushes past me in the kitchen when i'm pouring coffee into a styrofoam cup to take outside.

of course, she ignores me. she has been all week.

i think she's overreacting at this point, but evan told me to just keep talking to her until she's eventually starts to talk back. so that's what i've been doing.

when she sits down at the table, i slide in across from her. she barely glances up before rolling her eyes and grabbing a random fishing magazine that's probably nine years old.

"so last night i heard a lot of noises, and i didn't know what they were," i say conversationally, sipping my coffee. "so i went outside to the deck and tried to figure out what it was coming from..."

i can tell she's listening, but tries to make it seem like she's not. i smirk a little and continue with my story.

"after about ten minutes, i just gave up and went inside. but you'll never guess what it was," i keep talking, trying to make it seem more dramatic than what it actually was.

addison keeps her eyes on the magazine, but her eyes aren't moving back and forth. she's not reading.

"oh," i frown, pretending to be disappointed. "i thought you'd want to know. guess not?"

she looks like she's fighting to not say anything by the way her teeth sink into her bottom lip and she chews on the inside of her cheek.

"too bad," i sigh, standing up with my coffee. "it was interesting. are you sure you don't want to know?"

please. please talk.

i didn't know feeling this guilty was a thing.
i made everyone worry all for being stupid and not keeping my life jacket on.

she doesn't say anything, which obliterates any of the hope i had in my chest.

it's well known that addy's shower time is between 8:00 to 8:15. that's when she gets the bathroom. with one glance at the clock, i see that it's 7:58. she should be going in at any minute.

and you never mess with her bathroom time.

"i'm going to take a shower," i announce, hoping to get a single 'no' from her lips.

she looks up, alarmed.

i raise my eyebrows. "i mean... unless you want to tell me something different?"

she glares and looks back down at the old magazine that she can't possibly be interested in.

i sigh, turning around and walking back to my room. another failed attempt.

i don't know why i'm so set on making things right with her. a month ago it would've been amazing that she's ignoring me, but now i just feel bad.

and i miss talking to her every night.

that sounds so weird to say, but i promise i mean it in the most platonic way possible.

each night at around midnight, i sneak out onto the deck and sit out there... waiting.

and she has never come out.

i know that eventually she'll start to talk and get over it, but right now it looks like that time is nowhere near.

i finish my coffee and throw away the cup, grab a towel from my room along with my clothes, and start across the hall to the bathroom.

just as i go to open the door, a small hand grasps the handle before i can.

i look up and see addison staring blankly at me, carrying a towel and a small shower caddy.

raising my eyebrows, i take a couple steps back and let her claim the bathroom.

she shuts the door immediately which causes a small gust of wind to cross my face.

"wow, okay," i mutter and collect my bearings enough to turn back to my room and throw all my stuff down again.

i have got to do something. i cannot live peacefully with all this tension on the boat.

so i go to evan's room and knock on the door before swinging it open. he's on his bed, flipping through a home decorating catalog.

he closes it when he see me, and raises an eyebrow. "what's up?"

"she still won't talk to me," i whisper hiss, looking over my shoulder as if addy can hear us.

he rolls his eyes, and sits up. "because you're not doing it right. she's mad. she was so scared, ethan. and it was your fault. right now it seems like she's overreacting, but you didn't see how hysterical she was when you didn't come back up."

"what?" i ask, feeling a little confused. "i mean, i knew she was scared, but i thought she was just being dramatic when she said it."

evan shakes his head with wide eyes. "no, ethan. i've never seen someone like... that. it was terrifying."

my lips part as i ask, "why?"

he shrugs. "don't know. addy's nice like that. even when you've treated her like crap, she still dove in after you. and she claimed that you would've done the same for her."

would i have?

i would like to think i would have for anybody, but when i try to picture the scenario in my head i just picture myself freezing up in place.

"so... what do i do? seriously, you're her best friend. tell me and i'll do it."

he takes a deep breath, thinking deeply.

looking back up to me he answers:

"you still haven't thanked her yet."