where the water meets the moon | e.d.

sixty

ethan

july 24

it's been four days and avery hasn't said a single direct sentence to either of us.

we've totally stopped our nightly meetings out of fear of meeting him again. i should've known he'd find out. he keeps his window open at night, and he had to have heard us. he had to.

but if anyone were to find out, i'm glad it's him. he's a loyal sailer who keeps his nose in his own business.

addy's been sick to her stomach with worry ever since he confronted us in the hallway, and that's been really hard to see and not comfort her.

kendall doesn't seem to notice, and continues on like normal. evan, on the other hand, never leaves addison's side and i see them whispering frequently. i know she didn't tell him anything, but i can't help but wonder what they're always talking about.

"hey, where's the mail ship?" i furrow my eyebrows out the window and push away my plate of scrambled eggs.

avery checks his watch, avoiding my eyes before speaking to me. "ten minutes late."

kendall's leg bounces nervously, but i don't care enough to question it. my brother told me he'd send the letter my little cousin wrote to me in his envelope, and i'm really excited to read it. i miss my family a lot nowadays.

"better be here soon," evan says sassily, breaking off parts of a granola bar and eating them slowly. "i'm expecting a package from my mom. it should've been here three weeks ago."

"why'd it take so long?" addy asks.

"the letters are cheap for priority mail, that's why we get them within a week. but packages? oh, honey. it takes forever."

she nods and goes back to skimming the magazine in front of her, totally ignoring the looks i'm trying to send her.

"hey, has anyone seen my camera recently?" i ask to the table. "i haven't seen it in a week and—"

"wait there's the mail," kendall interrupts, tugging on my arm and pointing out the small windows.

sure enough, the boat is cutting speedily through the water, making good distance every couple of seconds.

i smile just thinking about the letters i'm expecting this week and we all stand up to wait out on the deck. avery waves them in and a woman in a polo blue shirt leans over the side, beginning to hand mail over the gap.

"for..." she furrows her eyebrows down at the couple envelopes. "addison jacobs?"

"that would be me," addy says happily, taking them from her hands and beginning to sift through them.

evan gets delivered his package— which delights him to the fullest extent— avery gets one from his sister, and i get a few.

i'm not even paying close attention to everyone else as i begin to tear open grayson's envelope. but the bright, large yellow envelope in kendall's hands makes me raise my eyebrows.

"who's that from?" i ask, motioning to it.

she tucks it behind her back and smiles nervously. "just some candy that my dad sent."