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WHEN I RAN into Jordan the next morning in the kitchen while I was grabbing a coffee, I knew I could expect to see either a characteristically quiet Jordan or a characteristically vulgar Jordan.
Normally, vulgar would have bothered me more. Things had gotten to the point where he could just look at me with a stare so enticing that I would forget how to breathe. Seeing him quiet usually gave me a peace of mind.
That morning, it didn't.
He strode into the kitchen and went about chugging down a glass of iced water like no one else was in the room with him. Dakota and I exchanged looks over the kitchen counter as we wearily watched him move around the kitchen without acknowledging either one of us.
"I guess someone's still in a bad mood." Dakota spoke up, trying to get her brother's attention. He remained silent and Dakota simply rolled her eyes and dropped her efforts.
I sipped on my coffee and maintained a silence of my own. After the stunt I'd pulled last night, I didn't know how to act around him anymore because despite the tough front I put up around him, Jordan made me nervous as hell.
When he turned to leave the kitchen, I dropped my eyes to my coffee mug and avoided any chance that our eyes could meet. Blood rose to my face as he swiftly brushed past me and only after he left did I realize how tightly I was gripping the handle of my mug.
"Ugh, I hate when he get's all moody like this." Dakota grumbled after Jordan had returned upstairs. "Dad's right. Jordan acts like he's ten-years-old sometimes. I mean, like, what did I ever do to get ignored by him? What did you ever do to get ignored by him? What does he think his silent treatment with the entire house is gonna accomplish?"
I bit my lip as I contemplated Dakota's words. I was definitely more deserving of getting ignored by him than Dakota gave me credit for.
"Maybe I should go check up on him." I surprised both Dakota and myself with my proposal.
"What would you tell him?" She ended up asking out of curiosity.
I shrugged. "Maybe he just needs someone to talk to about his dad. I could just listen to him or we could trade stories– I don't know."
It wasn't a good plan at all, but I'd somehow found the courage to actually go up to Jordan's room after finishing my coffee. I had two hours to kill before I had to make it down to campus for my chemistry class anyways and figured I'd take the opportunity to confront Jordan about why he was acting the way he was.
"Jordan?" I knocked on his closed door. "It's Zoë– can we talk?" There was no response for a solid thirty seconds. Just as I was about to knock again, Jordan swung the door open.
