When Everything Changes

Chapter 8

"Lennon. Lennon, wake up. I need to talk to you." I hear the words as if from a distance. I stir and sit up a little. Ethan is standing in front of me, shaking me awake.
"I'm up, kid. What do you want?" I yawn out. He runs a hand through his hair and sits on the edge of the bed.
"I couldn't sleep much." He says, tapping his fingers nervously on the nightstand. I sit up  to get a good look at him. The room is dark except for where the moonlight seeps through around the curtains. Casting a faint glow over his golden skin.

"Why can't you sleep?" I know part of the reason. Ethan only ever has trouble sleeping when he has something weighing on his mind. I know that much. But I can't read his mind.

"I don't really know." He says. "You haven't really talked me since the other day and I need to talk to someone."

"Then you should talk to someone. Ellie maybe? You two seem really close." I say barely above a whisper. Ethan lets out a loud huff and tugs on the ends of his hair.

"I can't just talk to anyone, Lennon. You're the only one who gets it." He runs his hands over his face. We don't say anything for awhile. I watch as he contemplates his next words. Trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. Ethan and I haven't spoken much in the last few days. Not since he ditched me to hang out with Ellie. I don't know what's wrong with the two of us. I don't know when it became so hard for us to communicate. I could have sworn we were just okay. Perfectly content in our little bubble. I guess it popped with the change in altitude.

"I don't know what you want me say, Ethan. What do you want me say?"
"I don't care what you say as long as you say something. I just want to talk to my best friend."

"You haven't seemed that interested in speaking to me lately. So why the sudden interest?" I turn to look at the digital clock on the night stand, "And why at three in the morning? I don't get it!" Ethan remains silent for a long moment. The only sound I hear are the cicadas outside the slightly opened window above my bed.

"I just needed to clear my head for a while, is all Len. But I didn't mean to make you pissed at me. Honest."

These last few weeks I know have been difficult. For Ethan and his family and for mine. And I guess I understand why he needed some space from me. If that's the reason we haven't spent much time together then I understand. I really do. He just should have said that.  But he just did that, so I guess there's no use holding on to any hostility with Ethan.
"Who said that I was pissed at you?"
"Your brothers mostly," he says with a ghost of a smile, "but no one had to say anything. I know you Lennie."

"It's fine Ethan. I promise. I'm not mad and I know I say that a lot but I really mean it."

"Good." He say. His smile breaks through the darkness of my bedroom. Whether or not I have a thing for Ethan, he still has the brightest smile I've ever seen.

"One more thing," he says, "your brothers kinda refuse to clean that room. Can I stay in here with you?"
"Why are you asking? Get in the bed."  I move over to the right side of the bed. When I sleep by myself I take the left but Ethan likes to sleep closest to the window. But soon Ethan wraps my body with his. He presses his chest into my back with his arm slung over my waist, and one of his legs rest on top of mine.

If I'm being honest I like sleeping beside Ethan. Not because I might have a tiny crush on him, but because he's comfortable and familiar and I've missed him.

                               ******

The morning comes. I wake to Ethan lying across my chest, a bit of his hair is in my mouth, for a second I think it's mine but it's way to straight. I try to push him off of me but he's basically just dead weight. After a while I tire out and just sit there with him sprawled out against me.