Aqua Waters | ✔

Eight

"Are you sure we should be here?" I whispered, holding the birthday cake with my name plastered across the top of it. Sammy had spent the last four hours working on the cake, making sure every little detail was perfect. She elbowed me, nearly making me drop her masterpiece of a cake.

"Yes, especially because you need to apologize for your outburst this morning." I glared at her and if my look could kill, I imagined Sammy would be laying on the steps right now. We stood there in silence for the next moments, listening to the locks on the inside of the door click.

"There you guys are." The door flew open to reveal a smiling Gage who ushered us into his home. Sammy took the lead first and I trailed behind her. He took the cake out of my hands before heading off towards the kitchen. I was left standing in the doorway, I kicked off my shoes off by the massive shoe rack. My eyes took in every detail of the woodwork. I wasn't sure anyone could own enough shoes to fill this thing.

Gage peeped around the corner, catching my attention as I stood staring at the intricate details of that damn shoe rack. "Olyvya." He smiles as he leads me to the living room. Sammy sat perched on the couch, she held a tv remote in her hand, the other she dove deep into a bowl of buttery popcorn, grabbing as much as she can.

"What movies are we watching?" she questions through mouthfuls of popcorn. She dove her hand back into the bowl for a second round. I couldn't help but chuckle at my best friend's insatiable appetite. Wiping her fingers on her pants, she stood up, making her way over to the large tv stand. DVDs lined every possible empty space. She began running her fingers along the edges of the cases, searching for something of interest.

"I figured we would let the birthday girl pick." Gage took a seat on the couch, ushering for me to go pick a DVD. I looked around the room, both of their expectant eyes were laid on me. I wasn't sure what to watch or even what mood I was in.

I chewed nervously on my nails as I closed the distance between me and the movies. After searching through all the titles, I decided to pull out a drama, The Butterfly Effect. I shuffled back to the couch, handing it to Gage. He went to place it in the DVD player before heading upstairs to get everyone drinks.

"Weird movie choice, but it's alright." Sammy teased, taking yet another handful of popcorn. I slumped down onto the couch, pulling my phone out to check it. Nothing was going on Not on Instagram, not on facebook, not on twitter. They were all vacant of interest. Chucking my phone to the seat beside me, I sat there patiently waiting for Gage to return. He came back with three small classes filled with ice water.

He placed them all on the table before turning to sit on the couch. He stood there staring at my phone. I moved it quickly, placing it in my lap as he took his seat next to me. Sammy and I exchanged looks. The entire rest of the couch was empty. The seat next to Sammy was empty. Yet Gage chose to sit awkwardly close to me.

The movie began with slow music and Gage leaned forward, swiping the popcorn bowl from Sammy. She glared at him, reaching for the popcorn. He shook his head, tucking it close to his body. "Hey, you have to share!" he teased. I sat in the middle of the two playing tug of war over the bowl of popcorn. My nails became stubs as my nerves continued to work away on my body.

"Olyvya, would you like some popcorn?" Gage offered some, probably assuming I was starving with how much I was gnawing at my nails. I shook my head. I didn't feel like I could keep the popcorn down even if I tried. Gage shrugged before finally releasing the bowl, returning it to the starving redhead. Leaning forward, he grabbed his glass of water, liquid forming on the outside.

"So, how do you like this movie?" he questioned, leaning back and placing his free arm around the edge of the couch. My eyes were still drawn to the glass. I watched its every move. The water was sloshing in the container, threatening to escape the edges.

"Uh, I've never seen it before and I've been focused on other things." I tried to smile, not sure what to tell him. I had no clue what this movie was about. He raised his eyebrow, cocking his head to the side.

"What are you focusing on then? If you don't want to do this, we can do something else. It's your birthday you should get to decide." His words seemed carefully thought out but sporadic at the same time. His mouth was going a hundred miles a minute. I needed a second to take in all the words but I just couldn't focus on them. The glass in his hand lingered too close for comfort. "Oh, are you thirsty?" He leaned forward, grabbing the other glass. He tried to hand it to me, the glass was sweating more than his. I flinched, trying to push myself further into the couch to get away from the water.

"No!" I shouted much harsher than I had meant to. He fumbled quickly, both glasses rocking as he jolted in his seat. I had startled him with my sudden outburst. I had startled myself as well. I glanced at Sammy, begging her for any way out of this situation.

Jumping from the couch, I panicked. I rushed through the house searching for an escape route I could find. Gage and Sammy followed as my feet took me closer to the front door. I needed to get out of here. I needed to get away from the water he dangled over my body like a threat. Like a ticking time bomb. I frantically grabbed my shoes before rushing out the front door and onto the streets. Something told me to run to the water. The peacefulness of the ocean was calling my name, coaxing me to come closer to its forever moving surface. I did as I was told, pushing through the trees in the front yard to the hidden pathway.

My toes kissed the sand as I collapsed to my knees, tears falling slowly down my face.

"Olyvya, what are you going to do?" I cried out, watching the water wash away every imperfection the sand held. If only it could do the same to my future.