"You're not reading."
"Hm?" Addison, a puzzled expression on her face, looked over at Lisa Kelly, her friend and neighbor. Lisa was pretty, but not beautiful and had long dark hair which fell in curls down her back. She was also seven months pregnant.
"You haven't turned a page in fifteen minutes." Lisa commented, "And you're distracted. Is everything all right?"
"I-- yeah." Addison replied.
"Are you sure?" Lisa asked, not quite believing Addison's response.
"I just can't seem to concentrate on reading." Addison dropped her book onto the grainy boardwalk. She hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the lake.
Lisa set her book aside and pulled her sunglasses over her eyes, "Why are you distracted?"
A familiar ringing made Addison jump and she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Her mouth set itself into a small pout as she examined the caller id.
"Hello, Mark." Addison greeted as she held the phone up to her ear.
Mark was at his home, in shorts and a sweaty t-shirt, sitting at his kitchen table and drinking water after a work out. He smiled when he heard Addison's voice.
"Hi." Mark replied, "What are you doing?"
"Not much of anything." Addison answered, "And you?"
"Standing on your porch." Mark was casual and smirking, "I was hoping to get my bike, but it appears no one is home. When will you or Derek be back?"
Addison closed her eyes and sighed quietly, "Not until tomorrow."
Mark stood up and placed his empty glass next to the sink and then leaned against the counter, "If I had a key to your place, then we wouldn't have a problem."
"And if you hadn't brought a woman to our home and had sex with her on our couch while pretending the brownstone was yours, you'd still have a key." Addison remarked, smugly and smiling. She glanced over at Lisa, who was listening, but pretended not to while picking at a section of splintering wood.
"Touche." Mark walked back to the kitchen chair and sat down, leaning the chair back onto two legs, "So, where are you and Derek?"
Addison shook her head, "I don't think that's any of your business."
"The two of you are my best friends." Mark pointed out, "Of course it's my business."
Addison turned her head away from Lisa and lowered her voice, "You told me that if there was something going on between me and Derek that I should talk to him about it. We needed to get away, Mark. We'll be back tomorrow."
"Well, I need my bike now."
"Well, you should have thought of that before you put it in our basement." Addison retorted.
"Yeah, I guess I should have." Mark said and Addison's eyebrows drew together in confusion at Mark's agreement.
"What are you up to, Sloan?" Addison leaned forward with interest.
"Not a thing." Mark let his chair fall into its rightful position, "But, I gotta go take a shower now, so I let you relax with your literature in the Hamptons."
"How did you-" Addison began.
"I called Derek before I called you."
Addison heard the click of Mark hanging up and she closed her phone, a small smile on her face. She looked over at Lisa, who was looking at her. Lisa pushed her sunglasses up into her hair.
"Mark, huh?" Lisa smiled, "Is he the hottie who was at your cookout last summer?"
Addison raised an eyebrow as she looked out over the lake, "That's Mark."
"I'm getting tired." Lisa put her sunglasses back down and picked up her book, "Do you want to go back?"
Addison continued to look at the lake, "I was actually thinking about taking a walk. It's about two hours until Dan and Derek get back here. I'll ride up with them."
"You shouldn't go out in the woods alone." Lisa said.
"I can handle it." Addison stretched out her legs and moved her feet back and forth, "I've got sneakers on."
Addison gave Lisa a smile. Lisa tried to stand up, but was having trouble. Addison set her phone on her book and stood up, then helped Lisa to her feet.
"Thanks." Lisa was grateful for the gesture, "There's a trail over there." She pointed to the edge of the woods, "It's nice and not too much of a climb."
"Okay." Addison nodded.
Addison escorted Lisa to the jeep. Once Lisa was seated in the driver side and buckled, Addison gave a small wave and headed towards the woods.
"Be careful!" Lisa called after.
With another wave, Addison continued on. She looked over the trail, which was just a trodden down dirt path. She walked, looking up at the too blue sky and the green of the leaves, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. It was on days like these that she felt like everything in her life could reach a state of perfection and bliss.
The woods reminded her of the camping trips she used to go on with her father when she was young. However, during one camping trip when Addison was nine, she was climbing a tree and fell, breaking her wrist. Since then, her father never went camping again, although he still continued fishing to this day. Addison was pleased that Derek shared the interest in fishing with her father because it gave them an opportunity to bond and offered Derek a father figure in his life, something that was helpful to Derek.
As Addison continued to walk, she became lost in her own thoughts. The heat of the sun made sweat begin to form on the back of her neck. She heard a branch break and stopped walking, looking quickly to her left. A squirrel ran up a tree and Addison felt like an idiot for the fear she felt that put a small fluttering in her heart.
Addison was about to take a step forward and continue on the path when she heard the sound a water lapping. She stepped off the path and walked down a slope toward the sound. After several minutes and sliding on a few patches of leaves, Addison came to a clearing.
The lake was cast out in front of Addison and it was free from boats and people. Trees lined the expanse and gave boundary to it. The sunlight hit the slow bobbing waves, making the lake sparkle. At Addison's feet were large rocks, which the water bounced into and then away.
As Addison stared off at the bobbing waves, she became lost in them, soothed by a calming feeling, while a breeze blew her hair away from her face. She longed to be in the water, but not be wet. She wanted it to overtake her. She wanted to be in it, feel it, breathe it, be it. She wanted to be free, nowhere and everywhere.
Dragging herself slowly back to reality, Addison decided to head back to the boardwalk. Taking one last sweeping look, she turned around and walked towards the path. After walking and the scanning the ground, but not finding the path, Addison picked up her pace, trying to keep panic from starting. She placed her hand to her pocket and remembered she had left her cell phone on the the boardwalk.
She stopped and looked around, not admitting to herself that she did not know where the path was. Addison was certain she would have crossed it by now. Turning slowly and debating her directions, Addison began to walk again, crossing over fallen branches and rocks. She smiled as she saw a path a few feet ahead. She looked left and then right and decided to go left, sure that either way she went, she would eventually be led out of the woods.
Addison set out on the newly found path, ignoring the fact that she was hot, tired, and thirsty. She felt confident and hopeful as she walked onward, not knowing that the path was leading her to a dead end.