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Zack strolled through the hallway toward Woody's cabin hoping for one last goodbye before heading back to Boston with his parents. He was a little surprised to find the door slightly opened, but quickly disregarded it given the circumstances.
The students and passengers were supposed to have been gone hours ago. Most were, there were very few people aboard ship. Mostly cleanup and disassembly crew. Overall, the ship seemed vacant.
Approaching the cabin, he heard the sound of crying, followed by consoling whispers of platitudes in a voice he recognized, but couldn't place.
He didn't make a habit of eavesdropping, at least not in situations like this. He'd have preferred to listen in on Moseby, Cody, or something he could use to his benefit.
This was completely different. His typical policy with crying was to avoid it, but was that Woody crying? It couldn't be, he'd never known Woody to cry.
One look through the parted door and he felt like he had entered an alternate dimension. It was Woody, and those words of comfort were coming from Addison, which was equally astounding. Zack had never considered the possibility of their being another side to Addison. She was a moter mouth! Once she started talking, it was hard to shut her up. At this moment though, she seemed, normal.
He flattened his back against the wall as a foreign feeling arose in his gut. Guilt? He knew he shouldn't be listening in on a personal conversation, it had been an accident though. He just wanted to say goodbye to a friend. It could be years before they see each other again. But now, seeing him crying like this, he was a little concerned.
"I finished packing for you," Addison whispered leaning in to kiss his cheek. Zack listened in silence, wishing he could hear better. "You can't stay on the boat."
"The captain goes down with the ship," Woody mummbled.
"You," Addison grunted trying to pull him from the bed. "Are not the captain," she finished with another grunt as she readjusted her grip on his arm and tried again. She let out a long sigh, followed by a pitiful pout. "Woody, I need ringpops. My tongue is so boring, and it needs to have delicious options, or it will just be red. Which is so boring by the way, you know what else is boring?"
"Alright, alright," Woody said getting up. He took a deep breath, and wiped away his tears. From the first bag he picked up, he removed a handful of ringpops.
Addison squealed in delight, and continued talking as she helped him to collect his other bags. Zack rolled his eyes, there was the moter mouth Addison he was used to.
He nearly joined them then, assuming whatever emotional conversation they had been having was over, but stopped when he heard Addison's voice crack.
"The other thing that would be boring is a world without you in it. You are my best friend Woody Fink. Don't ever scare me like that again." It was only at this point that Zack realized Addison was crying too. "Thank you for calling me. You can always call me, ok? Please don't... Don't hurt yourself. Suicide is..."
Suicide? Zack's head slammed against the wall forcefully, and the conversation paused. Panic poured through him as he looked around for a place to hide. He quickly slid into the unoccupied cabin next door.
Suicide? His mind raced, but the same question repeated. He sat on the floor leaning his back against the door taking deep breaths to calm himself, but to no avail. He closed his eyes a moment needing to digest what he'd just heard.
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AN: On a more personal note, I am very sick and spend a lot of time every week in the hospital. I will update my story as often as I can, but the schedule might be erratic. I'm very sorry!