Chapter Nine - Jason Havelock
CHAPTER NINE
Jason Havelock
JASON LEANED BACK in his chair, his spine unfurled with a series of small and satisfying cracks as he stretched. The quiet hum of the equipment filled the lab. The glow of the computer screen illuminated the darkened space. He rubbed his eyes, briefly glancing at the equipment wondering what they were for. Jason had never seen anyone use it including Dr. Bellamy.
The look on Bellamy’s face popped into his brain like a jump scare. Something had him upset this evening. Jason yawned and checked his phone — no texts from Ethan today. His thoughts lingered on Ethan for a moment hoping he was getting rest and that his migraine had receded. Concentration was in short supply today as Jason wrestled with coding the survey responses. It was tedious work, taking it one monotonous line at a time.
A creaking sound broke the stillness, just as Jason returned his headphone to his ears. Glancing up, he was startled as a figure appeared in the doorway. The jitters from last night in the apartment had not quite subsided. Jason relaxed when he noticed Mr. Archie, the building’s janitor. Pushing a cart loaded with cleaning supplies, Mr. Archie gave a look of mild surprise.
“I’m sorry to disturb you young man,” Mr. Archie said warmly as he leaned against the cart. He was a tall, wiry, elderly black gentleman with a slow but deliberate gait. There was warmth in his demeanor that set Jason at ease. His grey-flecked hair was cropped short and neatly trimmed and his eyes were framed by a pair of simple wire-rimmed glasses. He wore a sharply starched blue uniform with an embroidered name patch.
“No, problem, Mr. Archie. I’m just finishing up for the evening,” Jason said standing up.
Mr. Archie chuckled, “You almost gave this old man a heart attack.” He patted his chest, “This ticker ain’t what it used to be. What in the world are you still doing here at this hour?”
Jason smiled sheepishly and shrugged, “Sorry, I get that a lot. I’m just finishing up some coding. Bellamy was in a mood today.”
Mr. Archie shot a look towards Bellamy’s office. The glass was dimly lit, Bellamy likely still in there pouting. “Yeah? Boss got you burnin’ the midnight oil.”
Jason packed his knapsack, shoving a notepad and his headphones inside, “I’m burnin’ something…myself…out.” He muttered.
Mr. Archie shot him a glance as he shuffled around the lab grabbing a small waste paper basket from under a research assistant’s workspace, “Don’t work too hard young man. You have a long road ahead of you.”
Jason nodded politely as he donned his winter coat. Zipping it up, he threw his knapsack over his shoulder.
“Say, young man. Where is your other half? The two of you are usually here together,” Mr. Archie said squeezing the trigger of a large spray bottle onto an empty whiteboard. He began wiping in a large circling motion.
Jason stepped towards the lab door, “Ethan, is home sick. Some kind of bad headache. I’m headed home to make him some dinner.”
Mr. Archie smiled, “That’s good. You need to take care of each other. The two of you make a fine couple. Handsome. Smart. Polite. The world ain’t ready for you two.”
He snickered as he finished wiping the board off.
Mr. Archie had long grown accustomed to Ethan and Jason as a pair, often referring to them as the ‘dynamic duo.’ With the two of them frequently putting in long hours of data analysis in the lab, Jason felt comfortable around Mr. Archie. There was a sort of quiet wisdom that he carried.
Jason turned to leave, bidding Mr. Archie goodbye.
“One more thing, young man,” Mr. Archie’s tone shifted to something more grave.“Be careful walking home alone. That young lady — they say she went missing ‘round this time.”
Jason gave a polite nod but inwardly dismissed the warning. Naomi Halston , Jason thought. Everyone knew about that poor girl, she was a graduate student in Bellamy’s lab, but Jason knew surprisingly little about her. Of course, the doctoral students had little to do with undergraduate research assistants — often leaving notes on his and Ethan’s workspace about tasks to complete. Her disappearance was certainly strange, but Jason was a broad-shoulder former lacrosse player. If someone tried anything, he knew he could handle himself.
“Thanks, Mr. Archie, I’ll be careful,” Jason replied placatingly.
“Be sure that you do, young man. Your partner-in-crime,” Mr. Archie said, his eyes narrowed slightly, “that other young man needs you now more than ever. The two of you have a long journey ahead of you.”
Jason smiled and gave a quick nod leaving the lab. His head was swimming from staring at the computer, lack of sleep, and now the janitor’s cryptic warnings. As he reached the exit of the buildings, Mr. Archie’s words ping-ponged in his head, now more than ever.
Jason stepped off the last step of the building and into the chilly night air. The campus was still, and the pathways were empty. Jason walked towards his apartment just a few minutes from the lab. He quickened his pace and his pulse beat just a bit faster than usual. Mr. Archie’s warning refused to leave his head.
Shortly, Jason was home, his body relaxed as he opened the door and walked in. The cozy one-bedroom had a glow with the one-lone lamp on. The scent of Ethan’s spicy cologne lingered faintly through the space. This grounded Jason after a strange evening. He set his bag down softly on the sofa so as to not disturb Ethan.
Peeking into their bedroom, he glimpsed Ethan curled underneath their blankets. His face was soft with sleep. Another wave of calm ebbed through Jason as he watched his boyfriend gently sleeping. The moon cast a faint glow through the bedroom window. Jason spied a prescription bottle on the nightstand, carefully he padded into the room and picked it up, turning it over in his hands.
Relief, again ebbed through him as he realized Ethan finally got some help. Just for a moment, Jason stood there watching, his chest tightened with love and worry. It didn’t seem fair. Ethan looked fragile, just as Jason had started to decrypt Ethan’s inner world.
Early in their relationship, Jason learned that Ethan had an independent streak in him. He chalked it up to Ethan’s time in the foster system. Whenever times got stressful or hard, he watched as Ethan clammed up, erecting a wall around himself. Only recently had Jason begun learning how to slowly scale those walls. Jason learned it best to let Ethan come to him for help. All though, Jason was never too far away, space was something Ethan valued.
Jason having grown up in a very close-knit family, his sister always in his business meant it took some time to get used to Ethan’s distance. Learning to interpret Ethan’s moods also took some time. Jason prided himself on his extraversion, but Ethan’s aloofness was a shift. While he was never uncaring, there was a shyness to Ethan that, if Jason was honest, was incredibly attractive. He liked trying to decode Ethan. It felt like peering into Ethan’s private little world reserved only for Jason.
Jason’s mind drifted back to the day they met. SSU freshman orientation was a sunny day in August. The campus was bustling with freshmen moving into the residence halls, signing up for clubs and Greek life. Jason’s said goodbye to his parents as they pulled away having helped him move into his dorm room. He held the door for Ethan as he tried to balance a box in his hands.
“Need some help?” Jason said, cheerfully.
Ethan eyed him from under his jet-black curls his rail-thin arms struggling to hold the box, “I think I got it. But..erm…thanks.”
Later that afternoon as students met out in the central quad, Jason sat with his new roommate and some other other freshman recently introduced. They joked and watched the other students conglomerating under the manicured trees, everyone preparing for the ‘Welcome Weekend’ barbecue. He spotted Ethan standing alone surveying the crowd with hesitation. Jason bounded towards him, waving emphatically.
Ethan recoiled slightly as Jason approached him, “Come sit with us.”
Smiling tentatively, Ethan agreed as the two of them made their way back to Jason’s friends, they were approached by a dowdy-looking graduate student with a clipboard.
“Hello, my name is Julia. I’m a graduate research assistant for Dr. Richard Bellamy, a psychology professor on campus. Would you be interested in participating in a research study about student stress? There is a $50 stipend for your time.”
Ethan and Jason watched as the graduate student pulled a flyer from the clipboard. They both accepted it. Days later they showed up to the experiment and were attached to machines that hummed and beeped and they both consented to an oral swab. After which they were both given a crisp fifty-dollar bill for their time.
Jason looked around campus for Ethan, but he was a ghost. At least until one day, Jason received a phone call from Bellamy’s lab offering him the rare opportunity to be an undergraduate research assistant. A rare opportunity — low pay, but valuable experience. With dreams of graduate school, Jason accepted the position with relish. His name on an academic publication would come in handy for his applications to elite graduate schools.
Much to Jason’s surprise, Ethan had been offered the same opportunity. Soon the two of them were paired up by Bellamy’s senior graduate assistant to work on simple data analysis tasks. After a few weeks of late nights, Jason summoned the courage to ask Ethan out. Reluctant at first, Ethan accepted and the two of them soon found themselves in each other’s orbit indefinitely.
Those early days had been thrilling. Jason and Ethan worked late together sharing ideas, hopes, and aspirations. Jason had learned that Ethan wanted to go to medical school and Jason divulged his hopes to be a psychologist like his father. Jason watched as Ethan’s shyness melted away. Soon, Jason couldn’t imagine his life without Ethan.
Taking the final bite of his sandwich, very much an unsatisfying college student dinner, Jason finished the last bit of his homework. He sighed as he glanced at the clock .
Midnight.
Grabbing his laptop and stuffing it in his bag, his gaze fell on Ethan’s laptop neatly perched on the desk beside him. A seed of worry sprouted in Jason’s stomach, he hoped Ethan wouldn’t fall far behind in his coursework.
No, he wouldn’t let that happen. Quickly he snapped open Ethan’s laptop and fabricated enough responses to their Economics homework to keep from raising too many red flags. Both of them being psychology majors, their courses were nearly identical anyway.
Satisfied, he shut the laptop and stretched with exhaustion. He padded to the bedroom, Ethan hadn’t moved a muscle from where he lay earlier. Removing his shirt and pants, he slid under the covers and beneath the blankets. He pulled Ethan close to him who stirred slightly but not waking.
Jason wrapped his arms around him, holding him firmly. The weight of Ethan pressed against his chest competed with the heaviness of the day. Mr. Archie’s warning, Bellamy’s mood, and Ethan’s migraine all cluttered his mind. He pulled Ethan just a bit closer, kissing the top of his head.
I won’t let anything happen to you. Not now. Not ever.
But he lay there, his eyes wide open in the dark. A fear gnawed at him. Everything felt connected somehow, but exhaustion kept him from connecting the dots. Even with heavy lids, sleep came slowly. Soon, though, Jason drifted off into a restless sleep.