Chapter Eighteen - Ethan Hernandez
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ethan Hernandez
ETHAN HESITATED AS he stepped to the door of Bellamy’s lab, his eyes traced the brass plaque . His first full day back on campus felt daunting after spending the last few days in bed. While his migraine continued at a dull ache in his head, he knew he had to keep moving. Rotting in bed was no longer an option and he would just have to live with the whispers swirling in his head.
Jason greeted him with a smile as he entered the lab, he moved from the ancient coffee pot as Ethan pulled off his backpack and coat hanging it on the coat rack adjacent to the lab’s entrance.
“Hey stranger,” Jason said with a tight-lipped smile. “Glad you made it in today, how are you holding up?”
Ethan nodded grimly, “Better.” He lied, forcing a smile. He avoided Jason’s eyes, the vision still fresh at the edges of his mind.
The two settled into their workstations, and Jason debriefed him on the progress of their data analysis. Ethan’s head hummed trying to take it all in.
“Where’s Bellamy?” he asked, as Jason turned to his computer typing away.
The keyboard clicked softly underneath his hands, “He said he had some important meeting. He won’t be in the rest of the day.”
Ethan noticed an edge to Jason’s remark. He continued working as Ethan logged onto his desktop. The air between them thickened. Jason seemed distant today, but part of Ethan understood. He hadn’t exactly been pleasant company lately.
Jason’s phone buzzed on the desk, and Ethan caught a quick glance as Jason angled the phone away.
“Everything okay?” Ethan asked, feigning casualness, typing in his password.
“Yeah, all good,” Jason said without looking up.
Ethan pressed enter on the computer’s login screen, “Your sister texting you?”
Jason reached for the mouse of the computer and scrolled down a wall of text, “Um. Yeah.” He said, noncommittally.
Ethan’s stomach twisted. The explanation was plausible, but something didn’t sit right with him. Jason’s voice was calm but clipped. He seemed to rehearse. Ethan shook his head, trying to focus. Bringing up the data, he felt his eyes glaze over.
His thoughts drifted back to the girl from his dream, her sunken eyes, her raspy voice: “Don’t trust him.”
Hot oil erupted in his stomach, he felt it creep up his throat. Ethan’s hands hovered over the keyboard. This is just in my head. My mind playing tricks on me. But even as he thought it, he couldn’t shake the growing unease.
Later, that afternoon, the two of them packed up. The tension between Ethan and Jason seemed to have intensified.
Jason pulled his coat on, zipping it up, he said, “Did you get that message from the Ledger reporter? Asako…Kato?
Ethan frowned, searching his memory. “Yeah, I got an instant message and an email. She doesn’t seem to get a clue.”
“Yeah, she’s asking about that Ferris wheel thing. Wants to know if we have anything to say about it?” Jason said slinging his bag over his shoulder.
Shrugging, Ethan grabbed his gloves from the pocket of his jacket as the two of them exited the lab and into the hallway. “What’s there to say? We were stuck. We almost died. End of story.” He said, his tone sharp.
Jason raised an eyebrow. “I was just thinking what if it’s connected?”
They exited the Henderson building, their feet crunched the ice on the sidewalk. Ethan rested his hands on his backpack straps as they walked towards the direction of their apartment. “What do you mean?”
“I just mean, the Ferris wheel, your migraines — it’s all around the same time, right?”
Ethan looked thoughtful for a second, his head twinged with pain as he passed a group of chattering students, “You think being stuck up there triggered this? That’s ridiculous.”
What was Jason playing at? How could being stuck up at the top of the Ferris wheel trigger his migraines?
As if hearing, Ethan’s thoughts, Jason responded, “I don’t know, Ethan. But maybe it’s worth considering. We could have died, or at least, that’s what it felt like.”
Ethan turned away as they kept walking, “I don’t think so. It doesn’t explain…everything else. Why would this headache persist if it was from the Ferris wheel?”
Jason nodded, sensing he was treading on sensitive territory. Ethan felt Jason eyeing him curiously. Should he tell Jason about the visions? Should he tell him about the voices he heard? They continued walking in silence, Ethan felt a distance growing between them.
The two of them trudged up the metal stairs slick with ice, making it to their front door. Neither of them had uttered another word. They entered the apartment, and Ethan was exhausted. He slumped onto the couch kicking off his snow boots. Jason hung his coat and backpack on the back of a kitchen chair.
“Hungry?” He asked, slicing the tension, but before Ethan could answer, Jason busied himself in the kitchen, his phone lighting up again as he leaned against the counter. Ethan watched him from the couch, he caught the subtle way Jason shielded the screen from view. His thumb moved quickly to lock it.
“Okay, what’s with the phone?” Ethan blurted out, unable to stop himself.
Jason turned, startled. “What?”
“You’ve been dodgy all day! You’ve hidden messages. Who are you talking to?” Ethan stood from the couch. Part of him felt ridiculous, but the pressure had been building for the last few days. He couldn’t stop himself, he was a runaway train.
Jason's face darkened. “Nobody, Ethan.” He turned away towards the stove.
Ethan advanced on him, “You’ve been acting weird since Sunday. You’re acting…secretive. It’s not like you.”
Jason turned back around, stepping forward. His voice was steady but firm, “You’ve not exactly been an open book either, Ethan. You’re not telling me anything. You’re shutting me out, and I don’t know how to help you. What am I supposed to do?”
“What am I supposed to say, Jason? I have a headache that feels like a knife is being jabbed into my eyes over and over again. That I want to claw my fucking brain out of my head. I don’t know what you want me to say!” Ethan’s voice rose. The frustration, the paranoia, the voices — all of it bubbled over. Tears stung his eyes as he choked out, “I don’t know how to explain what’s happening to me.”
Jason’s expression softened. He reached out to Ethan.
But Ethan shook his head and retreated to the bedroom, “I just need to be alone,” he murmured, closing the door behind him. Throwing himself on the bed, he wiped his eyes. Ethan knew it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t Jason’s fault. But how the hell was he supposed to say what he was feeling? It all sounded crazy.