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Quarantine was going fine. The three had a schedule. Hannah was liking online school a lot more than physical school. Ethan was out of a job and home with her all day long, which neither minded all that much. Lex on the other hand wasn’t working at Toy Zone but she was working part time at Target. Sometimes it was worse than Toy Zone but… they needed money. America is a Capitalist country and unfortunately that required them needing money.
Regardless, they were around each other all the time. But they didn’t mind. Around three weeks into being at home practically all the time, Ethan began to feel fake. As if nothing was real. The symptoms started small. One day he was putting dishes away with Lex.
“Okay concept, Lex. Everything is a simulation. Like… life is a simulation.” he said. Lex wanted to believe that it was a joke. But his tone only half said that.
“Ethan, where is this coming from?” Lex looked at her boyfriend concerned. She had a few glasses in her hands, just looking at him.
“I don’t know. It just seems like all of this is… fake. I don’t mean us, goddammit. I’ve fucked everything up.” Ethan stopped putting things away to lean against the counter. “It’s just that all of a sudden we are stuck inside.”
“Okay…” Lex replied. The two continued to put things away. She couldn’t help but be worried about the boy she loved. Sure, he made comments about how life was pointless on occasion but… this was new territory. They didn’t talk about it again.
Around a week later, Lex and Ethan were sitting in bed. Ethan had his arm around Lex and she was leaning against his shoulder. She was reading out loud to him. They weren’t even sure of what she was reading at this point. The two were stoned. Not to the point of not understanding what was going on. Just enough to numb the world. The world was too much as of lately. The two were calm and happy.
Out of nowhere, Ethan jumped, swearing he heard a door slam. However he pushed the thought out of his head. “Don’t worry, babe. Just got a cold shake. I’m fine.”
“Okay.” Lex replied. She was worried. She’s known him for years. This wasn’t like him. He didn’t flinch at noises that weren’t there.
Ethan wasn’t sure what was happening and even when it happened, he didn’t want to believe that it was happening. He kept hearing things that weren’t there and even then… were they? How could he be sure that they weren’t real? Stupid thought. Of course they aren’t.
Suddenly a few weeks had become a month and a half. He and Hannah were alone for the day and she was doing some school work in her room. Ethan sat on the couch watching some show. There was a cup of peppermint tea on the table in front of him. He scrolled on his phone half-hazardly. There really wasn’t much for him to do. As much as he should be looking for a job, he was scared to leave Hannah alone all day. With no one except her thoughts and Webby to talk to? Who knows what could go wrong. So he didn’t look for a job. He stayed with Hannah and they spent every day together. He was there to help her with schoolwork and she was there to keep him company and just be there for him. CRASH! Something hit the floor. Ethan got to his feet quickly to go investigate.
“Hey Banana Split you okay?” Ethan yelled out across the flat.
“Yeah E, I’m fine. Why?” the young girl replied from her room.
“Uh… no reason. I thought I- nevermind. Just go back to working on school work.” What had happened? He could’ve sworn that it was her that fell.
Was he going insane? He kept hearing things that were definitely not there. Lex would definitely not love him if she knew he was fucking crazy. He had to keep this a secret. But what if it became a concern for Hannah as well? When did everything get so blurry and what was the vague black shadow coming toward him? Suddenly, Ethan was back on the couch. Trying to know what he saw. What he heard. Nothing was right. Would it ever be again? He put the thought out of his head again.
A few days later, he and Hannah were sitting at the square dinner table. They were eating hot dogs. Everything had been fine. Ethan was still hearing things but he just didn’t pay attention to them. The two hadn’t spoken much that day. From what Ethan could gather, it was a bad day. He was about to stand up when Hannah spoke up.
“You’re not going crazy, y’know.” her voice was quiet. Almost as if she didn’t really want to say anything. The words felt like an obligation.
“What?” the tall man replied.
“Webby said that you’re hearing things and that… you’re saying bad things about yourself because of it.”
“Oh?”
“Just because the voices aren’t real doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Webby thought I should make sure you know you aren’t crazy.” the girl smiled. Her hair was out of her usual braids.
“Well, you should tell Webby thank you from me.” Ethan got up with his plate and moved around to where Hannah was sitting. He picked her plate up and kissed her forehead. “Hey Banana, want me to braid your hair?”
The girl nodded, she was turned around in her chair watching the man she had come to call an older brother bring the plates to the sink. It helped to know that Ethan had support in the young girl and her imaginary friend. Now, to tell Lex. That was something that plagued his mind with anxiety. But in the current moment they would be okay. Right?