Shelter In Place

The Call

Nighttime; Ethan Derose

"Ugh, gross." Willa faked a mock puke.

"What?" Damien's interest piqued, and he pushed the trolley over to where she was by the raw meats section.

Willa used her shoulder to gesture at the couple by the fish. As recently ruled by the mayor, each individual entering a public place would have to wear a facial mask to prevent the spread of the disease. So as they abided by the law, the couple had begun pressing their face masks up against each other as if they were kissing. 

"Oh gahd." Damien coughed, "Humanity is doomed."

"Like you can't not kiss for 30 minutes?" 

Damien brushed up by Willa. Even though she could not see his lips, his eyes alone gave him away. "I hope one day you experience love so captivating and overwhelming to the point that you cannot bare to not kiss your partner for more than 30 minutes. Who knows? One day that lucky girl is going to be you." He could barely contain his laughter toward the end, laughing so hard that his mask create an air suction. 

While he meant it as a joke, it made Willa think. Really think. Had she ever had that sort of love? She presumed it was of the Hollywood variety, the one where the girl had butterflies in her stomach and the boy sweeps her off her feet. She considered it for a moment. Sure, she loved Ethan, but it had not been a flurry of burning emotions that compelled her. If she recalled, she was interested in him for his intelligence and eventually they started formally dating. There was no drama and no excitement around it at all. 

Weird. 

Now, she was curious. "Have you had that type of love?" 

Damien examined the whole chicken he had picked up from the freezer before placing it into their trolley. "What type?" But before she could answer, he closed the gap between them and locked their eyes together. 

She felt the air in her lungs leave as she remained fixed in that spot.

His chest was pressed against her, "The type that makes your heart beat quick? The type that leaves you completely out of breath? The type that burns through you, and it hurts a little but feels so good. The type that leaves you waiting and wanting more?"

Willa's breath was coming in and out of her mouth so quickly that she grew embarrassed. She prayed hard that he could not feel the way her heart was pounding in her chest, trying to make a break from within her ribcage. His eyes were beautiful, just like the same day she had first seen them. 

And then, just as quickly as he had intruded into her personal space, Damien stepped away and resumed life as per normal. "What else are we missing from the recipe?" 

Willa's hand found the handle of the trolley and firmly gripped it, trying to hold on to her sanity at the same time. Had she felt this way around Ethan at any point of time in their relationship? The question made her head spin. If this was love, then what did she and Ethan have? No, she was definitely losing it. Ethan and her had a great relationship, and beyond spending time with Damien because she had no choice, Damien was just someone that helped to pass the time. 

"Helloooo, onions to Willa, onions calling Willa." 

Willa looked up to find Damien hiding his face behind a bag of purple onions. Once again, her internal self betrayed her, and she giggled. "Uh, yeah! I'd imagine we need this for our Coq Au Vin."

"Yeah, beside the coq itself." Damien emphasised the one word that could be taken in a dirty way. 

She rolled her eyes, but at the same time, could not help but feel weightless. It was an interesting sensation to feel. She had never felt like she was uptight or trapped, in fact, she was comfortable in her strict household and Harvard's rigorous curriculum. But having all this time to herself and Damien, who was always laid back and funny, made her feel almost free. Perhaps she had been tied down the entire time. 

As the two of them climbed into Willa's car, her phone began to ring. It connected to her car's bluetooth, reading "Cassie's Household". When they were in college, Cassie's mom would often call the girls and the trio would have a discussion of some sort. However, ever since the graduation, it was rare that Cassie's mom would call. Willa turned to Damien, who was just fastening himself into the seatbelt. "It's my roommate's mom."

"Go ahead!" Damien encouraged, "I don't mind." 

"Hi Helen, this is Willa!"

"Hey Willa, how is it going?"  

"Hi i'm good, thank you for checking in on me."

"Of course! I know both Ethan and Cassie are away, so it's just you in that apartment. Is there anything I can send over? Do you have everything you need?"

Damien gave Cassie a shocked expression, pointing towards himself.

Willa stuck her tongue out at him and shook her head. "No Helen, not at all. I have everything I need. How's it having Cassie home? It must be nice since she's been away for a while." 

There was a pause. Damien leaned his head against the window. The pause extended to a silence. Willa checked her phone to make sure the call had not dropped. It had not. "Helen?"

"Still here." Helen said after a while.

"Good, I thought I lost you." Willa laughed. 

"Willa, Cassie isn't home." 

"What?"

"Yes, she's still in Tennessee."

"Wait. But I talked to her a few weeks back and she said that she's gone home. The program's closed."

There was another pause. Damien leaned forward and put his hand over his mouth in a small gasp. 

"Well, it must be a misunderstanding because she's still at her program. We text every day because I get worried, and she most definitely has not been back." 

Willa's forehead prickled at Helen's words. Today was confusion after confusion. "Yeah, I must have heard her wrong." Yet, even as Willa said those words, she knew with absolute certainty that Cassie had told her the program was over and that she was already home with her family.

Why on earth would Cassie lie to her, and where exactly was she?