Damian came down the last step with his hand dragging down the handrail. “Where is everybody?” he asked, after he scanned the empty living room. The interior was set in a warm glow, a set of three lamps had finally allowed me to see his living space. I chose not to answer him and curled up on his couch more, pulling a sandy beige pillow over my chest like it was a stuffed animal. “Your friends,” Damian clarified, only seconds after he stepped into the living room.
“The front,” I answered him casually, while I let my eyes scan his appearance. “You changed.”
“I was cold.” He dragged his hand down his woolen jumper, a dark midnight blue shade that went well with his tanned skin. “Fall is nearly over.”
I gave him a look then, a silent question as to why he was allowing so much space between us. It was obvious that we were attracted to one another, the tension at the dinner table was enough for my friends to put two and two together. There was a reason Ben and his boyfriend were out smoking their cigarettes, and it was only because I practically begged Ashley to leave that she was forced to stand outside in the cold with them.
Damian foolishly looked around the room as if he expected one of my friends to show up. It was clear he was putting up a guard. “Are they coming back?” he questioned with a strange tenor to his voice.
“They are out smoking.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t smoke,” I clarified, just in case he could not reach that natural conclusion. “You can sit, you know.”
He rubbed his hands together nervously, and then strode towards me with determination. He took a seat on his couch, ensuring there was enough space before he settled his hands over his lap. An awkward silence fell over us. I didn’t want to force a conversation from him, so I decided to wait.
I will wait until he says something, I decided, looking to the wall furthest from me where a lamp illuminated a full bookcase. There were no personal belongings though, as a matter of fact the room felt sparse the longer I examined it. I began to wonder if this was a temporary home for Damian, or if it was a mere reflection of his strange personality.
“The salmon was good,” Damian piped up out of the blue. “Did you like it?”
“I did.”
He fidgeted nervously on the couch, letting his finger rub over his silver ring. “It’s getting late,” he surmised, a sure sign that he wanted me to leave. “Nearly dark.”
“You scared of the dark, Damian?” He never answered me, only fidgeting in his seat more. “Is something the matter?”
“Not feeling good,” he muttered. “Probably turn in early for the night.”
I let go of the pillow, feeling like a fool for entertaining that he felt some affection for me. There was a spark, I knew, but maybe it was nothing more than that. It was just my imagination.
“Are you cold?” he suddenly asked, once he watched me toss the pillow to the end of the couch.
“No.”
“I could get you some blankets,” he offered. “Your friends must be cold out there too. There was frost this morning, did you see?”
“No.”
He lowered his head, while his lips twitched awkwardly.
A fool, I decided, and then rose to my feet.
“Sara!” he called out, realizing I was ready to go. “I’m not acting myself,” he explained. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“I just don’t feel good,” he muttered with a hand over his stomach. “Like I’m coming down with something.”
“It’s not the food,” I assured him, since we had the exact same meal.
“I really should go to bed.” He rose to his feet slowly, staggering forward as if his entire body was in pain. “Maybe some Advil,” he deliberated aloud. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“Let me help you.” I positioned my body next to him, grabbing a hold of his arm to string it over my shoulders. He fell into my body naturally, letting his hand cover a portion of my arm as he kept a strong hold over me. He staggered forward, making me wonder what kind of sickness could have suddenly come over him. I could hear his teeth chattering, like he had the chills, and his face was becoming paler by the minute. “You have the flu maybe?”
“Huh?” he uttered, while his eyes became hazy.
“Flu.”
“Flu,” he mouthed out, as though he couldn’t concentrate on the word.
“Damian, you are unwell. You want me to take you somewhere? Do they have a health clinic around here?”
“Nothing for miles,” he told me. “Closest town is …” He paused once he had to raise up a leg to go over the first step. “… miles away.” He gripped onto the handrail and let out a deep shudder. “I can’t go upstairs.”
“Nonsense.”
“No,” he whimpered. “Let me stay on the couch.”
“You sure?”
“Yes,” He replied quickly with a short nod of his head. “It’s …” He stopped himself and simply shut his eyes with pain. “I think you should just leave me.”
“But it’s not contagious,” I assured him. “Besides, I can’t leave you this way. Let me get you something to drink. You have herbal tea?”
“Mint,” he wheezed, and then placed a foot down as a firm warning he had no intention to climb the stairs this evening. “I’m cold.”
“It is a cold night,” I surmised, and then rubbed my hand down his lower spine to cheer him up. “I’ll take you to the couch.”
“Thanks.”
He let me rotate him around, and then we slowly made our way to the couch where he could rest. I left him to boil the kettle for some tea, and then went to the front door to tell my friends they could come back inside.
“Think something died,” Ben piped up, the second he walked through the door. “Vultures everywhere.”
“Most likely.”
“So,” he grabbed a hold of my hand and pulled me into him, “the two of you made out yet?”
“Damian is sick.”
“He chickened out?”
“No, he is really sick. I think he needs a doctor.”
Ben let go of my hand and strode down the hallway, leaving me to wait in front of the doorway for his sister and Taylor. Taylor stepped through first, his clothing reeking the most of cigarette smoke out of the three of them. He unexpectedly hugged me, kissing the side of my cheek playfully before he let me go. “You had fun, Sara?”
“No.”
He quirked an eyebrow at me playfully and then shook his head in disagreement. “Lies.”
“Nothing happened.”
“Out there for ten minutes and nothing happened?”
“He’s sick,” I explained, and then flickered my gaze to the moving shadow that Ashley had created as the last of the sunlight fell over a portion of her small, roundish figure. She stepped through the doorway with a lethargic look to her, offering me a lazy smile that told me she was still in a good mood.
“He’s sick,” I told her, before she could even ask me the dreaded question. “Nothing happened.”
“The way the two of you were making eyes at each other over dinner, and then I hear this?”
“I don’t know.” My shoulders raised up with a careless shrug. “I really don’t know what happened.”
“How bad is he?”
“Come see,” I suggested, and then led the way into the living room where Ben was already lingering. He covered his mouth with his hand as he took note how much Damian’s teeth were chattering in front of us. “Ben!” I called out. “The kettle probably boiled by now. Go in the kitchen and see if you can find some mint tea. Taylor, keep an eye on him.” I took a hold of Ashley’s sleeve and added, “you are coming with me.”
We crept up the staircase, entering the small hallway that was completely dark. I felt my way through the darkness, walking down the short hallway till I reached a single door. The knob opened easily for me and I found the light switch to turn it on.
His bedroom was just as scarce as downstairs, though I found it odd that his window was wide open. I walked forward to shut it, while Ashley let her hand drag over a smoky grey blanket that had a busy pattern over it.
“His room is so empty,” I observed, noticing there was only a bed and an open closet in line of my sight. “Talk about being minimalistic.”
“And you like this guy,” Ashley teased. “I guess you can say this room lacks a feminine touch.”
“I can’t believe nothing happened downstairs,” I moaned. “I mean, did you see the way he was looking at me earlier?”
“Yes.”
“Ugh,” I grunted. “We finally have alone time and then he suddenly gets sick.” I lifted the blanket Ashley was inspecting earlier and threw his pillow atop it. “His blanket is warm.”
“It looks hand sewn,” she noted. “Where do you think he got it?”
“Not sure.”
I scanned the room one last time, and suggested Ashley pick up the second pillow just in case. She shut off the lights and then we went down the short staircase to find the two men standing in front of Damian’s couch. Damian was trembling with his hands over the tops of his arms, shutting his eyes closed to not reveal the pain he was currently experiencing.
I was quick to throw the blanket over him, lifting his head to lay the fluffy pillow behind his head. The other pillow I received from Ashley, allowing me to lean it against the arm of the couch in case he needed it. The palm of my hand laid over his forehead, feeling his brow was cold and somewhat dewy.
“Sara, what do you think it is?” Ashley asked behind me.
“A chill?” I suggested. “A flu?”
Taylor joined the conversation with, “a bit too soon for that.”
“You think it’s an allergic reaction?” I piped up.
“What kind of reaction is that?” Taylor sarcastically asked. “Sara, did you do anything to him while we were gone?”
Damian groaned aloud with clenched teeth, doing his best to bury the front of his face into the pillow.
“Ben!” I called out. “The tea?”
“He didn’t want it.”
“Only a few minutes ago he said that he wanted it,” I exclaimed. “Are you sure?”
“He won’t open his mouth,” Ben answered back with a raise of his hands. “I’m helpless.”
Taylor knelt on the floor beside me. “Hey, it’s getting dark,” he began. “We should go.”
“I’m not scared of the dark, unlike him.” The man I was implying had turned his entire face inside of the pillow, shielding himself from us. “I’m not leaving him this way.”
“But he told us—”
“I know what he said,” I argued back in a firm tone of voice.
Ashley came to the rescue, pulling Taylor aside to give me some space. I heard her arguing with Taylor in a hushed voice, and after a minute she returned to my side to whisper into my ear, “I’m taking him to the cabin. I’ll come back for you.”
“Okay.”
“My brother is going with him.”
“Thanks.”
“Be back in fifteen,” she assured me, and then rose off the floor to shoo the men out of the room. A few quiet minutes passed by and all I could hear was Damian’s teeth chattering as he trembled under the blanket.
“Damian, I am right here,” I assured him, and smoothed my hand over the whole of his back. “You’ll be okay.”
He was silent next to me, only the frequent chattering sound filled up the room. I let my fingers smooth over the blanket, taking in the intricate design of black and white. I let the tips of my fingers smooth over the bright red thread that captured my attention. My hand smoothed upwards, gliding over his back until I let my fingers slip through his dark curls. They were soft to the touch, sliding through my fingers with ease as I went through the very tips. My fingers dipped downwards to rest over his scalp, massaging his head until his trembling subdued.
A low groan escaped his mouth, while his fingers tensed over the pillow. “Sara,” He breathed out huskily. He turned ever so slowly, and then looked at me in a strangely compelling way. His green eyes looked darker than ever before; lips tightly pursed as he tried to hold something back. I let my hand cup the side of his warm cheek, while waiting for him to open up.
“Damian,” I began. “Tell me what’s bothering you. I can help you.”
A portion of his face flinched, and then he closed his left eye with pain. He tilted his head downwards and then away from me, before he brought up a hand to cover his mouth.
“Damian?”
The trembling of his body gradually stopped, and then he used his arms to raise himself out of the couch. I knew there was something wrong about him; I could sense it, but I couldn’t pinpoint my finger on it.
“Do you have a sickness?” I inquired. “A disease that you don’t want to tell me about?”
“Something like that,” he lied in a hushed tone of voice. “It will come back though.” He finally let his eyes rise upwards to rest it over mine. “You should go.”
“But will you be alright?”
He lifted a hand to lay it over my shoulder that was closest to him. “I’ll be fine,” he lied for the second time this evening, and offered me a tight-lipped smile that seemed so false I wouldn’t dare believe him. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Taking care of me.”
“Well, I like you,” I confessed with uneasiness. “And it was hard seeing you that way. You were shaking so violently.”
“I know.”
“Is it a condition?”
“Sort of.”
“You said it will come back?” He nodded his head gravely, and then looked over his shoulder to see his drapes were closed. He lifted a small portion, taking in the last of the sunlight that reflected off the leaves of the trees. “Why does it come back?”
“I don’t know,” he grievously replied. “It is getting late, you should leave.”
“Ashley is coming to pick me up.”
“Your friends … what will they think of me?”
“You were sick, everyone could see that.” I rubbed a hand over his upper back. “You shouldn’t live alone if you have a condition like that,” Damian pouted at my words, “it’s not safe.”
“It wouldn’t be safe for someone to live with me,” he noted with a lowered eyebrow. “Believe me, it is better this way.”
“You caused no harm to anyone,” I pointed out. “It would be better that someone stays with you. Damian? I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but … I could stay with you, if you’d like.” He turned his head away from me, dismissing the thought instantly. “I never meant sleeping with you,” I clarified. “I only thought someone should stay with you.”
“I’ll be fine,” he uttered from the back of his throat.
“You didn’t look fine.”
He let the right side of his mouth curl upwards with amusement, and then used the palm of his hands to rise from the couch. He looked strong suddenly, an unusual characteristic from only moments before. He stretched out his arms tiredly and then strolled across the living room floor with his hands over the bottom of his woolen sweater. He pried it off his body with ease, tossing it to the ground before he continued his wandering jaunt that led him out of the living room.
I followed him, unnerved by his sudden behaviour, wondering how someone could come down with a sudden chill to shedding off their clothes. Damian walked to the front door in a thin black t-shirt. I heard a deep sigh escape him and sensed that something inside of him had come alive.
Something isn’t right.
“Sara, come,” he instructed in a pleasant sort of voice. A hand outstretched towards me, and he waited for me to ardently grasp it. The last of the sunlight made his tanned skin glow in a sun-burnt orange shade, his chestnut brown hair illuminated in the flavescent light to cast it in a strange auburn glow. He gazed into my eyes fervently as I stepped beside him, and then moved to position himself in front of me.
Damian let my hand go to rub the tips of his fingers up the length of my arm, going upwards as he felt the soft material of my sweater. His gaze wavered away from my pale blue eyes and onto the brightness of my loose curls of ginger hair. Damian focused on my lips next, leaving his focus there for a long time. I could sense what he wanted then, and only waited for him to pursue it.
“I feel … different,” he uttered from the back of his throat.
“I can tell,” I mouthed out slowly, knowing he was watching my lips move attentively.
“Did you know?” he said rather seductively. “It’s supposed to be a full moon tonight.”
“On Halloween weekend, how appropriate,” I teased.
He leaned forward with his gaze hardened over mine. Damian was timid before, maybe even nervous, but now I could sense his confidence rising. A heavy hand was laid over my cheek, a harsh stroking of his thumb over my skin as he continued to gaze into my eyes. “I want to kiss you,” he exclaimed confidently. “Will you let me?”
He saw the answer in my eyes, and instantly leaned forward to press his lips hard over mine. I took it gratefully, liking how fierce it was, as if I was seeing a side to him that was hidden until now. His left hand hooked itself around me, laying over my lower spine to push my body into him more. Damian’s lips were greedy, kissing me with energy that felt almost like a dream. His right hand smoothed over my cheek to lay itself against the back of my head, holding me in, so he could kiss me even more. I rubbed my hands wishfully over his upper back, hoping he wouldn’t stop anytime soon.
The faint sound of a car engine rushed through the air, carried by the cold autumn wind, an unwelcome sign that my friend was about to return. Damian parted his lips from mine but maintained a tight rein around my lower back, offering me a look to show he had no intention of letting me go. He smiled at me with pride, letting unknown lines crease over his cheeks. It was the first time I saw him truly smile, though I felt there was something sinister about it as well.
“Will I see you tomorrow?” he asked in a clear tone of voice.
“Yes.”
“After your trail walk,” he suggested, “come over.”
“Okay.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, looking like he wanted to kiss me again. “You ever feel like you get the most energy at night?” he suddenly exclaimed. “Like your body was asleep the entire day, and then you get this sudden rush of energy?”
“Not really.”
“I get that sometimes,” he deliberated aloud. “I feel it now.”
“Damian, you’re odd.”
“I guess,” he laughed lightly, “maybe.” He let his hands slip around my hips, trailing over the last of my figure before he let me go. “Your friend is here, and it is late.”
“Will that thing happen to you again?”
“If it does, I’ll be fine,” he assured me. “Really.”
“It was scary.”
“It comes every now and then … the fits.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.” He stepped around me, only stopping once he stood outside of his front door. “I’m feeling overheated so I’m going to take a shower.”
“Hot?”
“Yeah.”
“But you were cold.”
“I know.”
“Damian, there is something wrong with you.”
He lowered his head, letting it fall over the carved lines over the front doorway of his house. “No,” he breathed out. “No, I’ve never felt better.” He stepped over his threshold and let his hand rest over the corner of the door. “Goodnight, Sara.”
“Damian?”
“Goodnight,” he repeated in a mystifying voice, and then closed the door between us.