Last Seen Dead | ONC 2023

10 | chicken wings

By the time Ethan resurfaced from his memories, he realized it was late into the night. If he didn't sleep soon, he would be a zombie the next day. Unfortunately, living in a capitalistic hellscape of a society meant that you spent most of your waking hours working for others.

As stressful as this whole ordeal had been, Ethan couldn't deny that he liked feeling like his life had a plot. He almost felt like the main character of his own book, dealing with something greater than himself. It was better than being stuck in the monotony of work where time lost all meaning.

While drifting off to sleep, one phrase kept playing over and over again in his head.

I shouldn't have done that.

▽

Tuesday went by quickly and just as Ethan was closing his work computer for the day, the doorbell rang. His head jerked towards the door, almost expecting it to open on its own.

Then he realized the ridiculousness of it. No one else had his key, so obviously, he'd have to get up and answer the door himself. But who could it be? Who would want to visit him at this time?

Ethan lived a solitary life. His parents lived far away and they'd announce if they were in town for a visit, which he knew they weren't. He wasn't close to any of his other relatives either.

He also didn't have any friends left, not since he and Florence used to be super close, before that night happened. Most of his friends were hers, too, as they shared a larger friend group. So, when Florence and him had that falling out, naturally, he felt too awkward to keep any mutual friends.

Before he could overthink himself into having a stomachace, Ethan forced himself to get up and answer the door. The only way to find out who was on the other side was by opening the door.

Ethan wasn't sure who he was expecting to be on the other side of the door but he wasn't expecting it to be Kailani. He hadn't seen her since the New Year's Day party that Florence threw over a year ago. That was about two weeks before the last time he saw Florence on that night.

Kailani and him had only ever done small talk, so why was she here now, of all times? Sure, they were on good terms and all, but he was sure that she had other friends to hang out with.

Plus, he didn't think of himself as the most exciting person to hang out with either.

"Ethan, it's been a while," Kailani said, her voice low as if she was scared of frightening him. "How are you holding up? I haven't heard from you in a while, so I thought I'd check on you."

Ethan blanked, just staring at her for a moment before noticing the bag of takeout in her hands. It was from his favorite restaurant, a place that served the best chicken wings in the whole city. There was no way that she could have remembered that. It had been so long since they talked.

Kailani noticed him looking at the bag and held it out to show him. "I brought food," she said, as if it was a peace offering. "If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were dead. You haven't been responding to anyone in the group chats. I thought something happened to you."

"I see," he said. He hadn't meant to sound so dead inside but he chalked it up to being tired from work. It had been a long day. No, it was a long week already and it was only Tuesday.

"Honestly, dude, you look like a mess," she said, looking him up and down. "Have you even been sleeping at night? Taking care of yourself? Doing any form of self-care, like, at all?"

"Well... you see..." he began, trying to think up any excuse in the book, but he had none.

"No, no excusues," she interrupted. "I can tell you've been cooped up here for... a while."

Had it really been a while since he left the house? Between working from home and having his groceries delivered as well as ordering anything else he needed online, he hadn't needed to leave the house. When he really thought about it, he started to realize how it may look to other people.

But was it really being a hermit or was it a consequence of modern life?

"It's not that bad though," he said. "I still manage to get some fresh air."

Kailani just looked at him and he felt judged throughly, just by that one look.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Kailani asked, "Can I come in?" She craned her neck to peek inside. "There's something we need to talk about, in private. Plus, I'm hungry." She gestured to the bag of food again. "I remembered you talked about this place a lot last time."

Ethan glanced between her and the bag of food, mentally debating it before deciding. "Yeah, I just finished work. Come on in." He moved aside to let her come in. He was too hungry to refuse.

The two went inside, and Ethan locked the door behind her.

"Sorry if it's a little messy in here," he said as he led her to the dining table.

"Oh, this is nothing," she replied. "My place is honestly messier than this."

If he had known he'd have a guest, Ethan would have cleaned a little bit, even if all he had was some scrap pieces of papers scattered around his counters and a few dishes sitting in the sink. He hadn't gotten the chance to properly clean his apartment in a few days and it was bugging him.

"Your place is really nice, Ethan. Most guys I know would struggle keeping it this clean and organized," she said, as the two walked towards the dining table in the center of the apartment.

"Thank you," Ethan replied. He grabbed his laptop off the table and all the loose papers and then stuffed them inside a nearby cabinet. He'd have to deal with cleaning that properly later.

Kailani dropped the bag of food on the table and sat down on a chair in front of it. She began taking everything out one by one, starting with two containers of food and napkins and ranch.

Ethan stood near the table, pausing before he asked, "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Water would be good," she said.

He went to the kitchen and grabbed them both a glass of water each before joining her back at the table. She passed him one of the containers, which was filled with six wings and some fries.

As soon as he popped open the container, the aroma of chicken invaded his senses, driving his hunger to the extreme. When was the last time he ate there? He couldn't remember but it's been a while. Way too long, for a place he considered as one of his favorites. He should get out more.

He glanced over at Kailani's container to see that she had ordered the same thing for herself as she did for him. Except her wings seemed to be a level or two spicier than the ones she got him.

"How hot are they?" he asked, taking a bite into one.

"I got you mild, since I wasn't sure if you could handle the heat," she said.

He almost felt insulted for a second before he realized that it was still free food. Arguing over the heat level would only make things awkward and things were already awkward enough.

"And for yourself?" he asked. "Can you handle the heat?"

"Medium, and obviously," she replied. "I could use a bit more of a kick."

"I'll have to try that one sometime," he said. "Maybe I can handle it."

She smiled. "We'll see about that."

The pair ate in silence, looking at each other every now and then. It was no longer as awkward as when she first arrived, and Ethan was grateful for the food and the time to think about why she was here. It would only be a matter of time before she brought up what she had to discuss.

But for now, he was enjoying his food.