Anomaly; Stranded The Series (bxb)

Chapter 18: Spiral

The real world felt too bright, too sharp, too real.

Eli had imagined, during their endless days on the island, that getting back to normal life would be a relief. That the ache in his chest, the weight on his shoulders, would somehow lift the moment his feet touched solid ground again. But here he was, two weeks back home, and the heaviness hadn't gone away. If anything, it had grown heavier, more suffocating.

Every night, he lay in bed staring at the ceiling, the silence of his room pressing down on him like a physical weight. It was different on the island—the sounds of the ocean had been a constant companion, the dangers more immediate. Here, back in the real world, the quiet felt like something more sinister. Like it was waiting for him to crack.

He thought being home would fix him, but now it felt like he was drifting even further away. From himself. From Jonah.

Especially from Jonah.

The thought of Jonah gnawed at him, twisting in his gut like a knife. The messages, the missed calls—they piled up, each one a reminder of what Eli was avoiding. Jonah had reached out every day since they left the hospital, but Eli hadn't answered once. He couldn't.

He wasn't ready to face it—to face Jonah, to face the truth of what they'd been through. On the island, things had made sense. It was life or death. Everything had been clear in the most terrifying, raw way possible. But here? Here, nothing made sense. He felt like a ghost walking through his own life, not knowing where he belonged.

Eli rolled over in bed, groaning as he reached for his phone on the nightstand. Another missed call from Jonah. Another unread text. He should respond. He knew that. Jonah deserved better than this silent treatment. But every time Eli saw Jonah's name pop up on his screen, his heart clenched with fear.

What if Jonah wanted to talk about them? About their relationship? What if Jonah wanted more? Eli wasn't sure he could give it to him—not here, not like this. Not when everything in his life felt like it was spiraling out of control.

He opened Jonah's latest message.

"Hey, Eli. I'm getting worried. Can we talk? Please?"

Eli stared at the text for a long time, his thumb hovering over the keyboard. His chest tightened. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't just ignore Jonah forever, but how could he even begin to explain what was going on in his head? How could he make Jonah understand that this—all of this—was tearing him apart?

He tossed the phone onto the bed with a frustrated sigh and sat up, running a hand through his hair. Fuck.

Jonah, meanwhile, was unraveling in a different way.

He had always been the strong one, the one who could push through the hard shit and keep going, no matter what. But now, as the days stretched on, the silence from Eli weighed on him in a way that felt unbearable. What had happened to the guy who'd kissed him on that island? The guy who had promised they'd figure it out together?

Jonah had given Eli space—at first. He knew Eli needed time to process everything, to adjust to being back. Hell, Jonah needed that too. But this? This wasn't space. This was a wall. Eli was shutting him out completely, and Jonah didn't know how to break through.

He stared at his phone, the unanswered messages staring back at him like accusations. He couldn't keep waiting. He needed to see Eli, to understand what was going on. If Eli wanted to push him away, fine. But Jonah needed to hear it from his mouth. Not through silence.