how is the sky from where you are?

Chapter One: Trapped

My heart almost stopped the second I got the text.

EJ
i'm trapped
fuck dude my flight was supposed to be tomorrow
they put the whole country on lockdown man

EJ is trapped in Italy. My best friend EJ is stuck in Rome, Italy during the middle of a pandemic. Which means I may never see him again...I tried to shake that thought out of my mind as I texted him back.

Me
fuck dude, are you ok???

EJ
yeah, i'm not sick and neither is the kid i'm rooming with
at least we don't think we're sick

Me
that's good at least

EJ
yeah
damn man this isn't good
have they said anything about sending you guys home yet?

Me
no but we are def getting sent home soon
there's no way they're gonna keep us here
especially after an entire country getting shutdown

EJ
yeah
i miss you man

Me
i miss you too
i gotta head to bio
i'll text you as soon as i'm out though

EJ
alright, bye man

I turned off my phone and headed into bio. I couldn't focus all class. EJ is stuck in Italy. My best friend is stuck in Italy during the middle of a pandemic.

My mind was still racing as I headed back to my dorm. It used to be mine and EJ's. His side was basically empty. Except for a few things he had forgotten.

A picture of us that he definitely left pinned up for a reason. His black water bottle. A pair of sweats that are basically mine now. And his soccer hoodie. I hadn't touched the soccer hoodie since he left, I had just kept it hanging up in his closet.

Until now. I took the hoodie off the hanger and kind of just held it in my hands as I sat down on my bed. Fuck EJ was really gone. No, not gone. He's not gone. He's still alive. He's just stuck in fucking Rome, Italy. 4,000 fucking miles away.

I sighed and pulled the hoodie over my head. It still smelled like him and his dumb Old Spice deodorant. I pulled out my phone and shot him a text.

Me
hey how are you??

EJ
i'm alright man
what, you worried?

Me
pfft
yeah

EJ
of course you are
you're always worried

Me
yeah, it's called a diagnosed anxiety disorder dumbass

EJ
ok facts
but i'm ok dyl

Me
positive?

EJ
yes

I paused for a second then I took a slight risk.

Me
i really miss you