“I don’t care.”
“You have five minutes. If you’re not changed by the time I come back, I’ll do it myself.”
I mocked his voice with gibberish until he left the room, then watched the empty door frame for a few seconds before turning and landing face first on the bed. I wasn’t doing shit today and I wasn’t going anywhere. A few minutes passed before footsteps approached, followed by an annoyed sigh.
“I’m not going.” I held a pillow over the back of my head.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He didn’t warn me, however, before flipping me over and grabbing the bottom of my pants.
I snatched the top just as he began to pull. “What are you doing?” I yelled, yanking up as hard as he was tugging down.
“Changing your clothes.” He smirked as I wrenched free of his grip with way too much effort.
“Oh my god, I’ll do it myself!” I rolled off the bed and pointed to the door.“Get out.”
“I’ll be back in two minutes.”
“Come back in two minutes. See if I care.” I shut the door and got undressed.“I’m still not going with you.” I tossed my clothes aside and eyed the closet. Everything was too revealing for my mood today.
I cracked thedoor and peered outside. Dennis was nowhere to be seen. I hurried down the hall into Ari’s room to steal a plain t-shirt and pair of jeans, then changed and trudged back to my room. I fastened my hair in a messy ponytail before once again flopping face first on the bed.
“Again?”
I ignored Dennis’voice and continued to mope. Finally, the silence got to me. I turned to see him looking at my array of shot glasses from the places I’d traveled.“Can you bring me the France one? I wanna take a shot.”
“No. Why are you dressed like your cousin?” He seemed intrigued by the change in style. “You’re so covered up. It’s weird.”
“You’re weird. Your face is weird. Go away.”
“So I’m thinking if I set your bed on fire, you’ll finally get off it.” His lighter was out and clicked on in a flash.
“You better not.” I sat up and stared him down until he let the fire die. “I knew you wouldn’t do it.” I crossed my arms. But then he pulled out a matchbook instead. “Dennis, don’t you dare—” He tossed a lit match and I clambered back, gaping as a small fire erupted on the bed.“Motherfuck! Put it out! PUT IT OUT,PUT IT OUT—!”I was screaming while he laughed, waving my arms to stop the flames from growing.
“You’re doing it all wrong.” He pushed me aside before grabbing a pillow and beating it against the flames until they died down.“Don’t ever fan flames. It makes them worse.” He dropped my pillow on the floor.
“Don’t ever set my bed on fire! Are you insane? Why do you have a lighteranda matchbook? What’s wrong with you?”
“Great. Now that you’re up, we can get going.” He took my shoulders and steered me to the hall.“Let’s try Craven Lake, since that’s where you and Ari played as kids. Do you think that’ll cheer you up?”
“No.”
“I think so, too.” He gave a rough nudge that nearly sent me tumbling down the stairs.
“You could’ve burnt the whole house down! Normal people don’t set people’s beds on fire and laugh about it. You’re really unhinged.”
“I’m a maniac, sweetheart.” He shot me a devious smile as we reached downstairs. “You’ll get used to it.”
“Ugh. I forgot shoes. Hold on.” I turned and jumped back from a passing shadow. When I blinked, nothing was there. “I’ll be back.” I fought back tears of frustration as I trudged upstairs. A few things moved while I laced up a pair of combats. Some were inanimate objects, others were inexplicable shadows. It wasn’t real. I knew this. But the worst part was notactuallyknowing.Not being able to trust my own senses. Seeing a reality I had to tell myself not to believe.
“Are you done yet?”
I jumped atDennis’ voice. “Yeah.” I tied the last bow and stood.
“Why are you so jumpy today?” he asked. I shrugged and brushed past him.“And now you wanna go.” He sounded concerned. We strode down the hall, downstairs, through the living room.“Really, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I wanna go. I’m seeing things and it’s making me paranoid.” I grabbed my keys as we passed the kitchen counter. “Are you driving or am I?”
“I don’t use a car, remember?” He paused before pulling the door open.“Let’s walk. The fresh air might cheer you up.”
