THE DOMINO EFFECT

xiv. the inner demon of my light yagami body pillow

***

            THE SHADOWS ARE MOVING. I am not. They flit and flounce about, bleeding together like ink in water. The brick wall they reflect on is covered in vines. The road underneath my feet is cracked, the potholes filling with rainwater, and the sky above me carries the heaviness of a summer storm, but it's fucking October. In New England.

        I mean, I think it is. It should be. But I honestly have no idea what's going on or where I am.

        I take a step forwards. The shadows all seem to collapse into the shape of me. I strike a pose. They match it.

        Tilting my head, I press my hand against the wall. Under my touch, it's cold and rough, just like it should be. The shadows don't move for a second.

        Then, the world sways sideways. The shadows drip towards me. I try to pull my hand away, but it's too late — the blackness is already encasing me. The bricks melt down to clay, and my I sink up to my elbow in it. Pain shoots through my arm like I'm being shot with billions of tiny needles.

Damn. That's kinky.

I yank my arm out of the wall, panting. It's coated in blood.

The shadows start to peel off of the wall.

***

"WHAT THE FUCK are you talking about?" Meredith spits, throwing her Monopoly money down. "Candyland is a serious fucking game. I'll fucking fight you, you fucking furry."

            "You're fucking dumb!" Atlas accuses in response, angrily pointing in Meredith's direction. "Hedbanz is obviously the best board game. Candyland isn't even on the same tier."

            Thea watches the both of them, her legs tucked up against her chest, her chin resting on her knees, her eyes wide. She doesn't seem to know what to make of this argument.

            I don't know what to make of it, either. This, their first time meeting Thea, save for when Meredith helped me break her out, was supposed to be fun and light-hearted. We specifically chose to introduce her to the dynamics of our friend group while playing board games in Silas's basement because it had, at the time, seemed like the safest, most calm option. Obviously, we'd been mistaken. This was a terrible idea.

It doesn't help that I'm still quite shaken up from my dream last night — the shadows. What the fuck was that even supposed to be, some pretentious-ass symbolism for my own inner demons or something equally as edgy? That's fucking bullshit. My only inner demon is the Light Yagami body pillow I got in middle school that I now I hide in my garage.

We don't talk about my anime phase.

            "Monopoly tears families apart," I explain to Thea, flipping the board over before yet another violent argument can break out. "Ours is no exception."