American Red

Cause & Effect

Roadie turns off the kitchen sink, the water having carried away all of his sick from moments ago. After seeing what was inside him turn like a snake coiled around small prey, the knot inside his stomach tightened. It was the kind of pain and discomfort only meant to alert one thing and he knew it. Moments later, up everything came; from the bottoms of his shoes, Roadie thought, turning him inside out in the process.

"You okay?" Veronica asked, knowing it was a hollow question.

Roadie swished a cupped handful of water into his mouth and spit before nodding. "You ever see yours?"

Shaking her head in quick little whips, "I'm not sure if it's worse, but I hear mine talking to me in my sleep instead."

Roadie shivers and feels the knot tighten again, not as much, but the thought of hearing the demon inside speak to him didn't sound appealing. At least he could choose not to stare into the mirror. The horror of dreading sleep curdled him and explained the look in Veronica's eyes most mornings. It was a post car accident kind of look, vacant and traumatized.

Roadie cups another handful of water in his mouth, gargles and spits into the sink. After washing down the waste for a second time, he opens the fridge.

"Really? After..." Veronica motions to the sink.

"It wasn't the flu or anything, just fear and surprise mixed together too quickly." Roadie smiles and proceeds to bring out the milk while reaching into the cupboard for a bowl, the groundwork for his staple diet of granola, fruit and milk. "Besides, the taste is worse than anything else."

Errol sits quietly at the table, looking at his glove, or really, what's underneath it. Roadie can see his demon if he looks deeply enough into his eye. Veronica hears her demon when she sleeps. Does he dare tell them about what he thinks his demon does?

"Errol!" Roadie cries.

"What?" Errol asks, the slightest trace of guilt in his usually superior tone.

"Would – you – like – some – cereal?" he asks slowly, as though he were teaching lip-reading for beginners.

Errol shakes away the offer. "Can I go up to my room now?" As though knowing the answer, he pushes back from the table and grabs his backpack. Still, he waits for Veronica to say something first.

"Y–" Errol is off before the syllable completes, "—es." She shakes her head and looks over to Roadie who already has a mouthful of cereal crunching around. He does his best to chew quickly.

"Just give him a bit," he says, only it comes out Chus iv im a bi with all the food in there. After he swallows, he continues. "Let him devour a couple chapters of whatever he's so anxious about and I'll go talk to him."

Veronica nods. "Are you okay?" The words were sincere, but the undertone was there, Are we okay?

Roadie doesn't feel much like lying or giving some false hope. Instead he pretends to follow Errol's movements upstairs to their room and gives a light shrug of his shoulders before continuing to get the taste out of his mouth and the flashing images out of his head of what stared back at him in the mirror.