The Detoxing Game

A Game of Chess

"You playing chess?" Micky asked with a grin. Davy only nodded in response.

"With yourself?" Micky clarified and Davy let out a huff.

"It's not like I have anyone else to play with," he said harshly. Micky froze, a little startled and offended by the statement, but still tried to keep his cheerful demeanor.

"Are ya winning?"

The comment caused Davy to smile for the first time in months, the first time since Mike and Peter left. Micky missed Davy's usual happy and goofy personality, it was nice to see that smile again, even if it only lasted for a moment.

"Wanna play?" Davy asked, already resetting the board. Micky grinned and sat down across from him.

"I'm much more of a checkers man myself, but chess is just like fancy checkers, right?"

Davy snorted, but just like everything else, his joy was short lived.

"I guess you could say that," he sighed heavily. "You go first."

Micky frowned, noticing something was wrong but was frightened to provoke him.

"What do I do?"

Davy looked up at him.

"Have you ever played chess before?" He asked in an almost condescending tone. Micky shrugged.

"Like I said, I'm not much of a chess man."

Davy sighed but nodded.

"So that's the king," he explained, pointing to a piece on the back of the board. "You have to use all your pieces and strategy to try to protect him."

"How do you win?"

"You win if you take my king. That's the goal of the game."

Micky smiled.

"Sounds simple enough."

Davy squinted at him.

"It's not that simple, Micky. I promise you it's not."

Micky shifted in his seat, becoming uncomfortable.

"Okay..." Micky started. "So what else?"

"Move a pawn," Davy said sternly.

"Which one's the pawn?"

"The ones up front are the pawns," Davy frowned down at the board. "They're called pawns because they're the front line. The sacrifices, the necessary sacrifices."

Are we still talking about chess? Micky wondered as he pushed a pawn forward. He thought about asking Davy...Micky thought Mike was scary when he got mad. Davy was something else entirely.

Davy moved a pawn of his own forward and looked up at Micky, impatiently waiting. Micky decided to play it safe, using another pawn.

It was when Davy hesitated, thinking and planning his next move, that Micky decided to speak up.

"I saw Mike earlier today," he blurted out. Davy frowned and looked up.

"Yeah," Micky said awkwardly. "He was going to the corner store for some aspirin and stuff. We sorta just bumped into one another."

Davy didn't say anything.

"He's doing pretty well," Micky continued, not liking the silence. "We were thinking about going to get lunch sometime. I'll tell him you say hello, unless if you want to come."

"I don't want to go," Davy said under his breath. Micky nodded and tapped his foot on the ground, uncomfortable.

"He actually got married awhile ago. They had met a few years ago but just recently got together and finally tied the knot.."