Mangled Attraction

Margaret and the Horse

Charlie gulped down his Thorazine pill with a slight gag. It was so big that it left him feeling queasy. He felt it slowly slide down his throat and imagined it plopping into his stomach. It completely ruined his appetite.

"Gross..." he mumbled.

"It may be gross but it helps, hm?"

Charlie's sister stood in front of him, ready with a glass of water, "Wouldn't want a repeat of yesterday, would we?"

"Yeah, but the Seroquel was smaller and didn't make me wanna puke,"

"It also hardly worked. Now drink some water."

He rolled his eyes, but snatched the cup from his sister's hand, "Stop treating me like a child. I hate when you take that sing-song tone with me. I just forgot to take it yesterday, okay?"

He took a swig of the water, then dropped the cup into the sink. He looked at his sister out of the corner of his eye, blinking away various noises that were already beginning to fade.

Her face drooped in disbelief, "Sure, whatever you say."

She gestured for him to open his mouth so that she could make sure he actually took his pill.

Reluctantly, and feeling childish, Charlie did as she wished. He blew long black strands of hair out of his eyes. She smiled and rubbed his head when she saw that he'd swallowed the medicine.

He glared at her.

"I am 19 years old, Marcie," he snapped, smacking her hand away from his head, "I don't need you to fawn over me all the time."
He grabbed the mass on his head and tugged it to the side. He braided it quickly,  letting it rest by his belly button.

Marcie smiled warmly, not in the slightest offended by his display.

"As your big sister, I have to take good care of you!"

She flipped her own curly brown hair and tied it up in a messy bun, "Now. Help me make breakfast, will you?"

Ignoring her, Charlie sauntered over into the living room. He plopped down on the couch and slung his legs over the side, closing his eyes as the hallucinations in his mind subsided. He tilted his head, remembering suddenly, "Hey, Marcie..." He mused, "Did you ever catch that guy's name?"

His sister marched over to him and put her hands on her hips, "What is your fixation with that ass? And didn't I ask you to help me?"

A fading voice in his head screamed in protest, He's not an ass! He was very handsome. Why help her? She's an ass, she's trying to hurt you. She's bad...
A different voice let out a chuckle, he had a nice ass.

Charlie disregarded most of the voices' comments, conscious enough at the moment to know that those words were paranoid nonsense. Charlie echoed the beginning, "He's not an ass."

Before his sister could retort, he spoke over his left shoulder, "But he was kind of an ass to us," his sister gave him a pointed look and he shook his head, "I mean me."

The voice was raspy and deep, No, he wasn't, he was just misinformed and scared. You'd be stupid for forgetting a hottie like that. Don't listen to her...

"He was just scared. That makes sense." Charlie continued.

Marcie snapped her fingers in front of her brother's face, "Hey, Starly, I'm over here."

Charlie scowled at her, "I'm not in a 'Starly' state, so calm down with the code name."

Marcie wrinkled her nose. It was his idea to come up with a code name for when he became delusional, but Charlie hated to be called out most of the time.