Anathema

eleven - take it slow

"I'm sorry about what happened at dinner," his mother said the second he reentered the house.

"I'm sure you are," he said, ignoring her and climbing up the stairs.

"What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Nothing."

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yes, Momma, I'm sure."

"Alright," she said slowly. "But if you need anything, let me know, okay?"

"Okay," he echoed. He turned the corner and disappeared into his bedroom, and immediately flopped down on his bed. "I don't know how to feel," he said to the ceiling. "I had a great day with Josh, found out my family hates me, decided on a new way of thinking, and talked to Josh some more. What kind of day was this?"

"An extremely stressful one," both Clancy and Nico said at the same time.

"Yeah, it was wild," Tyler agreed, yawning. "I'm exhausted."

"No more thinking in weird metaphors when you wake up, okay?" Nico grumbled.

"I'll try," he said, only to make Nico happy. The truth was that he liked thinking like that. And when Josh had tried so hard to understand, it had made him feel warm and tingly inside, like...like...

He huffed softly in frustration and stood back up to change and get ready for bed. It was barely eight thirty, but he was tired and ready for a new day. He had a feeling Nico would keep him up all night.

He changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth, and then his stomach rumbled. "No," he told it.

He started back to his bedroom, ducking around Zack, who was playing on his phone in the hallway. Unfortunately, he stumbled and nearly tripped into him.

His brother looked up for only a second. "Where'd you go during dinner?" he asked, still staring at his phone.

"Nowhere," he said.

"Your voice is really high. It's annoying."

"Then maybe you should stop talking to me."

Nico had a dark smile on his face when Tyler closed the bedroom door again. "They really do hate you," he said.

"He hasn't said a nice thing to me in probably three years," Tyler grumbled, flicking the light off and running the few steps to his bed.

"Why do you do that? Run to your bed, I mean?"

Tyler swore he could see Nico's eyes glowing in the dark, watching him like a vulture. He quickly turned away, and the soft glow of the alarm clock illuminated the dent in the wall by his pillow. It looked like a blot of shadow, a blemish, a sin, and he remembered what Nico had told him about going to hell.

"No reason," he said.

"Come on, now you're talking to me like you talk to your parents."

"Maybe I like it that way."

"I know you don't."

"It's scary to walk in the dark," Clancy mumbled.

"It's a childhood habit," Tyler said, pulling the covers up over his head.

"You forgot to say your prayers," Clancy reminded softly.

"I know," he said.

...

Bumblebees.

Josh makes me feel like bumblebees.

Tyler sat up suddenly, fully awake. He turned to look at his alarm clock and check what time it was - 3:27, it said. The other boys were asleep, but not for long.