Behind the Mask

(1) Clinically Insane?

1
Clinically Insane?


Sometimes I feel like I’m going insane, I think while holding my thumb in front of me to judge the size of the moon. I bite my tongue slightly and I narrow my eyes, “Nope. It’s a bit bigger than it was yesterday.”

“Well, obviously.” Daniel rolls his eyes then gives me a judgemental look, “Sometimes I worry about you, sis.”

I purse my lips at him, “Sometimes I can’t tell. It’s deceiving.”

“And it matters because. . .?” He says, lifting his eyebrows at me.

“It doesn’t really matter,” I say quietly while frowning, “I just like to check. Helps me keep track of the lunar phases.”

“Right,” he laughs, “Because you need to keep track of the werewolves.”

Now I scowl, “Don’t be ridiculous Daniel. Werewolves aren’t real.”

He laughs but doesn’t say a thing. Feeling as if I won this round, I make a satisfied hmph noise and lean back in my hammock chair. I look out over the backyard. It stretches for about three hundred feet before coming to an end at the tree line. Yet my property still spans another mile or so into the forest. The yard is completely flat and covered in about three feet of snow right now. Though it’s only early October, we got dumped on quite vigorously. I hate it. Daniel on the other hand thinks it’s awesome.

Snowboarders, I think while rolling my eyes internally.

My house is quite quaint. It’s small with only two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, a entry way and the kitchen but it works for just me. And my brother who apparently loves to drop by unannounced and stay for three months. Again, I inwardly roll my eyes. I love him but sometimes he’s a pain in my ass. The man is 24 and I honestly don’t think he knows what the words clean up after yourself even mean. I am not a maid. Especially not in my own damn house.

I do have a guest house that I could kick him into but I would feel too bad, it’s a wreck. When I bought the house two years ago it was rundown and overgrown. The place didn’t even have a kitchen sink. Yet I fell in love with the land and the privacy of it all. My closest neighbour is about ten minutes away. The house is basically located right in the middle of my land and I couldn’t ask for anything better. I hardly even minded the ramshackle state the house was in. It just meant I got to put my own pizazz into it. It’s taken me the whole two years I’ve owned it to renovate it, but I finally finished a couple months ago. My next project is the guest house.

Then whenever Daniel shows up unannounced I can shoo him to the guest house. Right now I think he would freeze. The building isn’t even properly insulated and he would have to treck through snow for about five minutes before he even got to it. It’s hidden in the trees behind my house, and if you didn’t know it was there, well, you wouldn’t know it was there. That’s the beauty of having your own forest.

“Well, sis,” Daniel says while pushing up from the chair, “It’s been lovely chatting but I got to go into town to meet someone.”

I raise my eyebrows at him, “Meet someone eh? Who could that be?”

He purses his lips at me, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Is it another tinder date?” I tease.

Daniel grins slightly, “You caught me.”

Now I laugh, “Here’s to hoping this one doesn’t end up as crazy as the last girl.”

Daniel cringes at the memory then we both burst out into laughter. The last chick was absolutely bonkers. Wanted to marry him after one date then Daniel, being a dumbass guy, called her up for a booty call one night and then the next day told me the horror story of her confessing she poked holes in the condoms because she “loved him and wanted him to be her baby daddy”. Luckily no babies came and I made him lose her number because knowing him, he would probably ring her up again.