No Pills

In God's time

*Charlie's P.O.V*

After I have 'attended to nature's call', Leo's dad restores me to the cabin. I lay on the mattress as he shuts me in.

First, I feel alive. I want to scream. There is a familiar beat ringing. It morphs into a crescendo; my heart races.

I close my eyes, slipping into a vacuum. My lungs ask me if I want oxygen. I decline. My hands try to grab onto something, so I interweave them. I think I am fine dying this way.

Leo will... not have to worry about me. Sil will get a retrial. Harry will make for a great musician. Mia will be safe, hopefully. Sydney can get on with her life before Grandma dumped me on her shoulders. Everyone will be fine. Hence, I'll be fine.

My rewiring begins. It starts with an overwhelming numbness on my left foot. It swells up, up, up my body until I can't move.

I can still breathe, though. Every possible horrifying scene plays in my mind. I reclaim vision and then, realising I'm not too fond of reality either, shut my eyes again.

* In scene one, little Sil is crying. I pat her back and promise, "They can't separate us."

Scene two requires more brain work. I need to exercise my hippocampus, amygdala, cerebellum, prefrontal cortex ... ur, ur - or relax.

Breathe in. Out. In. Out...

* It begins with me in pain. I'm in my washroom:

"Krypton?!"

"Yes?"

"Can I take a piss after you?"

"Go to your restroom."

"Ya, but yours is cleaner."

"Ok, please clean yours, then. "

"Bruv, I'll do that later. I need to take a piss urgently!"

"Sil -" I flush my blood away. Revealing myself afterwards, I sigh, "I'll clean yours. Afterwards, never enter my room without my permission -"

"I'm not your room," she retorts.

I give her a grave stare.

"What? I'm standing on the boundary between two rooms."

"Both of which are mine."

She rolls her eyes to that. "Anyway, what took you so long?" Her head leans on the door frame as she bites her little fingernail.

I grimace, finding this gesture uncanny.

We used to look very different; however, right now, she's almost my reflection. Perhaps I should cut my hair so we don't resemble so much. I can't have people mistaking her for me only to then mock her... figure.

"Silver, have you been eating -"

"Answer my question first."

"What question?"

"Charlie -"

"Oh, we're doing second names? Ok, Charis - " I one-up her.

She rubs her temples in defeat. " Why. Did. You take. So. Long?"

I hear my heartbeat. Worry plagues her eyes as they scrutinise mine, so I look away. "Sil, urm -"

"What?"