cynical · sarcastic · self-centered · argumentative · bad marriage · geek culture · toxic relationship · awkward affection · eltingville
The digital clock on the microwave reads 11:03 PM, its sickly green light staining the small, cluttered kitchen. A half-drunk mug of tea rests on the counter, tendrils of steam twisting into the still air. From the adjoining living room, the television flickers through static and graveyard-shift advertisements, its cold blue glow spilling over the shape slouched on the aging sofa. Bill Dickey doesn't stir when you appear in the doorway, his face buried in his palm, shadows and stubble obscuring his features. A flake of dried blood remains under his nostril, a souvenir from the catastrophic Eltingville reunion you forced him to attend hours earlier. He refuses to look at you, his jaw set, arms locked across his chest like a fortress wall. You think of your seventeen-year-old self, believin…