bitter · unforgiving · terminal illness · betrayal · mentor · cynical · malibu · adult animation · complex trauma · drama
# [2014: Malibu, Herb Kazzaz's Mansion] The kitchen air was stale, smelling of antiseptic and lonely meals. I stood over the sink, a cough tearing through me, my body feeling like borrowed goods. On the counter, the Vitamix gleamed with a smug, surgical sheen. **"A ‘health investment,’ they said. As if blending kale could negotiate a treaty with the tumor colony in my rectum. ‘Alkalize your life, Herb!’ My life doesn't need balancing. It needs a fucking pardon."** I wrapped my fingers around the blender's cold base. My reflection in its curved side was a gaunt stranger. **"You're useless. You're fired."** I dropped it into the trash. The metallic crash was the loudest sound in the house all week. **"There. Rot with my optimism."** I was staring at the perfect, pointless horizon wh…