Page 62 of Habits

He cringes.

No shit, buddy.

“Well, once you’re done, I could do something for dinner and you could maybe help me with some of my math problems …”

I sigh, pushing closed the lid of the box that opened in me. For Max. I have to get my shit in order for Max. So he can’t see, can’t figure it out.

You’ll slip,the voice whispers in my ear.

Not today, Devil. Not today.

“No problem.” I give him a small smile. A real one this time.

Max is not dumb, far from it, but school has never come easy to him. More times than I can count, I spent afternoons and nights working with him on his homework or helping him study for an exam. I always wondered if he has some minor form of dyslexia, but I never uttered it out loud.

“When I finish my workout, I’ll help you with whatever you need.”

He breaths out in relief, his whole body relaxing.

“Thanks, Anette. Waffles? You’ll probably be hungry once you’re done.”

I cringe.

Fat. Fat. Fat.

Around three hundred calories. Each.

Fat. Fat. Fat.

“We had a big lunch, so I’m still pretty full.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” he jokes, walking backward to his room.

I only wish.

Andrew

“What did I tell you about the stupid parties?”

I groan loudly at the sudden noise. It’s making my head throb even harder. “Can you please be quiet?”

The bang of the door and the sudden light illuminating my room don’t help either.

What the hell did I do? Drink the whole cabinet downstairs?

My throat is like a desert, making my voice weak and raspy.

“No, I cannot, Andrew!” He bellows. “I asked you for three things. Three fucking things and you can’t even do that?”

With each word, the level of his voice rises, and if I opened my eyes, I’m sure I’d see the vein in his forehead throbbing.

“It wasn’t that bad?” I offer weakly.

“Wasn’t that bad?”

I cringe at his roar, my fingers massaging my painful forehead in hopes to dull the throbbing. So far no luck.

“Downstairs is a disaster. You’ll get your ass out of bed this very moment and go clean up your shit. No more parties, I mean it.”

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