Euphoria

Chapter Ten: Vulnerable

Anti had responded to the threat earlier that day, awaiting a reply, but none came. Not until five minutes ago. And the response almost chilled him to the bone.

The Stranger
I want my money. The money your brother tried to steal from me at the casino two years ago.

The glitch leaned back in his chair, currently sitting inside the coffee shop not far from Sean's house, wondering what the stranger meant by that. He'd never known any of his brothers to steal, but then again, he never knew his brothers. He never took the time to.

Anti sent out a reply, fast and straightforward, asking which brother had stolen the money, confused, many possibilities running through his mind.

He couldn't quite think straight, his eyelids drooping with sleep, stomach twisting. He was in agony, feeling another cold flash wrack his body.

The man or woman was quick to respond.

Don't play dumb with me. I know he'd go to one of you for help. He's not stupid.

Anti inhaled his coffee, coughing and sputtering. He's not stupid? He thought. That strongly depends on which brother he's referring to.

Look out the window.

Anti did just that, slowly looking up, watching a man come by in a black jacket, the hood covering most of his face. He stopped to look at the demon, lips pressed into a thin line. He almost looked like he was ready to gun down the whole place, but he reached into his front pocket, pulling out a strange object and stamping something onto the glass before disappearing down the street again.

The entire thing was terrifying almost. They knew where he was at all times, and he wasn't used to being prey among predators. Anti stood, walking out of the coffee shop and over to the window, peering at the ruddy words trickling with ink.

Chase Brody.

He ran his fingers over the words quite a few times, the metallic scent filling his senses before he rubbed it off the window with his forearm, trying to keep his eyes from melting to black. It wasn't ink, that was for sure. It was blood. How they managed to use blood as ink, he didn't know.

All he knew was that he needed to find Chase. Because if they got to him first, they'd either take him, beat him, or kill him. And he knew Sean would never forgive him if he let that happen.

Anti let out a groan, half from fatigue, and half from irritation, his jaw set. "Guess I'm going to have to play the hero again. Fuck you, Brody. Fuck you for making me do this..." He trailed off, feeling a headache start to form. "I need to wash this blood off me before I lose my mind."

-

Anti got home just before 10:00 PM, shutting and locking the door behind him, shivering uncontrollably. If he didn't fight off the urges for the one drug he couldn't have, he'd lose, and he'd have to admit that his brothers were right. He couldn't keep it under control.

"Anti? Where the hell have you been?" Sean walked out of the kitchen, bowl in hand, topped with vanilla ice cream. "Is that blood? Oh my God--"

"First off, I've been... Everywhere, and I don't know whose blood this is."

"You don't even know who you--"

"Second, I didn't kill anyone." Anti said, rolling his eyes. "But we have a serious problem, okay? It has to do with Chase."

"He's in an institution."

"He's in a what? He's a fucking sitting duck in there! Who the hell thought it was a good idea to commit him?"

Sean bit his lip, setting his bowl on the coffee table before sitting down. "Henrik. But that's a long story. Why are you shaking like that?"

"Shaking like what? What the fuck are you talking about?" The demon crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the front door. He couldn't risk Sean knowing about what he'd done just days ago. "Maybe you're the one that needs to be in an institution. How much sleep have you gotten these last few days?"

"Since when do you care?" Sean said, standing up and deliberately walking over to him.

"Would you just stop? For God's sake, there are bigger issues than why I'm shaking." Anti turned his head away, a nagging feeling of regret inside of him. He felt like a trapped animal, wanting to tuck tail and run from him, but he knew that would just make things worse.

"Are you feeling okay? You look... paler than usual."

Anti's eyebrows furrowed. Perhaps his brother didn't pay attention as much as he thought he did. "I've been a little under the weather lately, that's all. Might be coming down with something."

Sean gazed at the demon tiredly before focusing on his face. "You're sweating like crazy."

"Yeah, I know. I'm fine. Focus on getting our brother out of that shit hole, okay? I'll talk to Henrik tomorrow."

"Okay. I'm gonna hit the sack. You should too. Don't forget to wash that blood off, either. I don't want to have to remove another mysterious stain from your sheets."

Anti silently nodded, watching his brother retire to his room. He felt nauseous after that encounter, stumbling into the kitchen and vomiting into the sink. The liquid was clear and sticky because he'd only had water these last few days. His stomach wouldn't allow anything else.

The entire afternoon had been a whirlwind for him, and he felt more restless than ever. If he'd been there to stop Chase from going out, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Sean wouldn't be losing sleep.

Anti's fingers dug into the side of the sink, and he looked up, staring into his faint reflection in the window. His eyes were dilated, and beads of sweat trickled down his face. It almost felt like he was looking at Chase. They had one thing in common now. Vulnerability.

"I'll fix this. I promise."