Cruel to Be Kind

[tamcranver]

It’s been seven months since he saw them last, and when they enter the empty bar he is disturbed by how thin they are. Whether it is faith or guilt or madness, something is eating them from the inside out. When they sit, their hands shake on the table, VERITAS and AEQUITAS dancing for all they’re worth. When he opens his mouth, he says, “Fuck, I could kill you boys. How the hell do you stay so skinny on a diet of pizza and beer?” Their smirks are hiding something sharp, but their hands are steady, curling around their cigarettes.