
SOMETIMES, KATE PLAYS a game with herself. the most recent one is a sort of make believe reminiscent of times after scott joined the fuller family but before they quit playing with their imagination & started playing MERCY. even now, it feels like a combination of the two. hands clasped & fingers laced together so tightly that knuckles turn white and chipped-polish nails bite half-moons into the skin. but the LIGHTHEARTED game she plays includes making up personalities for the people around her. man across the street, scowling into his cell phone ? his mama doesn’t approve of the girl he’s marrying, but he’s going to do it anyway. girl in the back of the pickup truck - now, she’s been drifting all over the country, she could tell you stories for hours. the person sitting beside her on the park bench ? they’re sweet, kate’s decided ( even if they’re not ), expression sorta soft as they smile (?) down at their phone. preacher’s daughter used to be the person she imagines them to be. soft & sweet & chest splayed open, heart on display for anyone to touch. kinda had a power of its own - poor kyle, poor rafa, caught in the crossfire & fangs & sunlight in vain attempts to save the girl they’d fallen in love with. if they’re in heaven, she wonders if they can see that girl is dead. knees drawn to her chest on the park bench, kate can’t help but be a little nosy as her until-then silent companion startles her out of her reverie with a soft noise - was it a laugh ? a sigh ? she hadn’t been paying attention. ‘ …. - you got some good news or somethin ? ’ she hedges, a silent but hopeful plea of tell me something good. / @catastropheyes