Caution Tape by Molly Doyle

CORA
It’s exhausting pretending to be normal.
Go to therapy. Hold down a job. Smile.
So much smiling.
All I can do is attempt to corral the burning rage that sits in my chest.
It’s getting hard.
My mask is slipping.
I’m slowly losing my grip. Reality is getting blurry.
I’m yearning to lash out. To taste blood.
For someone to see me for what I truly am.

NOLAN
I’ve kept myself in check. Built the perfect lie. A well-adjusted man with his entire life ahead of him.
Allowed myself only daytime fantasies and night drives. It’s not enough.
I’m too hungry.
Then there’s her. Chipping away at my lie piece by piece.
I see her. She has a darkness in her eyes that matches mine.
I want her. I want her wrapped in plastic, squirming and begging me for mercy.
My trophy. My toy. Mine.
And so it begins.
One game.
Two mutual monsters.