Wade & Ren

 "Where did you get that?" Wade awakes to see Ren on the other side of the bed with a glass of red wine, snacking on popcorn.

Of course, Wade feels his lips. They are numb. How did that happen?

Probably the steriod, she tells him as she hands over the painkiller. 

"Why do you have wine?" He sits up on the pillow. 

"What about it?" She looking at a magazine as if it's none of his business.

"You aren't just lair, you're a thief too," Wade is furious. Of course, he wants some but she says he can only take the painkiller.

"Don't you want to feel good tomorrow?" She looks at him as if the wine has had no effect on her. 

"Maybe," Wade frowns as if he hasn't thought that far ahead. He wants to know what time it is. 

"Almost midnight," she tells him. She puts the glass of wine on the nightstand and gets him the peanut butter sandwich. She opens a juice box for him. He eats it as if he's famished.

"You know, I think Lil gets all her stuff from estate sales," Ren says as if this is important for both of them to remember. "I think today was Cross Dressing Lives Matter at the bookstore."

Wade isn't sure he wants to know this. "I guess that's why Roni was there."

"Well, he wasn't cross-dressing, but I think I saw this old dude in a tank dress with some impressive platforms," she says it's a thing. 

Wade looks at Ren wondering if she's thinking what he's thinking, "What if Miss Lily is actually a man?"

"It's not the end of the world," Ren goes back to her drink and finishes it off. She reaches for more wine.

"Give me some of that," he winces.

"No, you've got the pain killer, I've got wine," Ren will not share.

Wade fumes as if she has no right to do this to him. 

"And you can't smoke a cigarette in here," Ren tells him. "Auntie M will know."

She finishes up quickly and tells him he better go to the bathroom. 

"Why?" He is not happy with her rules.

"Oh, she'll be making her round soon enough."

So he does as she says and she gets in and out of the bathroom as well. Before he can think about sleep she has the lights out and it's pitch black. Of course, he only has Ren to hold on to. 

And then the door opens slightly. Wade's certain it's a ghost as it creeps in. A bony finger reaches for his hair. Wade squeezes his eyes tight. The finger clasp a lock of his hair.

"Oh, Ren such beautiful hair," the old voice says. Wade can hardly hear her when his heart thunders.

Finally, the finger lets go and she leaves. Wade is certain he's trembling. He can't imagine going through this every night. He vows he'll get Ren out of here, somehow.