[it's not Theo's fault that he asks the one question that sucks any playful air between them out. technically it is - but anyone could ask it. he's met with silence and stillness for an entire minute, which feels like ages. no absent searching through drawers, no fidgeting with floss. a suffocating feeling in the air; the lights flicker. his words are forced out, as they would be if a gun was held to his head: slow and concise.]

I summoned a devil and it left me with something I'll never be able to get rid of.

[and a deep breath later,]

What are your parents like?