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Dennis did warn Mac not to use the top left drawer in the kitchen. Now there’s a smear of blood across the wood and a puddle of it on the floor. They can’t even go out to buy cleaning supplies until tomorrow.
As Dennis rummages through his bathroom drawer, he can hear Mac trying to talk to him, probably making all kinds of excuses. Dennis isn't listening. He's making sure to focus on solving this problem the right way by chastising Mac for not listening to him earlier.
Dennis is sifting through the contents so quickly that he doesn’t notice the sting on his palm until there are already drops of blood everywhere.
“I told you to watch out for that nail, bro,” Mac pipes up from behind, but Dennis can't meet his gaze in the mirror. He squeezes his palm with his other hand and tries to focus on losing less blood than Mac has.
“Here, let me,” Mac insists, grabbing the box of bandages from the drawer like it was nothing, which makes Dennis’ cheeks burn. But Mac is not without a fumble. He grabs Dennis’ wounded hand with his own, hissing at the unexpected andstickyandred contact.
Dennis remains stone-faced and tight-lipped. Moron, he thinks to himself.
Even though Dennis has been schooling his face expertly for the past ten minutes, not giving Mac the slightest hint of a reaction, Mac smiles at him like it’s just that easy. It's always just so fucking easy being Mac, isn't it?
“Dude, I think we made an accidental blood oath.”
Dennis' shoulders tense up. All those things Dad used to say about the kinds of men who would go around recklessly exchanging their bodily fluids with each other come to mind. It feels like a giant gaping hole has opened up where his stomach was only a second earlier. But even then, Dennis doesn't flinch or pull his hand away like he should.
Instead, Dennis tries to sit still while Mac wraps up his hand before he's even bandaged his own– which seems unsanitary and idiotic, but Dennis is too busy trying to stuff down his father's nagging voice to speak up about it.
That night, as Dennis lies curled up on his own King-sized mattress, his father's voice eventually fades away. The bleeding stops.
Looking over his shoulder, Dennis checks to make sure his bedroom door is closed completely.
Once he's sure he's alone, Dennis presses the bandaged part of his palm to his chin and applies a light pressure. He hears Mac’s voice in his head now, saying, “we made a blood oath.” and he sees the smile that was spread across Mac's face when he said it.
Then Dennis experiences the strangest sensation, like how it feels whenever Charlie makes him aware of his own breathing– but instead of the air in his lungs, he can feel his blood as it's pumping through his veins. He thinks about how he’s sharing these veins with Mac now, and Mac is sharing his with Dennis- his heart beats loudly in his ears. What he's feeling isn't fear, but it feels close enough.
The bandages aren’t enough to stop the sting when Dennis presses his palm against his chin a little harder than he should, but he still doesn’t wince.
There's something wrong with me, Dennis thinks, maybe it is psychopathy, he concludes.