Adelaide went to the top of the basement stairs and called again. “Toby? You home?” He didn’t answer, so she figured he was out. She threw herself onto the couch and checked her phone. She was bored. She knew she should clean her room, but maybe she’d watch a movie and clean it later. Hmm. What movie? Maybe Amélie. Maybe The Royal Tenenbaums. She couldn’t decide. Adelaide got up to pee and pushed open the door to the downstairs bathroom, the one Toby used.
Subverting foreshadowing cliches; We know Toby is an addict suffering extremely severe symptoms, Adelaide begins this vignette by recalling “the time she found Toby in the bathroom”, thus we expect this to be about an OD of some sort.
Adelaide’s tone is pleasant and matter-of-fact, reflecting the blissful ignorance of her thoughts at that time. This makes reality sting even worse. Adelaide’s everyday disregard for her brother is surprisingly realistic; a movie character would’ve at least found Toby because they’d gotten worried and gone looking for him. Adelaide goes in there to pee and happens to find him. This stings so much worse.
