Chapter 30
Thirty
This is only a preview, @CallieCarter.
Instagram caption by @briellewilliamsplus.
I plop on the couch in Zeke’s living room, completely exhausted after being on my feet all day. Mia kneels on the floor and sets up an intricate “shop” with her toys on the coffee table, placing them each in a row.
“What would you like to buy?” Mia asks, turning to me.
I point. “I’ll have the unicorn plushie, the plastic corn, and the . . . transformer robot?”
Mia busies herself getting me my merchandise. Zeke walks into the room and settles next to me on the couch with a happy sigh. “The robot was mine. Mama kept it for some silly reason and now Mia plays tea parties with it.”
Mia brings me my stuff, and I pretend to eat the corn. She promptly takes everything back and replaces them in her shop. “That will be a hundred trillion dollars,” she says.
“Here you go.” I hold out my hand.
Mia shakes her head. “No. Real money.”
“Okay,” Zeke says, standing and holding out a hand to help me up. “Miss Callie is super worn out, I am sure, and we have some celebrating to do.”
Of course Caroline insisted I come back for dinner to celebrate, even though I kept saying that second place was nothing to brag about.
She stared at me like I was nuts and dragged me along anyway.
Now she’s humming in the kitchen, whipping up her famous lasagna, and I’m still trying to process everything that’s happened.
Is there no way I can win?
Zeke takes my hand and helps me up, his fingers smooth and warm. He leads me back to his room, and I can’t help it that my mind goes to things it shouldn’t. Is he going to kiss me? Is he going to push me up against the wall and press his body against mine the way I long for him to . . . ?
My face heats, and I banish those thoughts.
“It is time, Callie Carter, to introduce you to D&D.” Zeke takes a seat at the table in his room covered in maps and figurines.
“Oh no, I’m too tired today, I’m—”
“It’s going to be fun. I promise.” Zeke smiles, and my heart melts. “Please? Will you do this with me? My brothers are getting on to play virtually in thirty minutes. That’s just enough time to make you a character.”
I sit on the chair next to him, resting my aching feet. “I do need a good distraction.”
Zeke grins. “My goal today is to make you forget about your worries and immerse you in nerd culture. Nothing says, ‘I’m letting go and living my best life’ like battling an orc with a Medieval executioner’s axe.
” He pushes aside a few maps to make room for his laptop.
He opens it and logs onto a site called Roll20.
“Seriously, though. Thanks for playing with me.”
He looks up, and our eyes meet. I don’t look away. I allow myself to get lost in his deep brown eyes, just for a minute. Could we really work out? Is there a universe where Zeke and Callie, D&D warrior and perfectionist cheerleader, actually get together?
Zeke clears his throat and looks away. “Do you want to be an elf, dragonborn, halfling, tiefling, dwarf, gnome, half-orc, or a human?”
I blink. “Umm. A human?”
“Boring,” Zeke teases, but he clicks that option.
I cross my arms. “Fine. Dragonborn.”
“Ooooh.” Zeke nods and smiles. “I like it.”
We continue on, choosing things like my height, size, appearance, and something about being chaotic neutral? Neutral good? I don’t really get it, and I let Zeke take the lead. But I’m surprised to find that I’m actually having a good time.
“And what should we name your blue ancestry dragonborn paladin?” Zeke asks.
“Suzy?”
Zeke laughs. “Suzy is a great name for a dragonborn. But, hang on.” He types in the name of another website, a fantasy name generator. “This is where I come when I need help with character names.” He clicks on “dragon names” and suggestions pop up. “What about Cilbunth the Squealer?”
“Are you kidding me?” I move closer to the screen. “That’s one of the suggestions?” I glance through the remaining list. “How about Onara the Bold?”
“I love it.” Zeke adds the name to my character sheet, prints it, and then sets his computer facing the board. He starts up a virtual call on Roll20 and looks at me. “You ready to meet my brothers?”
I nod, feeling anything but.
The image to pop on says, “Dan the Man” at the bottom.
He waves to Zeke through the screen. Zeke’s brother is sitting on his bed, though you can hardly see the blankets through all the scattered clothes and graphic novels.
The wall behind him is made of plastered cement blocks.
Dan’s hair is slightly shorter than Zeke’s and his nose a tad smaller, but I can easily spot the resemblance. They both look so much like Caroline.
“Dan! What’s up?” Zeke grins.
Dan smiles back and pushes coke-bottle glasses up his nose. “Zeke! How are you, buddy?”
Zeke turns to me. “This is my friend, Callie.”
I wave, feeling shy.
Dan leans closer to the camera, squinting. “She’s pretty, Zeke. I approve.”
I blush.
“Dan, she’s more than just pretty,” Zeke says. “She’s smart, friendly, super kind, and she bakes the best cookies in the world.”
My insides go all warm and gooey at Zeke’s words. “Well, probably not the best,” I say.
“She’s really modest, too.”
Dan is giving me a funny look, like I’m a math problem he can’t figure out.
“So . . . you’re in college, Dan?” I ask. “Where do you go?”
But then the screen divides in two and another brother shows up.
“Will! How are you?” Zeke asks.
Will is sitting on a workout bench. There’s a cable machine and bulky adjustable dumbbells in the background, and wow, that dude is ripped. His black fitted tank shows defined lines of biceps and pecs.
“You would get along really well with my mom,” I blurt, then feel like an idiot.
“You would!” Zeke saves me. “Her mom is a fitness instructor. She teaches classes, like, all the time.”
Will leans forward, and again, I see the family resemblance. Will wears a red sweat band around his forehead, and his black hair is close-cropped. He has a tiny diamond earring in his left ear.
Will smiles. “Nice to meet you, Callie. We’ve heard so much about you. Sorry I’m late, guys. I had to finish up my sets.” The camera moves when he picks up his phone. “Let me get back to my game room.”
Zeke turns to me. “Will has a private gym and gets paid big bucks to show off his muscles.”
Will rolls his eyes. “I do enter a lot of weight-lifting competitions, but I do not make ‘big bucks’.”
“Oh, you do, bro.” Dan grins. “At least, compared to me and my job at Starbucks.”
“You work at Starbucks?” I say. “I loooove coffee.”
“Callie’s addicted,” Zeke adds.
Dan gives me another critical look. “Well, I can already tell you are an excellent person, Callie,” he says. “Make sure you take good care of Zeke.”
“Ahhh, Dan, knock it off,” Zeke says.
Will gets settled at a desk, and the room behind him is neat and orderly with bookshelves lining the walls. I see a few titles that are familiar, books I’ve seen Zeke carrying around.
“I’m serious,” Dan says. “He needs a good friend.”
My heart warms seeing how Zeke’s brothers truly care about him. “I promise I’ll watch out for him,” I say.
“He needs you, Callie,” Will adds.
“Guys, quit.” Zeke runs a hand over his face.
I wonder if Zeke’s thinking what I’m thinking. That he’s just as alone as he was before he met me.
The thought hurts my heart.
“You guys ready to get started?” Dan asks, rubbing his hands together with glee. “Just wait until you see what I’ve got planned for this armored troll.”
“Dude,” Will says. “You would be nowhere without my level thirty healer backing you up.”
I smile, listening to the brothers trash talk each other. I grip my character sheet, ready to experience D&D.
I truly can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m having a blast. It’s been over an hour, and the time has flown by. Zeke, Dan, and Will get super into their roles, doing voices and grand gestures. Will seems to be holding back laughter half of the time, but Zeke and Dan are perfectly serious.
At first, it’s hard for me to get into the game, but Zeke is such a good .
. . dungeon master? . . . and storyteller, that I can’t help it.
He enraptures me into the narrative he’s created about a village gone missing and mercenaries (Dan, Will, and me) hired to find them.
We explore a deep castle, run into a goblin called Meepo who gives us directions we’re not sure we can trust, and make friends with the goblin queen thanks to a charisma roll of the dice by me.
Will and Dan applaud, and I practically glow with pride, even though it was all luck.
The queen helps us on our way, and I find myself wanting to know how the story ends, wondering whether we can rescue the villagers.
Soon I’m fighting trolls and goblins and making decisions about which spell or weapon to use against which enemy.
I almost die but then Will’s healer character saves me, and he gives Dan a smug look, who rolls his eyes.
“Dinner’s ready, people!” Caroline calls.
Zeke gathers his dice back into a black bag. “Time to go.”
“But we didn’t save the villagers!” I protest.
Zeke looks over at me with a huge smile.
“The lady has spoken,” Dan says in his mage voice, his glasses sliding down his nose. “We must play but a few moments more.”
“Mama’s calling,” Zeke says. He turns back to me. “But that’s why we play every week. It’s a campaign.”
“I leveled up Onara so much!” I say with glee. “When can we do this again?”
Dan grins, and Zeke’s face lights up. “I’m glad you had fun.”
“I’m out,” Will says with a wave. “See you guys next week!” His picture blips off. Dan salutes and follows suit.
Zeke grins at me. “You’re a natural! But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
I elbow him and follow him out of his room to the dinner table, where amazing smells hit my nose. I remember that I basically only had sugar cookie samples for lunch, and my stomach growls.
Zeke and I take seats at the table, where Mia is already chugging a cup of milk. Caroline places a 9x13 casserole dish of gooey lasagna on the table, and my mouth waters. She sits down next to Mia, but then the doorbell rings.
“I’ll get it.” Caroline stands. “You dig in.”
I dish Mia a portion before adding a heaping pile to my own plate. I would normally not eat so much in one sitting, but I am literally starving. I add a big scoop of salad, too, because balance.
I’m passing the lasagna to Zeke when Caroline walks back into the room. Her face is slightly unsure, and she’s toying with her wedding ring. Mom steps out from behind her, her arms crossed, her lips in a tight frown.
A jolt goes through me at seeing Mom. It feels like it’s been a long time since we had more than a passing conversation, and she does not look happy.
For once she’s wearing jeans and an orange hoodie with the words “Trim & Fit”—the name of the gym where she teaches—written in swirling letters across the chest.
“I need to talk to Callie,” Mom says. She eyes my plate. “That is way too much food, Cal.”
I swallow and set down my fork. My initial shock and embarrassment morphs into anger, boiling up within me. My stomach clenches from hunger and rage, and my fingers curl into fists underneath the table. My cheeks are on fire.
How dare she? How dare she?
“I can decide how much to eat, Mom,” I say. My voice is taut, my words clipped. I’ve had enough.
She sighs, her brows furrowing together in barely contained irritation. “Where have you been all day?”
I guess we’re doing this here. Mia attacks her food and Caroline takes a seat. Zeke glances at me, worry on his face.
“I was helping Caroline and Zeke with their church fundraiser. I told you about it.” I wish you could’ve seen me, is what I don’t add.
“I don’t remember hearing about this.” Her eyes stare me down.
My hunger is forgotten, the lasagna getting cold in front of me. “I know I told you. You were probably rushing off to teach cardio kickboxing instead of really listening to me.”
“Zeke, Mia, we should probably—” Caroline begins, but Mom cuts her off.
“I listen to you, Callie, and I would know if my daughter was going to be gone all day helping some church!” Her voice is rising in volume, and some part of me knows that we shouldn’t do this here, not where people can see, but that part is getting smothered by the fury blistering within me.
“You would remember if you actually paid attention to me!” I shout. Tears sting my eyes. “You tell me what to eat, how much to work out, and what to wear. You never ask what I want or how I feel. Nothing I ever do is good enough for you. Nothing!”
I sit down, the poisonous words finally out of me, the words I’ve been holding in for so long finally in the open. I feel wrung out, like dough kneaded and stretched.
Mom’s jaw drops. She blinks. Then she clamps her mouth shut, her eyes shining with rage.
She glances at the surprised and embarrassed faces around the table, and I know what’s going through her head.
She’s worrying about what these people will think of us more than she’s worried about her own daughter’s feelings.
I grind my teeth and stare at my plate.
“You’re coming home with me, now,” Mom says.
I shove my chair back and push past her on my way to the door.
“Callie—” I hear Zeke’s chair scrape against the floor, but I’ve already slipped on my shoes and am halfway out the door.