Chapter 25
Rohan
Tyson never came back to our room last night.
There’s no way he snuck in and out without me noticing.
At this point, I notice everything about him, even the way he breathes differently when he’s upset.
The sun is up again, and the town’s NPCs are setting up, chattering amongst each other like any other day.
Only Tyson is nowhere to be found. I make it back to the inn’s lobby and wait for Marta to return to her station.
She’s smiling at me, a basket of dirty laundry in her arms. “Did your buddy get in yet?”
“No, he hasn’t … I was hoping maybe you’ve seen him actually,” I say, my brows pinched.
“Nope, I haven’t seen him around the inn at least. Maybe ask around town?” She says, worry pressed into her smile this time.
“Yeah … I’ll do that maybe. Thanks,” I mutter.
Where the fuck could he be? Missing town’s leader, now Tyson’s missing? Something isn’t adding up. This game is getting weirder and weirder by the day. Like it’s going off script somehow.
I walk out of the inn and into the bustle of the morning.
Everything is as it normally seems. Kids running and playing, birds chirping, the smell of fresh street food filling the air.
My footsteps wander, taking me down a few streets I have yet to inspect in my search for the town’s leader and now Tyson.
“Hey,” A voice says behind me, causing me to dash away.
What the fuck.
“What do you want?” I sneer.
The creature comes fully into my view, and I flinch back. It’s made mostly of shadows. I’ve never seen this one in the game before. My breathing shallows out as I try not to panic at its level.
I can’t take this thing.
Even with Tyson.
How is it even in the town? This is a safe zone.
“You can relax, pretty one,” It says, slyly like it’s taking a lick at the air around me.
“Yeah, cause I’d definitely relax when a creepy monster approaches me out of the dark. What do you want?” I back into the light more, it doesn’t seem to like it very much.
“You’re looking for your friend,” It says, and I stand up straight out of my attack stance.
“Tyson! You know where he is?” I ask, squinting my eyes.
“Ah, not quite. But I can tell you he’s not in the game anymore.”
My heart shudders in my chest.
“What are you saying?”
“I helped him get out, but he had to leave you behind, that was the deal.” It grins at me, making my skin crawl. It’s an ugly fucking thing. Saying ugly things to me. Ugly things that can’t be true.
“No, he didn’t.”
“So, then where is he!?” It snaps suddenly; its shadows growing angry, whipping at my feet.
“I don’t know,” I bite out, standing my ground. “But he wouldn’t just leave me in this stupid fucking game!” I scream.
“I guess you couldn’t be blessed with beauty and wit, huh?” The creature laughs at me. “Or luck for that matter. Probably shouldn’t have trusted your so-called friend.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Tyson wouldn’t do that to me.”
“I gave him the key to the tower. He completed the quest and got out without you.”
“How do you know about that?” I say, taking a step toward the cruel thing. I use MP to cast a low-level magic to illuminate the space around it. The monster dissipates, leaving me standing alone in the alleyway.
I stumble back into the street, my body wracked with anger. Tyson wouldn’t leave me in this game alone. He promised me we’d get out of here. Together. He meant together, right? But he never said that.
He never said that, and Tyson has always beaten me at every turn.
At every game.
He’s even better than me at the one we’re fucking stuck in.
I clench my fist, staring at my feet. Was this all some huge fucking trick or prank like I originally felt? Did I let him win again without even realizing it? And why? Because his kisses made me feel like I was finally doing something right.
Because they were the only thing that was real here?
Because I couldn’t stop chasing that intangible feeling no other man has made me feel in so long?
You’re so pathetic, Rohan.
Tears well in my eyes, blurring my vision. My heart feels like it’s physically shattering. I suck in a shallow breath, triggering the tears to fall.
It hurts so bad.
Is my heart breaking?