Chapter Seven #2
My hands still on the controller as my eyes narrow.
Standing, I peel back the curtain, hissing at the brightness of the rising sun, and glare at the bitter old shrew sitting on her porch across the road.
Two cats are fighting for a space on her lap, but her attention is on me.
Her vision has no business being that sharp at her age, but being the nosey neighbor is all that keeps her going these days.
Rosa lifts a hand to wave, and I promptly give her my middle finger, whip the curtain closed and drop back into my chair.
“I’m serious, Primo,” Dax puts on his big boy voice. We’re the same damn age. “There’s more to life than your computer. You should get out and live a little.”
“The last time I lived a little, your girlfriend’s harem nearly got me killed.” There’s a beat of silence on the other end of the phone.
Sure, getting a call to travel across the country to do some hacking for Dax’s girlfriend was fun and all, until I found myself hiding in a vent hugging my laptop whilst ex-cons trashed the hotel room beneath.
As per my MO, I watched through the surveillance feeds as my cousin put his life on the line for his girl and those he calls his brothers.
It became apparent that day just how alone I am, but I didn’t know then that I’d be carrying Meg out of a hellhole by the end of it.
She needed help and I was there at the right time and place to give it to her.
Whatever sense of responsibility began that day has only intensified, manifesting itself into something so much more.
A sigh comes through the receiver. “I promised your mom I’d look out for you,” Dax mutters. Another kick in the teeth. Just because I dropped out of high school and Dax is the big shot educated boy, somehow he’s deemed more dependable than me. I pick the controller back up and go back to my game.
“And I promised I’d take care of her house. I’m doing that, and I’m quite happy with my setup here. Stop worrying, you’ll get wrinkles and start to look like the crabby woman you sound like.”
In the background of the speaker, a female voice picks up. Dax’s girlfriend, Avery, is there with him, and I know what the next question is before Dax voices it.
“How is Megan?”
A bitter laugh escapes me. “Still feisty enough to punch you for calling her Megan.” Tapping my foot, I wipe the smirk off my face.
The woman hanging on my response wants a real answer, considering she’s Meg’s twin sister.
“She’s okay. Struggling to adjust to school again, but she’s doing her best.”
There’s not much else to say. When Meg is ready to speak to her sister again, she’ll pick up the phone. It’s not my place to discuss Meg’s recovery. Thankfully, Dax doesn’t push me for more.
“We do really appreciate everything you’re doing for her, Thi. In fall break, we were thinking that we could all head to Sweetwater Creek, if you could convince Meg to-”
The window to the left of my screen activates, Meg’s door flying open and triggering the movement sensor. She storms into the room, slamming the door and throwing her backpack across the room. Uh oh.
“Yeah, yeah, sounds good. I have to go.” I hang up my phone, needing to leave the line open in case Meg needs me.
She’s currently having a fight with her sweater, ripping it off and throwing herself onto her bed.
I watch wide eyed, the tapping of my foot increasing in pace.
I can’t text and ask what’s wrong. I’m not meant to be watching her.
I have to just sit and wait for her to reach out to me.
And the next ten minutes of her screaming into her pillow, pacing and throwing her planner at a wall is a tough wait.
Eventually, Meg drops into her desk chair, puts on her headphones and a second later, her avatar wakes up in our game. She’s momentarily confused that her tent is surrounded by a wall, wolves and several booby traps, but then the smallest hint of a smile graces the corner of her lips.
“Don’t you have anything better to do with your life?” Meg’s voice leaks from my speakers. I chuckle to myself, also donning my headset and mic.
“My cousin was literally just asking me the same thing,” I respond.
That tiny smile on Meg’s face vanishes. If she wants to ask how Avery is, she doesn’t.
Instead, she leashes one of the wolves and takes her avatar for a walk.
I change the conversation. “You’re back early. I thought you had classes today.”
“Ugh,” Meg grunts. “I’ll start tomorrow.” My mouth opens and closes a few times. As much as I don’t want to push her, it may be good to start having some real conversations. Ew, I hate when Dax’s influence bleeds into me.
“Did something happen?” I ask. Meg’s face is hard, completely closed off but there’s a pink twinge to her cheeks. “You can talk to me, you know. I’m right here. Well, sort of.”
I huff a small laugh that falls flat. Static from my mic lingers in the pause between us. Meg breathes in, her shoulders rising and falling. Keeping her focus on her avatar, Meg’s voice drops to a place of vulnerability she doesn’t often show.
“I don’t think I should have come back. I think…I defaulted to what I thought I knew. But I don’t know these people anymore. Maybe it’d be best if I just left.”
I lean forward, resting my forearms on the desk.
I need to be careful here, not coming on too strong when I know she isn’t in the frame of mind to listen to me.
She can’t see what I do reflected through the lens.
I’m also no good at the touchy-feely mush, but somehow I manage to make my voice soft yet steady.
“You might feel like that right now, but I’ve gotten a good read on you over these last few months, Pequeno Guerreiro. You’re too stubborn to let them win, and you’re too headstrong to run away. Stand your ground and show them why you deserve to do whatever you want.”
There’s a pause. A blink. Meg’s lips press together. Her fingers flex on the mouse. I watch her intently, reigning in what her heart wants her to feel as her head takes over. The denial sinks in, and she exhales harshly.
“You’ve put me on a pedestal ever since we met.”
Meg can’t see me nodding, but it’s the truth.
Since she opened her beautiful pale blue eyes in the hospital, so lost yet so headstrong to prove something to a world that doesn’t deserve her, I’ve been hooked.
She’s become my reason to wake up each day and I don’t even have a commitment from her in return.
Just knowing I’m the only person she wants to talk to is enough. For now.
“I haven’t put you anywhere,” I say gently. “I just see you clearly. Even when you try to make yourself invisible.”
Meg exhales, sharp at first but then her posture eases, just barely.
Her avatar stops walking. Through the camera, she briefly removes her headset to reach over and tug her sweater back on.
She pulls the cuffs over her hands just like she does when she’s trying not to cry.
It’s impossible to hold myself back at times like this, even when I know I’m dangerously close to revealing my heart too freely.
Once her headset is back in place, I walk my avatar up to hers and take her virtual hand.
“It’s okay to feel, you know,” I say like the dirty hypocrite I am. “Don’t shut down just because someone is getting closer to you.”
Meg doesn’t answer. Not with words. She clicks back into the game, urging her avatar and her wolf to continue walking.
I walk with her, into the wilderness of the landscape with no real destination in mind.
This isn’t like the other times we’ve played.
There’s no mission to complete. This is closer to real life.
A couple and their beastly dog just going on a walk together in a place where reality doesn’t exist.