I was supposed to be packing up the old place. I’d been avoiding it for weeks.
But after today, after spending this time with Daniel, I craved my old home. Daniel was a stand-up guy, but he’d completely drained my social battery. I needed a moment alone.
“Come back for dinner, okay?” Mom called after I said my goodbyes and made my way outside.
I nodded, climbed into my truck, and drove back to our old house, where I sat outside for a few moments. The coat of white paint I’d put on about four years ago looked a bit grubby, but the buyers had agreed to paint it themselves once they moved in.
I turned off my truck and let myself into the now almost-empty house. None of the rooms interested me except one. I crept to the study and grasped the handle. A part of me almost thought to knock. To call out. To ask if he was in there.
My heart pulsed. This was stupid. He died years ago. I couldn’t let it haunt me. I was a grown man with responsibilities, and if I didn’t toughen up and empty this room, it would be handed over to the new owners as is because Mom wouldn’t be able to do it either. She’d lost the love of her life. Her soulmate. Someone she had shared herself with for almost twenty years before he was torn away.
I pushed open the door, and it creaked as if surprised to see me.
My breath caught at the sight of the PlayStation 2 and the two controllers strewn across the floor. The cushions we’d sat on were still there. Unmoved. And I knew if I turned on the little TV and the console, the game we’d paused and saved all those years ago may still be there. Stuck in a different time. Where dying in Middle-earth was my biggest fear.
With a few deep breaths, I went to the controllers and lifted one of them. I hadn’t played on a PlayStation 2 since then. I hadn’t stopped gaming, but I’d moved over to PC gaming where I could play alone or with strangers online and not be reminded that I’d lost my Player Two.
9
ELIZABETH
[92 weeks ago]
@theanswerisno:
Thought you’d given up on our farm and become a respectable adult
@pancakesareelite:
I’ve had a rough week.
Will you water my crops?
@theanswerisno:
Of course. I’ll harvest them too
@theanswerisno:
Do you want to talk about it?
@pancakesareelite:
Not really
@pancakesareelite:
I appreciate the offer.
But I think I need to sleep.
@theanswerisno:
I’m sorry about your week
@pancakesareelite:
Thank you, Link <3
