What if he never played again? I fidgeted with the mouse wheel.
I pushed up my glasses and chuckled. At least an ‘lol’ was progress.
I didn’t have those. Not unless he counted the Just Rock game setup my brother and I had as kids with plastic buttons and smack-pads. They were buried somewhere in the basement.
I went on an expedition into the depths of our house and switched the lights on the basement stairwell. Neon flickered, then steadied against stark white walls. Spider anatomy diagrams were pinned to the ideaboard. Although I’d managed to redistribute a few rogue limbs, my workshop was still covered in evidence of The Widow’s construction. So far, I hadn’t recycled much in case the mall sent lawyers my way, but I’d have to clean up eventually. Not today.
I yanked a few storage bins full of old parts, shoving them aside to get to the stuff I’d saved from our parents’ house that I hadn’t bothered to unpack yet, including old game consoles. I sat on an adjacent bin and lovingly reassembled the rock band set. It wasn’t exactly building a mech, but it did energize me to do something with my hands.
Later, I connected the set to the console. The drums lit up blue, and I burst out laughing. My brother must’ve played these last. Blue was his favorite color. He used to flip his long bangs, trying to keep up with the beat on various instruments. Too bad we weren’t musically inclined. But we had other talents.
Tech. Research. Building shit.
If I was going to build any kind of relationship with Sal, I needed to be able to trust him. I ran a quick background check on him. No arrests. No violations. Two minor traffic tickets. Tension drained from my shoulders. I could give him my address.
I sent Sal a picture of the setup.
I sent him a thumbs up.
Oh. Right. He had real friends, not just mall friends. They’d take care of him.
He sent a few laughing, crying, and perplexed emojis. I smirked. How drunk was he?
I snorted and powered down the game console. Okay, he’d definitely gone beyond tipsy.
He wanted me to come?
I laughed. Okay, somehow, that convinced me. Victor didn’t get off for another hour or two, so I texted him to let him know where I’d be.
