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 surroundedby 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 headstrongto 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. Acouple and their beastly dog just going on a walk together in a place where reality doesn’t exist.
Chapter Eight
“What the hell?!” I shout, shoving my chair back with a screech as my avatar respawns for the fourth time in ten minutes. On my screen, Thiago’s character is standing still, but his cackling through my headphones gives me visions of him doubled over, clutching his sides. All I have to go on though is the stoic avatar whose armor is flickering gold and crimson in the torchlight. His little dragon familiar snorts flames like it’s laughing too.
“I told you not to charge into the ogre cave,”he says, all too smug for my liking. “But nooo, you had to go full rogue assassin before you’ve leveled up enough. I can tell patience isn’t your forte.”
“I had that ogre down to twelve HP! Twelve! You just stood there like a show pony!” I pace in a circle, coming back to lean on the desk. I can confirm gamer rage is a real thing. Thiago clears his throat for my attention.
“Correction. I stood there like a majestic battle stallion.”
“Battle stallion my ass. You were adjusting your inventory.”
“I was crafting a better bow!”
I press my palm to my forehead. This man is going to be the death of me. Pulling me into this virtual realm, only to leave me to fend for myself whilst he’s rearranging his inventory. I drink the last of the vitamin water from my Stanley cup and collect myself before taking a seat. My shoulders ache from hunching and I decide to check the time on my phone. Damn.
“Do you know we’ve been playing this game for four hours and we’ve made zero progress in the storyline?” I huff, irritated all over again. At what, I’m not exactly sure. Thiago makes a small humming sound and I can imagine him shrugging.
“Progress is overrated. I just like hanging out with you.” I go still, letting his words sink in. A blush rises to my cheeks far too easily and I’m thankful Thiago can’t see me right now. Licking my lips for some composure, I click back into the game.
“If that’s the case, help me defeat this ogre then.” Just as I lift my spear, Thiago’s avatar crafts a small bed and lies himself in it.
