I didn’t mean to drag up things he’d told me in confidence, or go for what I hoped would hurt him the most. When I said I was sorry, I meant it.
But years of dealing with internet trolls, of men telling me I was too loud or too obnoxious or would look better with their cocks in my mouth, or worse, and I had learned certain responses. One of them washurt them more than they hurt you.
So, yeah. I fucked up not taking down the video before it went live, and I fucked up again getting sucked into that argument with Elliot, and now I was going to deal with the consequences. If I could talk this through with him in person, would it be better?
I was staying in the house in his backyard, it felt like I should at least have some sort of conversation with him. I tried to keep an eye and ear out for any sign of him coming home, but would he tonight? With the game being live, would he be in the office until late?
Would he simply find a way to avoid me, even if he came home?
I was trying not to stare out the window at Elliot’s back porch, when his patio door slid open. My heart skipped and my stomach plummeted, and both relaxed in disappointment when an older woman stepped outside with King on a leash.
She was the same woman I’d seen do this multiple times today. Perhaps it was time I stop being a creepy lurker and go introduce myself.
I yanked on shoes and a coat, and tried to both hurry and look casual strolling outside. She looked up when I opened the cottage door, and I smiled and waved. “Mrs. Ria?”
She smiled warmly. “It’s Elephtheria, you may call me Ria. Elliot told me about you. Fallyn?” Her accent was distinct, but her English was clean.
“That’s me. Hi.” I extended my hand.
She pulled me into a hug instead. “I’m so glad you’re here. Elliot talked about you for days before you arrived.”
He had? I doubted he’d be doing much more of that, but I’d take the compliment for what it was worth. “Do you know if he’ll be back tonight?”
“Probably not, I’m sorry.” Ria shook her head.
I crouched to give King some attention. “It’s okay. Does that mean you’ll stay the whole night?”
“I will. It’s nothing to worry about, though. I have a good book and a brave guard dog.”
King barked, as if he recognized her words, and tried to run circles around my leg.
“Careful, Puppy.” I unwound myself from his leash, surprised I didn’t trip.
“I’ll tell Elliot you asked about him,” Ria said.
I shook my head. “Please don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to him when he’s not so busy. And I should let you get back into the warm house.”
“You know where to find me if you need anything, dear.” She squeezed my hand, and headed into the main house.
I headed back inside, and I was surprised to hear a knock a few hours later. Ria was back, offering me a plate of moussaka. I thanked her profusely, and enjoyed the dinner.
If things didn’t get better with Elliot and Link, at least I’d made one friend while I was here. Two if I counted King.
Tuesday, I stayed in the guesthouse and worked on videos for games that didn’t belong to ET Howard, as well as editing any reference to Elliot out of the video that had gone up yesterday, and reposting it with no fanfare.
If I were home, Tuesday nights would be when I’d meet Puff and Archer in the game. We’d planned to play tonight in person, all of us in the same room, but I didn’t suspect I was still welcome for that. Still, I had to log on and see if either of them would join me.
I waited for more than an hour before I decided that no, I wasn’t going to be seeing their digital forms tonight.
Outside, the moon lit the snow and sent shadows spilling from trees. It would look gorgeous out there with just a few lights and decorations. Maybe I’d have some time to go see the local lights while I was here, but I’d probably be doing it alone. Maybe I could call Megan, see if she wanted to show me around town. Were we that kind of friends?
A weird popping sound echoed through the walls. What was that? I strained my ears, but didn’t hear it again.
The light on the snow outside my window changed, drawing my attention. Elliot stepped out with King on a leash. Could I talk to him? See if it was possible to make this right, now that he’d had a chance to cool down? As with last night, I dressed quickly to run outside and catch him.
Unlike last night, with Ria, the instant he saw me, he turned and walked in the other direction.
“Elliot, wait. Please?”