The text from Link at the end of the day was simple, but enough to make me smile.Just checking in.
Still good.I hitSend.And thanks.
That was that. There were no follow-up texts—not that there should’ve been. But Wednesday morning I decided to shove my phone aside and set it on silent, to keep me from checking it obsessively.
I tried to drown out the lonely and impotent feelings by putting on my headphones, picking up a controller, and playing classic video games. Like Final Fantasy.
That definitely didn’t help my state of mind, when the memories of the masquerade party rushed back. Both the incredible night and the fallout after.
I was right. What has gaming gotten you besides a spot on the couch and no future?
Wonderful. My father’s voice was back. I hadn’t been haunted by that in years.
I managed to shove the taunting words aside, but the roller coaster of emotion wasn’t any less nauseating than yesterday.
When someone rang the bell that afternoon, King was on his feet in a heartbeat, running toward the noise, and yipping with excitement. My mind raced ahead to possibilities. This wasn’t the kind of place where I got a lot of visitors, or any really. I rarely even ordered delivery because drivers couldn’t find the house.
Link was working, and tended to knock, so it wouldn’t be him. It wasn’t as though Fallyn was going to walk back into my life. Ever.
I scooped up the puppy. “Calm down. It’s no one exciting,” I muttered as I opened the door.
“There are a number of people who would disagree with you.” Brandon was on the other side.
Though any reason for why escaped me. He hadn’t been here since… It had been many years. Back when this wastheplace to party. “I think that’s a given.” I eyed him suspiciously. “Some might even say it’s my schtick. I’m not an agreeable person.”
“I meant that I was exciting.” Brandon held out a pizza box.
That had King’s attention, and if I was being honest, mine as well. It smelled like sauce and meat and the fact that I hadn’t eaten much over the last few days. But it wasn’t like I had any free hands to take the food from Brandon. Besides, the offering made me suspicious, so I held up King in response.
Brandon shrugged. “I heard you had a new friend. He’s adorable.”
“Thanks.” No. Really. This was weird. King strained against my arms, trying to get closer to the food, so I let him sniff Brandon. “He likes people a bit too much for my taste, but he’s not bad otherwise.”
“Hey, little guy.” Like that, Brandon’s voice shifted up an octave, and he scratched and petted King. “You’re adorable, aren’t you? How’d you land yourself such a grumpy old man?”
I rolled my eyes and tried to fight a smile I didn’t understand. “Did you stop by just to meet the dog?”
“Nope. I heard you get to take the rest of the year off.” Brandon focused on me again.
Any of my creeping good mood vanished in a blink. “Just the rest of the week,” I said. Brandon had been suspended last year because he was fucking up and picking fights. Not the same as what I was dealing with. He’d been burned out and dreading working at all. I actually wanted to be at work. “Why are you here?”
“I’m paying it forward.” He nodded at the pizza.
“I can buy my own food.” I was being abrupt on purpose, because it was easier than admitting his presence made the ache inside worse. It was both nice to see someone else from work, and wrong that it was Brandon. He was all but a traitor, since he’d mostly quit after last year.
His smile was a kind of patient I didn’t want to see. “I know how hard the Cord thing hit you, back when. Most of us know,” he said.
Hurray. Pity for something that wasn’t relevant. For something I never talked about. In fact, Fallyn was the only person I’d told the story to. Anyone I worked with may have drawn conclusions, but they’d never heard everything. “You don’t know.”
“We’re not blind. We do know.” Was his glance at my wrists intentional, or just a subconscious reaction? “I’m here because last year, someone else did this for me and I hated them for it.”
“Wow.Awesome.” Was that sarcastic enough? I was torn. It was nice to know Brandon cared, but he wasn’t the person I wanted to have this conversation with. I didn’t want anyone digging around in my psyche or heart this much.
Maybe Link.
Maybe.
And Fallyn.