Page 6 of Love in Development

“Maddox doesn’t come.But he also plays some fighting game.Like you were talking about.Well, not all of them like to play together, but it is more bonding time for those who do.And a well-bonded team makes a great team.You can’t deny that,” Charisse said.

Lin snorted, then turned to me.“I’ll let you know about the volunteer stuff when I think of something.”

Great.Then I’d owe Lin even more.I wasn’t sure why she was so focused on helping poor, pitiful me.Did she want the glory, or was it about control?I had no more time to contemplate the being that was Lin, as she pulled up to my building and I was already unbuckling and darting up the stairs with a quick goodbye.

In the fading light and in a rush, I hadn’t felt self-conscious about where I lived.But as I turned on the lights to the mess and considered how I was going to cook with most of the kitchen stuff still boxed up, I was reconsidering having a rich kid pick me up in the morning.If I could just get that job...No sense in hoping.Fate hadn’t been too kind to me lately.

I sighed and got to work.The noodles were still al dente when Mom opened the door, holding her cell to her ear.

“Molly.There’s someone on the phone named Buzz?”

Chapter 2

Things were going sowell.I’d been working at DragonByte for the past few weeks, and I’d almost forgotten that previous life when we’d lived together as an unhappy family.But my parents’ relationship today was stormier than the atmospheric pressure building outside.

“What’s your excuse now?Can’t you leave that bimbo in our bed for five minutes?”Mom yelled into her phone.I shut my bedroom door, hoping to at least muffle the volcano that was my mother.She was phone-fighting with Dad again.It was rather sad.I could tell she still cared for him so much.But her pain was making the love turn to hate.I really wished they could both see that.

I pushed the thoughts away, slipped my headphones over my head, and settled in at my computer.A grape soda waited on my desk, to the left of the screen.Battling was thirsty work.The folding chair wasn’t the most comfortable, while the desk had seen better days with black paint peeling off, revealing the naked wood underneath.But they did their jobs.We hadn’t taken much with us when we’d left the house Dad now shared with Val.

Branches banged against the building, muted by my noise-canceling headphones.My sweatpants and T-shirt—instant PJs—were just right for a cozy night in.Because tonight, storm or no storm, there was going to be a PvP tournament.It was a local one, and the finalists would all get awesome loot that I could sell in real life for some extra cash.Of course, the first prize came with a decent dollar amount that would pad my now nonexistent college fund nicely.The lawyer war between my parents had drained it.

I logged on early to warm up my fingers with some easy kills.My ScarlettSaber avatar appeared in the spawn town with its medieval feel.I closed unnecessary windows, like the player chat and friend notification screens.Talking and strategizing with my teammates over voice chat had once been fun—until the incident happened with RogueStriker.The group broke up, and I’d unfriended them.

I don’t use voice chat anymore.People could think what they wanted.

ScarlettSaber, distinct in his unique glowing red armor, sauntered through the bustle of players and non-player characters, or NPCs, all busy haggling and quest-finding.I passed both wooden and stone buildings—their street-level shops selling every kind of item a player could want or resources to make their own—on my way to the mobs on the outskirts of town.However, I didn’t make the city limits before—

Boom!Thunder hit right overhead.My room shook.The screen went black.I tossed my headphones away on the off chance that I got zapped.

“No!”Not my computer!

My heart tried to escape my ribcage.And now I was extra motivated to win first place because my laptop was likely a brick.How was I going to replace it?I left things as they were and bolted to check on Mom.We ran into each other in the hall, literally.

She grabbed my arms, steadying me.“You okay?”

I nodded.“You?”