Page 40 of Our Final Game

“Why do you always have to bring up everything I do wrong?”

“I don’t. I’m just saying.”

“How about you don’t say anything until we get there?”

“Sure, trust me, it won’t be hard not to talk to you,” He says, pushing past me to continue down the dirt road.

I cringe as I watch him create distance between us on the path. Okay, he’s definitely still pissed. Why though? Even when I almost drowned in the river, he wasn’t this agitated for this long. It’s just a stupid boss, and we literally lived, and we got the fertilizer. But maybe the real question is why I feel a bit sad.

When a monster comes out into our path, he kills it without even blinking or barely acknowledging it. I pick up the loot as it falls behind him and pocket it. The scenery is starting to change as we get closer to the safety map. There are fewer and fewer monsters in the field, and the sounds of water crashing into itself finally hit my ears.

Tyson’s brows raise as we reach the edge of the body of hot, steaming water. His head tilts up as his gaze finds the top of the waterfall in front of us.

“Nice. I remember this.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“No, I’m on the team that’s working on this game. So I remember the map.”

“Wait, what?”

“Ah, that. Well, if you hadn’t thrown one of your little tantrums last night, I was going to say this game, Understory, I was part of the team working on it. And…” Tyson says before I interrupt him, “Wait, so you did know it was me.”

“What are you talking about now, Rohan?” He sighs.

“You never told me you’ve been working on this game exactly. And you said you didn’t know it was me you were talking to,” I say, trying to stay calm and not snap at him again. Especially not when I’m trying to fix things in the first place.

“I was going to tell you eventually, but you’re so prickly, you know. And I didn’t know. I’m not on the team that chose the beta testers,” he says, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“So, you really didn’t know it was me?”

He looks off toward the water, pausing. “If I’m being honest, I did figure it out eventually…” Tyson says, taking in a breath.

“Okay, so you knew! Why did you lie?” My fists ball up at my side. I feel my blood beginning to run hot, and I’m really trying not to lash out like I really want to.

“Can you just … let me speak, Rohan.” He rolls his eyes at me. I know he’s already upset with me, but I really can’t help it. This is so fucking embarrassing.

“At first, I really didn’t know. But then when we spoke over voice chat … that’s when I found out it was you,” Tyson says, looking down at me. His eyes seem sincere.

“And you just kept talking to me? Flirting with me?” I ask, chewing on my bottom lip, heat blooming across my cheeks.

“I guess.” He shrugs.

I want to ask him why, but I don’t think I’m ready for the answer.

So, I stare at him for a bit, the spray of the waterfall splashing at our feet as we stand on the rocks. “I guess I believe you.”

“Oh, thank you, my lord, for believing me. What would I have done had you not?” He says in a mocking tone.

“Don’t be a fucking dick, Ty.”

“Oh, we’re back to nicknames now?”

“What?”

“You told me not to call you Ro back there.”

“Can you just let things go and get into the water?”