On Facebook, my friend EJ challenged me (and other friends) to describe my NaNoWriMo project badly. My description was this: MMORPG brings together a dying programmer and the love of his life, who might be able to solve the mystery of why he’s dying. She said it made her intrigued (others have since agreed).
This month, I’ll be posting chapters as they’re finished. Hope you enjoy!
One
The phone rang.
Halfway through shaving, Jason Grey nearly dropped his razor, startled at the sound. He blinked blankly at his cell, perched on the corner of the bathroom counter, its screen turned toward the Formica countertop. He wiped one hand on the towel around his waist, reaching for the phone before whoever was on the other end hung up.
Who the hell would call me this early in the morning?
His fingers brushed the corner of the phone and sent it toppling off the edge of the counter. He lunged for it, the phone still ringing as it flipped end over end and hit the floor with a thwap that suggested finality. The ringing stopped. Jason cursed, dropping his razor into the sink and crouching down to retrieve the phone. It buzzed in his hand and he exhaled a sign of relief, flipping it over to glance at who was calling.
Peter.
“Hey Peter,” he said as soon as the phone reached his ear. “What’s up?”
“I had a seizure,” his brother said. That was it—no greeting, no preamble, just the words that made Jason’s blood run cold, made his stomach twist back on itself and bile rise in his throat.
“When?”
“This morning.”
“How bad?” Jason leaned against the counter, heart feeling like lead in his chest. Peter was calm, too calm. That was more terrifying than anything else.
“Hit my head,” Peter said. “Bled a little. Definitely loss of consciousness.”
The fingers of his free hand curled around the edge of the counter. It was hard to breathe. “Then—”
“Yes.”
His stomach dropped and Jason squeezed his eyes shut. “Then we—”
“No.”
That jarred him. His eyes snapped open and he stared into the sink, watched the water as it swirled down the drain, carrying whiskers and shaving foam with it. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“You were going to say we need to delay or cancel the launch and the press conference.”
He wasn’t wrong. “How did you know?”
“Marissa said the same thing. It’s not an option, Jason. You know it—your gut knows it and your heart knows it, too. It can’t wait. We launch today. We have to keep our promises and this was our biggest promise.” Peter paused and his voice got quiet and for the first time that morning, Jason heard real emotion breaking through his brother’s mask of calm. “This launch is something I want, Jason. It’s what I’ve always wanted, from the first minute we started dreaming about this. It’s time and we’ve worked so hard for it. I need you to make it happen. Please.”
Jason squeezed his eyes shut again, this time against the sting of threatening tears. “Okay. Okay. What do you want me to do? Is Marissa on board?”
“Barely,” Peter said. “She fought me on it.”
“What changed her mind?”
“I had to play the Wynter card.”
A weak laugh escaped Jason’s lips. “Bet she loved that.”
“If she wasn’t terrified, I think she wouldn’t speak to me for a couple weeks.” Peter took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “I told her to use the video we did—the taped dress rehearsal for my remarks. You’ll make a speech at the live thing at headquarters. Don’t tell anyone what’s going on with me. Let them—” he stopped for a moment, then sighed. “Let them think I’m just the reclusive genius or some shit. I don’t know. We’ll figure out a cover story later.”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Jason said quietly.
“No,” Peter agreed. “No, it wasn’t, but it did and now we just—we just have to figure it out. And we will. I promise, we will.”
“Are you going?”
“Already called. Neurologist is on his way in and once I’m off the phone with you, so will I.”
“Who’s driving you?”
“Brannon. He’s going to drop me off and join the rest of you. No muss, no fuss.”
Jason exhaled, reaching to turn off the water. “I hope it’s nothing.”
“Me too.” Peter sighed. “But I think we both know that’s a vain hope.”
“Yeah,” Jason whispered. “But let’s hang onto it anyway.”
“Love you, little brother.”
“Right back at you,” Jason said, scrubbing his hand over his eyes. “Be careful, okay? Call me once you know more.”
“I’ll wait until after all the launch events. I’ll text you when I get to HQ.”
If you get there today at all. Jason closed his eyes and nodded. “Okay.”
“Hey.” Peter’s voice was gentle. “Listen to me. You can do this. You’re the hot one, remember? Poster-perfect hero and the face of this company. You can do this. You’re better at it than I ever could be.”
“That’s because you’re too busy being the brains and beating heart of this thing,” Jason murmured.
“Give Brannon some credit. He’s at least half the brains here.”
It made him laugh and some of the tension eased from his limbs. “That’s true.”
He could hear the smile in Peter’s voice. “I’ll let you finish getting ready. Try not to worry, huh? It’ll be okay.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”
“Nah,” Peter said. “I’m the big brother. It’s my job. Knock’em dead, Jason.”
“For you, anything,” Jason said.
His phone beeped as the call disconnected from his brother’s end. Jason gave a shaky sigh, setting his phone aside and lifting his gaze to the mirror. There was still shaving cream all over his face, face half-shaven. He closed his eyes again, leaning against the counter.
For you, big brother. For your dream.
He turned the water back on, rinsed his razor, and got back to it, trying not to think about what they’d initially planned for that afternoon and how every single one of those plans had changed in an instant.
