One More Round (Gamer Boy Book 2)

by Lauren Helms

  I quickly realize that I've stopped walking, so I continue with caution and flop into the recliner next to the couch.

  We make eye contact briefly before his gaze slides back to Dex and Morgan. A shiver runs down my back and I quickly focus on my can of pop.

  We don't talk to each other. Ever. The eye contact? It’s brief but it’s a recent development. I like it, but it always makes things a tad awkward for a while after. I know Simon is still mad at me, after all these years. I would guess that he doesn't even like me. I just don't understand why he continues to tag along with Dex—and sometimes Link—when they come to our apartment. It's not like he doesn’t know I’m here.

  We've only been back in each other's lives for about a year now, and at the beginning, you could cut the tension in the room with a butter knife. We've said very little to each other. I can count on one hand the number of verbal interactions we've had.

  He’s around me so often now, throwing me the occasional stink eye, maintaining his air of distance … but what makes this all worse is that I miss him even more now than I did when he wasn't in my life.

  "Gia! Earth to Gia." I shake the thoughts from my head and look over to Morgan who is crossing the room to sit next to Dex on the couch.

  "Yeah, sorry. Brain fog. Too many margaritas last night," I say, trying to focus on her and not the steely gaze coming from Simon.

  "We were thinking about going out tonight. I want to do something fun. I haven't really been out on the town since before the accident," Morgan says wishfully.

  "Ah, I think I have a date tonight," I say. I’m trying really hard not to be distracted.

  Morgan pouts.

  "How do you not know?" Simon scoffs.

  I wouldn't call his tone malicious, but as my eyes shoot to him, I see his jaw ticking. I wonder if he meant to ask that question out loud or not.

  "Well, I set up the date a week ago and I haven't heard from him since. I just realized that we haven't confirmed. Therefore," I draw out slowly, "I think I have a date tonight, Simon."

  I don't mean to be snippy, but he has no right to question me about my personal life when he seems disinterested in me 95% of the time.

  He rolls his eyes. "You’re right. Forget I asked." His gaze falls back on the phone I hadn't noticed in his hand.

  "Damn. It's always a treat to witness actual verbal exchanges between the two of you," Dex says, looking from me to Simon. Morgan elbows him.

  This was not the distraction I was hoping for.

  I stand and head to the kitchen, noticing that the dishes I told Morgan I'd clean are still there. Ah, cleaning should do it!

  It’s a bonus that the running water from the sink should drown out Simon's voice as he becomes the nice, funny, and interesting person that he is with everyone else. His bitter side is only for me, it seems.

  Chapter Four

  Gia

  Then

  I'm sitting on my bed doing homework. Math homework to be exact. I hate math. It's around 5:30 in the evening and I'm the only one home. Usually, Todd is home as well. He'd be doing homework, or God-knows-what on the computer. But not today. He skipped out on school sometime before lunch. Again, nothing new. However, 5:30 turns into six, and my texts to Mom are going unanswered.

  By 6:30, I am getting hungry. Typically, both my parents are home and my mom is making dinner by now. It wouldn't have bothered me that no one else was home, but I don't see anything on the calendar to explain where everyone is. I call my mom. No answer. I call my dad. No answer. I even call Todd, and the call goes right to voicemail.

  While I'm not surprised that Todd sent me right to voicemail, I'm starting to be concerned that Mom and Dad aren't picking up. I pad down the hall to my room and sit at my desk. I open my chat and send Simon a message.

  Me: So … not one person is home yet, and no one is answering their phone.

  Simon: Really?

  Me: Really. There isn't anything on the calendar. No one mentioned anything to me about being late tonight.

  Simon: Want me to come over?

  Me: I do, but you know my mom would flip out if she gets home and you're here.

  Simon: That's still so fucking stupid. Todd is such a dick for telling them he caught us in your bed.

  A couple of weeks ago, Simon and I were working on our homework in my room. I had been on the bed, and he on the floor, lying on my beanbag chair. Out of nowhere Todd threw the door open and yelled: "What the fuck are you two doing?"

  A startled scream escaped me, and Simon cursed as we looked up at Todd in the doorway.

  "Seriously, Todd. What does it look like we are doing?!" I yelled back.

  He had a look of pure evil in his eyes. A look I knew well. He was having an episode. At least, that's what my mom called them. We had to tread lightly when he was like this because we never knew what he was going to do. Simon saw the look too, and quickly moved, quiet as possible, to the bed next to me.

  Todd slid his nasty look toward Simon, and a mean smile crossed his face.

  "Hmm. I wonder what Mom and Dad would do if I told them I found you two doing the dirty. I came home, minding my own business and heard some noises and, lo and behold, I find the two of you in here. Together. It would be totally inappropriate," he schemed.

  My mouth dropped, Simon stood to block me. "Back off, Todd. Don't be an ass."

  I calmed myself and attempted to reason with him.

  "Todd, we were doing homework."

  He turned to leave my room, but with a nasty smirk he leveled one last stare at me. "Wouldn’t it be a shame to lose your only friend, Gia?"

  He whistled a tune as he walked back down the hall. That night when Mom got home, he told her that he’d caught us having sex and that he didn’t feel comfortable with my relationship with Simon. Through tears, I pleaded with them and promised them that what Todd said had happened was not true. That Simon was my best friend and we could be trusted.

  Ultimately, they believed me, but they didn't like the idea of Simon and me in the house together, unsupervised. They didn't want Todd to feel uncomfortable in his own home. From then on, Simon was no longer allowed in our house unchaperoned, and we had to stay in either the kitchen or living room.

  I'm still so upset with all of them. But Todd has been doing this kind of stuff to me all our lives. He doesn't want me to be happy. I don't know why he thinks I could possibly be happy when I live with him.

  Me: I know.

  Simon: God, it just still pisses me off so much.

  Me: :-(

  Simon: My mom is making meatloaf. Do you want to come eat with us?

  Me: Yeah, I'll be over in a few.

  Simon's mom makes the best meatloaf, and even if she were a horrible cook, I would still enjoy being over at Simon's for dinner rather than my own house. His house is a drama-free zone, unlike my own.

  I pack up my bookbag with the rest of my homework and head to the kitchen. As I leave a note on the counter for my mom, I try calling her again.

  The phone keeps ringing, and I resign myself to leaving her a message. Just as the voicemail tone beeps, the front door swings open.

  "Mom! Where have you been! I've been trying to get a hold of you for like an hour!" I gush.

  She breezes in. Tosses her purse on the table. There is noticeably something wrong.

  "Mom. You're scaring me. Is Dad OK?" I ask, panic starting to rise in my voice.

  "Yes, yes, sweetie. I have news. I need you to sit down."

  My heart is racing, and I'm on the edge of tears. I sit down on the couch and look up at her anxiously.

  "Mom?" I question with tears already in my throat.

  "Your brother missed his appointment with Dr. Nelson today. And when Dr. Nelson called him, Todd just didn't sound like himself. Dr. Nelson was able to persuade him to come into the office. He called your dad right away, and we met them there. Todd was hallucinating and started talking about killing himself."

  Chills run through my body at her news.
Even though Todd and I don't get along, it scares me to hear or see him in that state of mind. This, though, seems like the worst by far.

  I shudder. "Is he OK?"

  Mom nods. "Yes, he was given some medicine. But Dr. Nelson made some calls and got him into a facility in Indianapolis. Your dad and Todd are heading there tonight. I'm here to pack up some things for them.

  Oh, wow. OK.

  I start to stand, to ask what I can do to help.

  "We will be heading that way once I'm able to get a realtor out here. Normally, I'd handle this myself, but I don't think it's a good idea. So, I'm going to let someone else in the office handle it for me."

  I stop dead in my tracks. What did she just say?

  "A realtor? Why?" I ask, my heartbeat picking up speed.

  She grabs a pen from the basket next to the wall phone and flips through her day planner as she talks to me. She doesn't lift her head when she answers, "We need to be with your brother."

  I can't even form words. Nothing.

  She lets out a huff, marking her place in the book with a finger. She looks up at me. "Gia, we are moving. We cannot let your brother live alone in a city he doesn't know. Now, I need to make some calls."

  She picks up the phone and starts punching numbers.

  I'm still at a loss for words. I have no idea what to say or even think. I hear her talking. The blood rushing to my head is pounding so loud I can't actually make out the words. I shake my head trying to clear it. She rests the phone between her head and shoulder, covers the receiver with her hand and lifts a paper from the counter.

  My note, telling her I was going to go eat dinner with Simon's family.

  She gives it a shake. "Go eat dinner with the Palmers, Gia. I don't have time to make dinner."

  Then she is back to talking to the person she called, whoever that is.

  I stumble out of the living room, through the front door. My backpack full of homework long forgotten. Before I realize it, I’m at Simon's door.

  "Hey, I got worried and was about to come over and get you myself. I thought you'd be over sooner," he says as he opens the screen door.

  I just stand there, staring up at him.

  "G, what's wrong?" He's standing in front of me in an instant, the door slamming behind him. "G. Sweetie. What's wrong?" I search his face, his beautiful face which is etched with worry.

  "I'm moving," I gasp.

  Chapter Five

  Simon

  I'm a dick. Damn it. Why am I always such a dick to her? I can't help it. There is just something about seeing Gia that makes me all hot and bothered and, damn it, I wish it would just be in the sexual meaning of the term.

  I thought, years ago, I'd put away my anger and bitterness for what Gia did. Pushed it to the very back and hid it behind a bunch of other shit. But I was unexpectedly reminded several months ago that you just don't forget the girl that got away. Well, the girl that went away and took your heart with her, and then stomped all over it and never found the decency to return it.

  I don't know why I subject myself, and the others, to my bitterness by tagging along with Dex when he goes over to hang out with Morgan. I don't come every time, I get it, Morgan and Dex are in love and are still in the disgustingly cute stage where they can't keep their hands off each other.

  But I just can't stay away from Gia. Maybe I'm a masochist. Memories from when we were kids always come swarming back, usually right after I've ignored or been rude to her.

  There are just so many memories of the two of us, and when the memories rush back into my head I get pissed off.

  I'd say that I've known Gia Newman my whole life, but that wouldn't be true anymore. We grew up in the same small town and became close friends in middle school. We lived on the same street, so we walked home from the bus stop together. And our friendship just grew. I really don't know how it happened.

  By high school, we were attached at the hip. My buddies thought we were screwing. I denied it at first, said that she was just my best friend. And she was but it didn't take me long to realize that it was more than that. At least on my end. By our sophomore year, everyone just assumed we were an item. Neither of us corrected the assumption. So, maybe we were.

  When she left at the end of our sophomore year, I thought my life was over. I might have been a bit dramatic. I didn't know what hit me. Just like that, she was gone. She wouldn't take my calls. I didn't have her new address. It felt like a piece of me just disappeared.

  I might not know this grown-up version of Gia, but one thing about her remains the same: I know when something is weighing on her mind. Even though Morgan and Dex are carrying on next to me, I can't take my focus off of Gia, who's cleaning in the kitchen.

  She stands at the sink doing dishes, but she is just staring out the window above the sink. There is this far-off look in her eyes. I shouldn’t let it bother me and, yet, it does.

  Growing up, life was hard for her at home. Her twin, Todd, was a massive pain in the ass. He was so mean to Gia. He had some mental problems, but for the longest time he was undiagnosed and running wild around town. It wreaked havoc on Gia's life.

  I remember finding her one evening up in the tree house in my backyard. She had been crying over something Todd had done, I don't even remember what it was now.

  We were 14, and I was in that awkward boy-turning-into-a-teen stage. I was skinny as shit, but all I wanted to do was comfort her. I slung my arm around her and she laid her head on my shoulder.

  "You are the only one that makes me feel better," she sniffled.

  I squeezed her a bit closer.

  "You're the only one who knows how mean he can be to me. Can I just stay in this tree house with you forever?" She spoke through dried-up tears and a stuffy nose.

  "I'll always be here for you, Gia. And I'll keep you for as long as you want to stay," I murmured into her hair.

  I was lame back then. But she was mine and I was hers. I never told anyone about how bad things were with her brother. Her parents knew, to an extent, about how mean he was to her. They tried so hard to get him the help he needed, but it was a very stressful time for all of them.

  This memory makes me wonder about them now though. What is her relationship with Todd like now that they are adults? I assume he doesn't live in Chicago since her parents don't. They go where Todd goes. That's what took her away from me when we were sixteen.

  Dex and Morgan get up and leave the room. I think she is staying with Dex tonight, but I haven't been paying any attention to the conversation. Against my better judgment, I stand and head for the kitchen under the guise of getting a drink. I open the fridge, surreptitiously trying to get her attention.

  I close the door with a bit more force than necessary. Nothing. So, I walk up to the sink next to her and look out the window, too.

  God, she smells good.

  So damn good.

  And she’s absolutely stunning. Her golden hair comes past her shoulders and falls in waves that make me think she’s been at the beach all day, though I know she hasn’t. Her slightly rounded nose and perfect pink lips are precisely how I remember them. But her dark-blue eyes always have a way of rooting out people’s bullshit, which is what I’m certain will happen if she ever looks up at me.

  I've done my best to keep a physical distance from her. I don't want to be too close, for fear that I will reach out and touch her, like old times. She was always so close to me when we were kids.

  I brush her arm as I lift the pop to my mouth and take a drink. This startles her, but it only takes a second to regain her composure.

  "What ya looking at?" I ask, not taking my eyes off the apartment building across the street.

  "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking, I guess," she sighs as she moves the bowl in her hands back under the running water.

  "You guess? How do you not know?" I ask, using my same words from earlier, but in a gentler tone.

  She looks at me this time, which is what I wanted. "Stop asking me questions if
you always hate my answers." She says it with a ghost of a smile.

  Acting on its own, my shoulder bumps hers.

  We've danced around each other for months. I haven't touched her since that first night we met again as adults. I shook her hand because I was caught off guard. But today, we've touched twice. Where are the walls I've built?

  She looks up at me with a hint of something in her eyes that I can't quite figure out. Interest? Need? Maybe longing.

  "I'm just kidding, G." I smile at her. Something I haven't done toward her in a very long time. Yeah, that look in her eyes is definitely longing.

  She gives me a sad smile before turning to put the bowl on the drying rack. It isn't lost on me that she's hand-washing the dishes instead of letting the dishwasher take care of them.

  "I really do want to know what's got you staring out the window."

  She eyes me. "Why?"

  I give this some thought. Why do I want to know so bad? Why do I care?

  "Because I care?" Maybe I shouldn't have asked. Yeah, I can see that was the wrong thing to say when she snorts and tosses an eye roll my way. A laugh escapes her lips but there’s no humor in it.

  "Yeah, you care. Since when, Simon? You can't even look me in the eye. You don't care. So, don't waste your breath," she spits out and starts shoving dishes in the dishwasher now, throwing all kinds of temper around with the task.

  "Jeesh. Chill, alright? I guess old habits die hard. I can still tell when something is wrong. We do have a history. That won't ever change," I say, defending myself.

  At this, she goes rigid. Ah-ha. Either bringing up the fact that we have a history or my telling her to chill—which she hates—has stopped her in her tracks; I'm guessing it’s a little bit of both.

  "Just leave me alone, Simon," she mutters.

  "Is it your brother? Does he live here in Chicago? Are things better between the two of you or is he still an asshole with problems?" I can't hold it in, I've got to know.

  She puts the last cup in the washer and closes the door uncharacteristically slowly. She then wipes her hands on the towel, lays it down, and slowly turns to me.