Hooked

by DeAnna Browne

  Garrett returned and handed Ari a green concoction. She took a small sip and the taste of apples flooded her mouth.

  “Sweet apples.”

  He lifted his drink, a dark amber color. “Here’s to you and your educational success.”

  Ari took another drink and inhaled afterward as the sweet liquor warmed its way down her throat. She set down the glass, remembering her last incident drinking—virtual or not.

  “Anything wrong?” Garrett asked.

  “No, my mind’s all over the place, taking in the fact that this is my new life.”

  “It is only beginning,” Garrett said as he leaned forward, kissing her softly on the lips. It was so gentle and warm, she melted against him. His mouth tasted of alcohol, warm and rich. Soon his drink was put down, and they reclined against the couch with Garrett on top of Ari, pushing her into the back of the couch. It wasn’t long before Garrett’s hands were all over her body.

  Ari tried to close her eyes and enjoy being with Garrett. But soon Reed’s annoying voice crept into her head. She couldn’t help but wonder how many girls, in how many places, he had done this with before. And despite what everyone said, this felt all too real.

  Garrett’s hands were warm as he touched the bare skin on her leg. As his fingers traced it higher, Ari froze.

  “I’m not that drunk,” Ari said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

  “No, you’re not. Just like that wasn’t real liquor, this isn’t real either.” He went to kiss her neck, pushing the limits of her dress.

  “Garrett there are people up here.” Ari eyed the other couples who didn’t seem to notice anything beyond their partner.

  “They aren’t real.” He waved them off with a free hand. “Just part of the simulation. Most people headed to the virtuals.”

  He kissed Ari again with more determination. Her thoughts flew a mile a minute. Was this wrong? She never had gone beyond kissing before. She hadn’t known Garrett for long, but he had saved her butt. She owed him.

  She wasn’t going to do this because of obligation though. She tried to push her way free of Garrett, but he wasn’t giving up easily. Since he could do this with any computer animation here, she failed to see the appeal. He kept murmuring things about her body that made her feel like she needed to shower. His grip tightened on her body, his tongue a dead slug trying to invade her mouth.

  She couldn’t take it anymore and wasn’t sure if she could fight her way out of his hold. Her heart raced with a panic which had nothing to do with the VR and everything to do with Garrett. Without a second thought, she left.

  CHAPTER 13

  Ari sat at her computer, retyping the same code into her programming interface for the sixth time. She was supposed to be working on the physical world for her first virtual. At least she’d decided on her setting. That had taken an hour in itself.

  It didn’t help that her interface ring, which was securely stowed in her bag, was flashing with unread messages. Garrett.

  It had been a week since she’d talked to him. A week since she’d left the virtual in the middle of making out with him. She had woken in a panic and pulled the plug. The guy who had manned the door, had watched in a dazed stupor as she’d sprinted out of the building, not looking back.

  It had been a long week.

  With her grades barely above passing, she had been working hard at her assignments. She typed in the code in for a sky for the seventh time. She finally closed her tablet, which was plugged into her hard drive, in exasperation and reached for her ring. She checked her HUB and scanned the messages.

  Twenty-five were from Garrett. The first few started with apologies. By the end she could see the anger dripping into them. His last one read: If you won’t call me, I can’t fix it.

  Ari knew he deserved an answer, so she decided she wouldn’t finish her homework that night without talking to him. She didn’t think “I’m a scared prude” or “It didn’t feel right” was really an answer he’d understand. After everything he’d done for her, she didn’t want it to end like this.

  She wrote: I need some time to focus on my grades. Thank you for all your help and hopefully we can talk soon. Her thumb lingered over the send button. The “we can talk soon” didn’t even feel right. She hit the save button instead and thought another hour wouldn’t hurt.

  Another message flashed. This one from her bank. The bank received her complaint about the missing cryptos and claimed she had legally withdrawn the money. Frustration boiled under her skin. Her academic assignment covered all of her food and board, but she would need some funds for Christmas. She should have several hundred cryptos in there from her part-time jobs.

  Tessa came in, arms full of bags and coffee. That girl should get a straight IV of that stuff.

  “Hey, roomy.” Tessa dropped her bags on her bed. “How’s the homework coming?”

  “It’s coming,” Ari admitted. She closed her messages; she would deal with them later. “I think I need a break, actually. These damn walls seem to be closing in on me.”

  “You could head up to the virtual lab upstairs and send your mind to get some fresh air.” Tessa gave a sarcastic smile, knowing Ari’s love for virtuals.

  “I think I’ll go for some vitamin D from the real source.” It was a Saturday, and she had been working all morning. A walk by the lake sounded great.

  “Whatever. I don’t have to worry about skin cancer though.”

  “If that was my only concern,” Ari mumbled as she headed out the door.

  She walked the path near the lake behind the dorms. A cool breeze brushed off the lake, and she tightened her jacket. Up ahead, a bit off the path, two guys argued.

  As she neared, she realized it was her brother and Garrett. Her stomach tightened, and she hurried towards them. Marco’s face tightened in anger.

  “You can’t cut me out of something that was my idea to begin with.” Marco shoved Garrett back.

  “I can and I am.” Garrett had a coldness in his expression that was foreign to Ari. His hair, still dark, matched his icy exterior.

  Ari placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “Marco.”

  He shook her off. “Here’s my sister you screwed over too.”

  Garrett narrowed his gaze. “Leave Ari out of this. She has nothing to do with this.”

  “You’re the one that brought her into this,” Marco said.

  Ari’s mind spun trying to figure what this was about. Was Garrett working with Marco too? “Marco, stop.” Ari approached him and laid a hand on his arm. He was thinner. When did he lose weight? When he roughly waved her off, Ari turned to Garrett for some answers.

  “Garrett?” she asked.

  He finally turned his gaze to her, softening it a bit, but his cheeks remained flushed.

  “Your brother is a loser, Ari. He is hooked up all—” Garrett didn’t get to finish the sentence because Marco tackled him to the ground.

  Straddling Garrett, Marco punched him, repeatedly. Ari yelled at Marco and tried to pull him off. Amid the chaos, a fist flew in her direction, slamming into the side of her head. Darkness encompassed her.

  Sitting on the grass with an ice pack nursing her jaw, Ari shot a passerby a dirty look. By the time she woke, Garrett had already taken off. Marco at least went to get her ice.

  “Don’t you have a life to live or something? Oh wait, you probably don’t.” Marco hollered at an embarrassing level to one of the spectators.

  The small group didn’t bother to look embarrassed.

  “That’s all I need, more people talking about me.” Ari winced as she talked, her jaw aching.

  “Don’t worry about those losers.” Marco brushed at his pants.

  “Like I’m one to talk,” Ari said. Most of them, except Tessa, avoided her, online and in person. “Yesterday, Dr. Coleman’s version of a compliment was to tell the class that I was pretty good for someone who has logged fewer hours than his dog.”

  “Don’t worry about it. His dog is pret
ty damn good from what I hear.”

  Ari chuckled, and pain shot up the side of her face. “Who hit me? It hurts like hell.”

  “Sorry, that was me. I didn’t see you,” Marco said. But he didn’t look sorry enough for Ari.

  “Figures.” The running joke in their old school was “How do you know what block kids come from? How hard they could hit.” Rich kids who only fought in the VR, fought like crap in the real world.

  “Marco?” Ari asked, waiting for him to look her in the eye, “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? I haven’t been able to really talk to you since school started.”

  He didn’t reply, and she turned her gaze to the lake, waiting for an answer. The wind brushed the top of the water, sending slight ripples across the pristine surface.

  “Reed, Garrett, and I started the underground VRs at school last year,” Marco gazed out over the lake. “Garrett has access to the lab from his job, Reed watches out for us while we’re in the virtuals, and I hack the system to cover our tracks.” Marco played with a piece of grass, avoiding her gaze. “I’ve been busy lately, and we’ve had a couple of close calls.”

  “So, the fight wasn’t about me?” Ari couldn’t help but feel a little relieved.

  “Garrett’s pissed about business, but it’s partly about you. Garrett deserved having me beat him down either way. Everyone heard you jumped ship on him at the last party—which I was glad to hear.” Marco leaned into Ari, bumping her shoulder playfully. “But this argument has been going on for some time, so don’t stress about it, sis.”

  “Easy for you to say. What if the school finds out about this? I thought virtual-in-virtual programs were banned here since they’re so dangerous.”

  “We don’t do much V-in-V, but we still make good money. The advanced students sell the programs at half the cost.” Marco looked proud of his business venture.

  “Oh.” Ari didn’t know what to say. She’d spent most of her life quietly chastising her brother, like her mother had, but he did what he wanted anyway. She couldn’t muster enough energy to reprimand him anymore. He’d told her enough times that she wasn’t his mother, and he was right.

  “Do you do them?” Ari already knew the answer but had to ask.

  “Sometimes.” He kept his eyes on the grass in front of her.

  Ari bit her lip for a moment. “Aren’t you afraid that you’ll get stuck and end up like Dad?” For the past five years Ari had been angry at her father, whereas Marco had never said much about it. Yet sometimes, especially after visiting their dad, Ari could see the pain in Marco’s eyes.

  Marco spared her the briefest of glances before turning back to the lake.

  “Ari, virtuals aren’t so bad. Life ends up being a boring movie.” His usual sarcasm laced his words, but his eyes remained cold and serious.

  She was about to question him when his HUB pinged.

  He looked at it briefly, reading the message. “It’s Reed.” Marco huffed as he stood up. “I’m going to have to clear this mess up.”

  Ari stood, grabbing her bag. “Please, be careful.” Marco was pressing his luck by fighting on campus and running virtual parties. Maybe going to the same school as her brother wasn’t such a good idea.

  “I’m not the one with a shiner.” He smiled.

  “You owe me, ya know.” Ari would have to get this taken care of before people asked questions. Hopefully, the first-aid kit in the dorm was well stocked.

  “Yeah, I do.” Marco said, the smile completely leaving his face.

  Ari hated watching him leave. He might not be the best brother, but he was family. She wiped at a tear, flinched at the pain in her face, and went upstairs to try to contact her mother.

  CHAPTER 14

  For the next few weeks, Ari threw herself into her studies. Now that she could somewhat handle a VR, she had to work to pull up her grade. Watching herself improve and thrive in the program, felt nice. The only downside was the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she’d handled things poorly with Garrett. She’d never claimed to be experienced with guys—at sixteen she’d never had a boyfriend—and walking that fine line between friend and boyfriend was harder than she thought.

  On the plus side, she’d actually had dinner with Marco last week. Tessa and Ari hung out more often, too. Once Ari had learned to ignore Tessa’s brisk manner and brutal honesty, she’d warmed up to her roommate. Both figured that in an industry filled with men, girls had to stick together. Tessa even let Ari play her game once—for free. Granted Ari didn’t last long until an angry dwarf killed her, but the game was impressive. Slowly, she was finding her niche.

  After dinner one night, Tessa and Ari rode the elevator back to their room. “Have you heard from your IT boy?”

  Ari shook her head. “Not lately.” Not after he’d fought with her brother.

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “Probably a good thing,” Ari answered honestly. “I was never sure how I felt about him anyway.”

  “He did give you some great gear though.”

  “Yeah. He had his moments.” Tired of talking about Garrett, Ari tried to change the subject as they entered their dorm. “I have to finish this code before I go to sleep tonight.”

  “Do you need help?” Tessa asked.

  “Thanks for the offer, but I think I can manage.”

  Tessa kicked off her shoes. “I only have an upgrade on my game to work on, but I’d rather work on my procrastinating skills instead.”

  “Good luck with that.” Ari headed to her desk. She started her computer up and tried to open her coding interface IDE, or Integrated Development Environment. It took longer than usual. She tapped on the file, and the response time seemed delayed. While she waited, she realized there was a program open in the background that she hadn’t recognized. Suddenly, the program closed by itself.

  An uneasy confusion grew in the pit of her stomach as she rebooted her computer and tried to access the IDE again. Her breathing quickened as she calculated how many hours she had already spent on her homework. She kept tapping the screen, swearing under her breath.

  “What’s wrong?” Tessa pushed back from her desk and looked over Ari’s shoulder.

  “Not sure,” Ari replied. “Something is wrong with my system. Seriously delayed response times. One program opened that I’ve never even seen before.”

  “Calm down. I’ll look at it.”

  Ari stepped out of her chair as Tessa sat at her desk. She paced watching Tessa work on her computer.

  “You have a ghost.”

  “What?”

  “Someone is screwing with your system.”

  “Who?” Ari asked.

  Tessa furiously typed on Ari’s computer. “Dunno. A lot of people here could hack into your system.”

  “Could it be Wake?” That jerk had been shooting her dirty looks and making snide comments every chance he could.

  “Maybe, but it doesn’t feel like him. I’d be surprised if Wake is this good.”

  “Great. I just finished Tollingston’s paper that’s due tomorrow.” Ari couldn’t help that her mind went to Garrett next. She didn’t think he’d stoop that low, but how well did she ever know him?

  Tessa spun around in the seat. “I’d see if your brother or his roommate can fix it. If I pry too hard, whoever it is could trash your system.”

  Ari couldn’t afford a missed assignment, not since her performance at the beginning of the year. She briefly closed her eyes, willing herself not to go into panic mode yet. “Could an IT person do this?”

  “You thinking of Garrett? Sure. He probably even set up the system passwords.”

  Anger boiled inside of Ari. Sure, she hadn’t ended things well with Garrett, but did she deserve this?

  “Maybe your brother can help? Set up a new firewall to protect you?”

  “Yeah or beat the crap out of Garrett until he fixes it,” Ari said through her clenched jaw.

  “That works too.”

&nbs
p; Ari disconnected her tablet from her screen, threw her bag over her shoulder, and stormed out of the room.

  “Good luck,” Tessa shouted as the door hissed shut.

  She headed towards Garret’s room at first, formulating every diatribe she wanted to spew at him, but as she approached the turn off to her brother’s dorm, she changed her mind. As much as she wanted to rip Garrett apart, she didn’t have time to deal with their past. Her assignment came first.

  So, instead she found herself in front of her brother’s door. Pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment, she tried to push back the killer headache looming behind her eyes. Lights flashed onto the back of her closed eyelids. She had been staring at her computer for too long.

  When she finally knocked, Reed answered barefoot in a pair of pajama pants. His thin yet muscular physique stole her words for a moment. She hadn’t seen him shirtless since they were kids swimming in the community pool. He had certainly grown up.

  Avoiding his gaze, she looked past him for her brother. “Is Marco here?”

  “No, he’s doing homework in the lab.” Reed opened the door for her to enter. “What’s wrong?”

  Ari stepped inside and pulled out her tablet. “I hate to bother you, but I have a ghost on my computer.”

  “What? A key logger?” Reed took her tablet drive from her hands and hooked it into his system. “Do you know who placed it?”

  “Not sure. Maybe Garrett.”

  Reed’s shoulders tightened, and lines creased his face. “If so, I’ll talk with Garrett.”

  Ari wondered just how much Reed had heard about what happened at the party. Gratefully, she’d taken care of the bruising already with the first-aid kit. Yet, her face warmed with embarrassment. “If you can’t fix it, I may just kill him.”

  “It might take an hour or so to fix, but feel free to kill him.” He glanced up and his face softened. “Pull up a chair, and we’ll see what we can find.”

  Ari grabbed an extra chair and sat next to Reed at the desk. “Thanks so much. I can’t afford another bad grade. I was hoping Marco would be here. I hate to bother you.” Ari couldn’t seem to stop her nervous rambling.