my feelings had grown. What she’d done was bad, but it didn’t counteract how I felt for her. Afric was under my skin and deep inside my heart, and at this point, there was very little I wouldn’t forgive her for. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make her stew for a day or a few hours at the very least.
Afric
“I’m not normally one to rain on someone’s murder parade, but I think you need to take a break,” TheBigSix said through my headset.
“I don’t need a break. What I need to do is finish killing all these blasted trolls,” I shot back grumpily.
It was Sunday afternoon, and I hadn’t heard back from Neil. I was too upset to try and call him again, and besides, I’d spilled my guts in the voicemail I left last night, and I knew he’d listened to it.
Seemed like he’d decided to take the stubborn route by going silent on me.
Well, that was fine. Really, it was. I deserved the silent treatment for being such a big, drunken blabbermouth. At least I still had Greenforest. Here I could be as morally unscrupulous as I liked, and there was no one to look at me with sad, betrayed, bottomless brown eyes. No one to make me feel like I was the worst best friend in the world.
Every time I had a quiet moment, my mind would fill with Neil’s face when he realised I’d told Leanne about Annabelle. And every time the image came, I felt like someone was pouring vinegar into a stab wound in the centre of my gut.
Speaking of stabbing, my gargoyle was acting like an absolute psychopath today, and TheBigSix clearly feared for my sanity. The virtual ground around me was littered with dead troll bodies.
“Committing a needless massacre won’t make you feel any better,” TheBigSix said. “Why don’t you talk to Neil in person? Leaving cowardly voicemails isnae going to win him back.”
“You’re calling me a coward? Tell me, have you come clean to Yellowshoes about your feelings for her yet?”
He made a disgruntled noise. “I’m working my way up to it.”
“Hmm, well, you can leave off lecturing me about my love life until you get yours sorted.”
“It’s not the same. She lives thousands of miles away, and we’ve never even met in person.”
“No time like the present to book a flight.”
“I’m not booking a flight, not until I at least have an inkling of whether my feelings are returned.”
“Then you’re going to have to tell her.”
“I know, and I will, just not today.”
My phone buzzed with a message, and I snatched it up, my heart in my throat. To my disappointment, it wasn’t Neil. It was only Michaela inviting me over to her house for a late lunch. Apparently, she had big news. I replied, saying I’d be there. If nothing else, it would be good to get out of the flat for a while and away from all the temptation to murder mythical creatures in Greenforest.
I logged off from the game and went to take a much-needed shower. I still hadn’t washed away my eyeliner from last night, and I was starting to resemble Paudy O’Shea, a neighbour of mine from back home who refused to let go of his rocker youth. Supposedly, he’d been a roadie for Black Sabbath in the eighties.
Once out of the shower, I threw on a hoodie and some leggings, pulled my hair up into a messy bun, and set off for Michaela’s house. My friend had landed on her feet moving in with James. He was a few years older than her and owned a house in a leafy, residential part of London. What I wouldn’t give to be able to afford a place with a garden. My flat didn’t even have a balcony.
I pressed the button for the doorbell, and a few moments later, Michaela appeared.
“You’re looking very cheerful. Not working today?” I said as I stepped into the hallway.
“It’s my day off. Neil is on duty today,” she replied, and even the mention of his name had my metaphorical gut wound reappearing. “Speaking of, how have things been with you two? I haven’t seen you together since the night of Isaac’s party. You seemed pretty cosy.”
I blew out a breath as she led me into her kitchen, where she’d prepared a pot of tea and a selection of sandwiches. “Ooh, Salmon Sensation and cucumber. Someone’s feeling fancy,” I said as I plucked a dainty sandwich and shoved it in