Page 13 of Level Up

“Damn, I’m sorry, Maddy. That’s really shitty.”

“It is, but I’ve got hope he’ll stop drinking and get his priorities in order again.” She smiled bright and wide. “How ’bout you? Any siblings?”

“Just me and my mom,” I said.

“And your dad? Do you still talk to him?”

I shook my head. Her assumption about my parents divorcing was a common one, but it wasn’t the right one. We hadn’t talked about this yet. I usually avoided it. The topic always felt like salt water being poured into an open wound. “He died. Drowned in a boating accident when I was twelve.”

Maddy put a hand to her chest, her rainbow assortment of nails popping against the black shirt she wore. “Jay, Jesus, I’m so sorry.”

“It was hard. Really fucking hard. I… It’s okay,” I said, even though it actually wasn’t and likely never would be. But still, it wasn’t on Maddy to unpack all my childhood trauma and help me deal with it. There was a lot about that day that took years to process.

We were reaching our building anyway, and I didn’t want to bog down the rest of the evening with dark stories. I looked at my watch. It was still pretty early, and it was a Tuesday, which meant Ryan was likely at his rowing practice. Not that I memorized his schedule or anything; it was only observation.

Good. Maddy and I could have some chill time in the dorm. Maybe she could help me come up with a strategy to break this Ryan spell before it was too late.

“Come, let’s go to my dorm, and we can plot together on how we’re going to single-handedly take down the Redpine Empire.”

“Fuck yeah,” Maddy said, clapping her hands together. “God, I’m so glad I bought you a drink that night at Shenanigans.”

“Same here, Madds, same here.”

She looped an arm through mine. “Oh, and you also said that you can tell how big a guy is from a handshake.”

“Ooookay, that’s enough reminiscing for now.”

She shrugged and giggled. “I’m just saying. If that’s a skill you’re willing to teach, I’m a student eager to learn.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. These were the kinds of moments I was scared I’d lose by leaving my last school, leaving behind the friends I made there. With Maddy by my side, though, I realized I wasn’t losing anything at all.

Another checkmark under the “Everything Happens for a Reason” column.

Now I just had to figure out what the reason was for me crossing paths with Ryan. The column was still blank for that one.

Chapter Six

Ryan

Coach Carter canceled rowing practice today.

Thank God. I had bought a newly released game this morning, one I’d been wanting to play from the moment it was announced years ago. I went to one class, skipped another, and bunkered down in the dorm with the new game. It was a fun multiplayer racing game with well-known cartoon characters driving the colorful carts, so I invited Colton over for a few rounds.

“Ah, not again!” Colton shouted as his character got hit with a lightning bolt and flew off the screen.

“Sorry,” I said as I whipped past him and took first place.

For the fifth time.

“All right, I need a break.” Colton put the controller down. “There’s only so many ass-whoopings a guy can take in a day.”

“I think you can handle one more.”

“Is that what you say to your dates?” Colton teased. He was straight but a complete ally, so I didn’t care about joking around with him.

“Depends on how much they’re shaking.”

“You’re wild, bro.”

---