Page 47 of Sebastian

Newt

The frantic clicking of controller buttons filled the room. Sebastian and I sat side by side on his bed, facing the small television on the far wall. Just as he’d predicted, we’d both been banned from leaving the apartment, so we filled our time with games.

We’d just started a game called Cuphead. It was one of my favorites. Sebastian had never played it and expressed interest in giving it a try. I knew he only suggested it in order to spoil me. Platformers were more my preference than his, and this one was particularly difficult.

I watched his character get killed by the crying onion for the dozenth time. His ghost hovered in the air, waiting for me to revive him.

We were still on one of the beginning levels. It was only going to get harder from here, so I predicted a lot of death in our future.

Luckily, Sebastian wasn’t the rage-quitting type and took each new death with a sense of humor.

“I’m losing to a vegetable. How are you so good at this?”

I kept pressing buttons, my fingers flying as my gaze stayed locked on the screen. “You need to parry more so you can build up your super-attack quicker.”

“What are you two doing?”

I paused the game, my character hanging in midair, and looked over toward the door.

Damien stood in the doorway, confusion on his face as he glanced between Sebastian and the screen.

“Since when do you play video games?”

I stayed silent and let Sebastian answer the question. He still hadn’t told his brother about this particular hobby. If he wanted to claim that we were only playing the game because I insisted, that would be fine.

Sebastian shrugged and toyed with his controller even though the game was paused. “They’re relaxing. I don’t really like the violent ones, but in this one the bullets are magic, and no one actually dies, so it’s okay.”

Damien nodded along as if he understood, but he still seemed confused. “Why is your character a teacup?”

“I mean...” Sebastian gestured vaguely at the screen. “It is called Cuphead.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why it’s a teacup in the first place.” Damien arched a brow.

“I dunno. Why is a teacup fighting vegetables to collect their souls for the devil in order to pay off gambling debts? It’s not supposed to make sense. It’s just supposed to be fun.”

“Wait, this game is about... No, never mind. That’s not why I came up here.” Damien shook his head as if clearing something from his eyes. He looked at me. “Gabe needs you downstairs. Apparently, someone came knocking on the front door asking for you. He tried to send them away, but they were insistent.”

I still wasn’t used to referring to Agent Long as Gabe. The man had assigned himself as the Roth brothers’ personal bodyguard and was now practically living at the apartment. With me staying there as well, the two-bedroom space was feeling even more cramped than usual.

“Yeah. We’ll be right down.” I grabbed Sebastian’s controller and set both aside before turning off the game. “Tell him we’ll be there in a minute.”

A minute turned into five before we were able to get Sebastian down the stairs. It was still a frustrating experience, but not as bad as it had been. The first time he had to navigate the stairs with crutches it had taken us over fifteen minutes. Sebastian still couldn’t walk without help, but I appreciated any progress.

In the office below, we found an alarming sight. Agent Long had someone pinned to the wall, one hand on their throat while the other pointed a gun directly between their eyes.

“This man was demanding that I let him see you,” Agent Long growled.

Frankie peered at me around Agent Long’s shoulder. “Newt. Tell your attack dog to stand down. I come in peace.”

I ran over and grabbed Agent Long’s arm, trying to get the gun as far away from Frankie as possible. “Please, put the weapon away. That’s my roommate.”

Agent Long didn’t budge. “That doesn’t explain what he’s doing here.”

Both of Frankie’s hands were in the air, and his eyes were so wide I could see the whites all the way around the iris.

“I’ve been dropping by to bring Newt stuff for weeks now.”

Agent Long didn’t look convinced, but Sebastian grabbed his wrist to forcibly lower the man’s gun.

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