Page 89 of Fake Game

“I know.” She lets out a sigh, raising her head.

As someone who also kept their real name a secret for years, I know just how much this means. That she is entrusting me with a very fragile piece of her soul, and I can’t afford to let it shatter. Everyone has their own reason for creating an alternate persona online. For Parker, it was so he didn’t involve the reputation of his famous family name. For me, it was because I knew my family wouldn’t approve and I wanted to keep my privacy. I want to know what Deer’s story is.

“Your gamertag makes more sense now.”

She smiles briefly. “Everyone called me Deir growing up.”

“Washington, right?”

“Kinda. My mam and da moved us here when I was ten, but they moved back to Carlingford when I graduated high school.”

“You don’t have to answer, but why all the secrecy?”

“Cone of silence?”

I nod my head, and she slumps back against her headboard.

“Honestly, there’s many reasons. One of them being that I do value my privacy. You’ve seen how it is for Lee. People love to invade the lives of female streamers, and they can be creepy about it. I’ve received some weird messages over the years. Having an alternate personality makes me feel safer, makes me feel like nothing will happen…although the swatting kind of murdered that hope.”

“We’d never let anything happen to you.”

“I appreciate that, but you guys can’t be everywhere. You can’t stop the creeps who flood my streams with sexual innuendos, or who DM me all the stuff they’d like to do to me if we ever met, or who mail used condoms to my P.O. box.”

“Are you serious?”

She winces. “Yeah. It got bad, which is why I have my moderator handle it all—especially the fan mail and packages—to keep me safe.”

“Shit. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” She sighs. “And then there’s the Deer Hunters.”

“The Deer Hunters?”

“The people who swatted me. They’re dead set on freaking me out. I can’t tell if it’s because they hate me or are obsessed with me. Either way, I can’t imagine how much worse it would be if they had access to my personal information.”

“Why didn’t you say this sooner? I thought it was just a random swatting.”

My blood heats under my skin. How long has she been dealing with this? No wonder she has so much anxiety in public if she feels like there is a group of people out to get her. If I’d known, I could’ve…I could’ve done something. Anything.

“You can’t do anything about them, Jackson. I’ve tried.”

“Well, I have a Parker.”

“And?”

“And there aren’t many places his family can’t reach. We’re ninety percent sure his sister has something to do with MI-6.”

“Parker isn’t the only person from an affluent family.” She bites the inside of her cheek. “That’s the second reason I’ve kept everything secret. My name’s Deirdre Malloy.”

I frown.

I’m not really sure where this is going.

“My da’s name is Cathal Malvin Malloy.” She pauses. “CM Malloy.”

“Wait. As intheCM Malloy? The dude who foundedGods League?”

She nods.

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