Page 70 of Addicted

“Is that a gaming system?” Liam asked as he dried the few bowls and pots that didn’t fit in the dishwasher. After a quick clearing of plates and cleaning of the grill, Liam had insisted on helping, stating that he owed Owen that much for cooking him the best meal he’d ever had.

“Yes. I bought it for Michael in case I got to see him again. One of the bedrooms is his too. I still have all his things so I painted the walls the same color and recreated his old room here.” Turning off the faucet, Owen dried his hands on the towel that Liam was holding.

“Owen…” Liam pressed his lips together and Owen could see the empathy and support in his eyes, the unspoken comforts, and it bolstered him to have someone so precious on his side and in his life. Again, he felt the urge to sit down and tell Liam everything. It was long overdue and after his light interrogation it was hypocritical to hold things back but he was still having trouble saying the words out loud. It was a reality he hadn’t fully accepted.

Gathering Liam into a hug, Owen kissed the top of his head.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” He said into Liam’s silky hair, feeling Liam’s sigh in return.

“I think you’re the amazing one.” Liam looked up at him, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “So…what games do you have?”

Owen was out of practice; he hadn’t played video games since college. Sharon had frowned upon gaming so he’d avoided thinking about it, and he’d done the same with most of his hobbies and interests. It turned out that running around a dark fortress with Liam while casting spells and slaying monsters was strangely healing. It filled another piece of the emptiness inside of him and erased some of the old mindset that had banished fun from his life. He was allowed to try things once again, this time without judgment.

“Are you kidding?” Liam shrieked at the screen as he was cut down by a dragon. Anyone who thought Liam was quiet hadn’t seen him with a controller in his hand. Owen thought it was adorable and would’ve been content to watch Liam’s intermittent freakouts but he had his own life to defend and ran for cover behind a pile of rocks.

“You have to respawn me!” Liam laughed, lightly punching him in the arm. “Don’t hide!”

“That thing is going to kill me too and then we’ll have to start the dungeon over.” Owen cringed as fire wrapped around his hiding spot, shrinking his character’s life bar.

“Coward!” Liam leaned into him. “I need you to distract it so I can use the trap spell.”

“But I’m getting roasted too!” Laughing, Owen tried to guide his warrior to another pile but it was too late. The dragon honed in on him and he was toast. Burnt toast.

“Noooooo!” Liam covered his face with his hands, giggling into them. “I don’t know if I can run this again. We’ve already tried four times.”

“Agreed. I think that’s it for me.” Owen looked up at the wall clock in surprise. “We’ve been playing forhours?”

“Video games put you in a time warp,” Liam exited through the menu and then shut off the console, putting their controllers on top of it. “Mom used to limit me to an hour a day, three on the weekends.”

“I can see why. Oh!” Owen held up a finger. “Stay right there. I have something for you.”

Darting to his bedroom, Owen found the manilla envelope he’d searched the garage for and returned to Liam, placing it in his lap.

“Remember when I said I sent you letters and Christmas cards?” He gestured at it and Liam’s eyes went wide. “The emails I sent you are also in there. I printed them out.”

It took a moment for Liam to flick the metal fasteners up and open the envelope and when he did it was with slow care, like he was afraid it would disintegrate in his hands. Removing a few items, he very slowly looked through them, his face unreadable.

Owen sat down beside Liam, putting an arm around his shoulders, watching as he reached in again, this time pulling out some of the emails.

“You never forgot about me.” Liam’s voice was raw, so full of pain and hope that Owen wanted to gather Liam into his arms and hold him forever.

“How could I forget about you?” Owen squeezed his shoulders, suddenly bashful. “To be honest I thought about you so much over the years that I was seeing you in places, like the grocery store or the movies. But it wasn’t you, just your doppelgangers.”

“Really?” Liam gasped, a card falling from his hands to his lap.

“It happened so often that Finn used to tell me I had a fixation. I thought I saw you after my interview at The Pointe but I wasn’t sure if itwasyou or my mind conjuring you again. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to see you - the real you - in the hallway on my first day of work.”

Liam stared at his lap, fiddling with the edge of the card. “You scared me half to death. Of all the people to be our venue manager…”

“I like to think it was fate.” Owen took a deep breath. “Also, remember when I apologized for hugging you? I actually meant to apologize for something else.”

Liam looked up at Owen with a mix of confusion and caution.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you after the accident. Sharon admitted that she cheated on me right around the same time and we were constantly fighting. I saw you on my porch that day and I wanted to come down and help you but-”

“Your porch?” Liam shook his head, eyes on the ceiling as he seemed to rifle through his memories.

“Yes, a few days before you moved you came to my house, crying. I saw you on the doorbell camera.”

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