Page 93 of The Grump I Loathe
“Don’t forget to check that tunnel,” I said to Alannah as she navigated Mr. Cheesers across the screen. We were barely out of October, barely a week into release, andGames Weeklywas already callingShadowthe best game to play this upcoming holiday season.
“Oh, yeah.” Alannah stuck her tongue out, leaning against me on the couch as I kicked my feet up on one of the packed moving boxes. “Eddie! There’s another rat trapped in here! How do I get it out?”
I grinned at her excitement, wondering if Grace was loving it just as much. I shoved that thought aside hard and fast. “I don’t know, you think you can use your tail whip to break those boxes?”
“Let me try.”Smash!“Got it. Wait, she’s following me?”
“She probably needs you to lead her to safety,” I suggested.
“Look, her name is Ratchel!” Alannah cackled. “This is the best game I’ve ever played.”
Her words warmed a spot in my chest, but it was a bittersweet moment. Alannah would have gotten a real kick out of meeting thereal Mr. Cheesers. When parent blogs had picked up on the Juni Protocol, they’d quickly grown obsessed, and with the amount of people talking about it online, I knew we’d landed on something special. But there was no one for me to celebrate the success with and no way for me to make a Mr. Cheesers meet-n-greet a reality, because I’d quit the moment the game shipped.
Leigh had helped me secure another position with Waylaid Games, a competing big-name studio—thank God, non-competes weren’t enforceable in California—and withShadow’s success and her glowing recommendation, they’d looked right past my spotty resume. I’d already gotten my feet wet dissecting the pitch for their upcoming action-adventure game,Rebel Heart 3.
I’d even taken Noah with me. Or, well, he’d seen a job posting he was interested in and had taken the plunge. Even with him by my side, I missed the people at LockMill, but I knew in time I’d make a whole new crop of friends. And the slight pay bump meant I was confident Cassie and I could afford our own place while still making a solid dent in my school loans. New digs, here we come!
I was finally getting everything I’d ever wanted. Consistent work. Respect. A salary that allowed me to enjoy life and not just survive. I even still had the distribution and release ofAlterbotto look forward to after the new year, because that clause in my contract had been iron clad. And yet…I still wasn’t happy. Achieving my lifelong dream was supposed to be more fun, wasn’t it?
The alarm on my phone sounded.
“I don’t want to go,” Alannah complained, groaning as I paused the game.
“Better not give Dad a reason to worry. I was happy to pick you up early and let you hang for a bit, but you’ll have to tell him you left practice because you weren’t feeling well.”
She sighed heavily, getting to her feet. “Fine. But don’t go any further without me. I still have to find Ratchel’s kids.”
I threw my arm over her shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you.”
We grabbed Alannah’s gymnastics duffle and headed down to the parking lot, climbing into Beatrice. Darius had been insistent that I take the car as part of my exit package. My immediate response had been a big, fatno, but he’d insisted, and the truth was, I’d grown too fond of her to let her go. It was selfish, but I loved her.
I let Alannah crank the music way too loud as we drove back to Dad’s place. She was still splitting time between him and Valentina until the divorce proceedings concluded and custody was agreed on.
“Thanks for hanging out,” Alannah said as we pulled into the driveway.
“Of course.” Ever since her third-place finish in September, Alannah was either at school or the gym—it was the one thing Dad and Valentina agreed on. I often volunteered to do pickup duty so I got to see her, but hanging out for twenty minutes in the car was different from actually spending time together. I didn’t know how bad Alannah’s stomachachereallywas today, but I could tell the poor kid needed a break.
As I walked her up to the door, it swung open. Dad stood there, his phone pressed to his ear. He lookedbigmad, the tips of his ears ruby red.
“Uh-oh,” Alannah said.
“Uh-oh,” I echoed. I squeezed her shoulder.
“The hell is going on?” Dad demanded, stuffing his phone in his pocket. “Why am I calling Alannah’s coach to add an extra practice on Monday nights?—”
Alannah groaned.
“—only to hear from the coach that she’s out sick? You were fine when I dropped you off.”
Alannah’s little face broke. “Dad, I’m sor?—”
“No,” he said. “You don’t get to flake out on your responsibilities at the gym just because you want to go hang out with Eddie.”
“Hey!” I said, interrupting Alannah’s attempt at another apology. I stepped forward, one accusing finger pointed at Dad. “Firstly, she had a stomachache, so I offered to grab her early. I took her back to my place, and we hung out until she was feeling better. That was my decision, so don’t blame her. But it’s not like you or Valentina would have answered her call anyway with how busy you two are. If you’d bothered to check your phone, you would have noticed that I sent you a text to let you know she was calling off sick.”
Dad frowned, pulling out his phone again to check his slew of unanswered texts, mine likely lost in the mix.
“Alannah, why don’t you go inside?” I said, a drum of frustration beating at the back of my head.
