Beauty and the Billionaire

"At least someone noticed."

"Looks like a lot of people have noticed. I've never played with a clan before. So, are you a professional gamer now?" Quinn asked.

"I entered a few tournaments last year and did really well, got a couple of sponsors. Now that the article came out, I got bigger sponsors. It’s enough to live on," I said.

"That's amazing, Owen. Congratulations," she said. She paused her player and kissed my cheek.

I let the warmth melt some of the tension in my stomach. It was the first time I had actually said it out loud. My parents knew I was doing just fine. My roommate knew I paid all the bills. Still, I had not admitted to anyone but Quinn that I was now a professional gamer.

"Did Sienna know?" Quinn asked.

"Watch this. When three or more players join together, you can actually take over the ogre and control its actions," I said.

We disappeared into the game for a while. All the sadness and confusion from upstairs could not penetrate the world of Dark Flag. For a moment, Quinn and I felt light, free, and happy.

Her eyes sparkled as she soaked up the new moves. In her excitement, Quinn bumped her knee against my leg. Her little black dress was drifting up her thigh. It was a good thing the controller needed two hands.

"Quinn? Are you down there again?" Mrs. Thomas called.

"Yes. Sorry, Mother."

"Is that Owen bum with you?"

Quinn looked at me. Empathy made her eyes darker. Then her lips quirked up, my conspirator from our high school days. "No. I haven't seen him. Maybe he's up in Sienna's room."

We heard Mrs. Thomas' footsteps on the stairs. "Well, if he hasn't left and comes skulking down here, tell him I'm looking for him. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. Everyone knows he was never right for our Sienna."

"Sienna loves, I mean, loved him," Quinn said. Her voice faded.

Mrs. Thomas ignored her daughter and stomped back upstairs. "Sienna loved a challenge. What a waste. Speaking of waste, stop messing around with that stupid game. You have a chance to visit with Sienna's friends."

It was as if Mrs. Thomas sucked all the air out of the room. Quinn was deflated, and I could tell her mind was on her sister. I felt the weight settling back on my shoulders. It took too much strength to lift my arms and restart the game. The other players disappeared as we stayed offline.

"I'm so sorry, Quinn," I said.

She did not say a word, just leaned against my shoulder. I slipped my arm around her and pulled her close. I tried to sweep her hair back to see her face, but she buried it against my suit. I pressed my cheek against the top of her head and held her.

Quinn's breath was ragged, but she did not cry. "She couldn't have meant it. It had to be an accident."

"Your mom was right. Sienna was a shooting star."

"Sometimes, I hated her for it," Quinn said. "She was always trying to change me, make me better, make me more like her. I tried. I just wasn't good enough."

"She was wrong to try to change you," I said. I hugged Quinn tighter. "You didn't do anything wrong. You loved your sister and underneath it all, she loved you, too."

"We should have known. Everyone thinks it. My mother told me last night I should have done something," Quinn said.

"What could we have done? How could we have known? Sienna never shared her plans for herself. She only told people how to play their parts."

I was angry again. Sienna threw us into this horrible drama without a second thought. She had never thought about anyone but herself.

"I was going to be the nurse to her surgeon," Quinn said. She sat up and swept back her hair. It smelled of rose water.

"And I was supposed to be the trophy husband to her successful career woman," I said.

"Except you were supposed to go off and coach little league or join the Rotary Club. Not go and get professional sponsors to play video games," Quinn said.

"Yeah, I went off script."