Page 160 of Game Night: Truth or Dare

While I’m deep in thought, TK’s brother holds out his hand, and it takes me a solid three seconds of buffering to offer mine back.

“I’m Link, by the way.”

“Dash.”

His brows shoot up, and Link’s lips lift into a smile. “I’ve heard that name a few times.”

“We tend to rub each other the wrong way.”

Link chuckles. “I don’t doubt it. Seems maybe you rub each other the right way sometimes, too.”

I will not be embarrassed by the implication of fooling around with TK. It’s what we’ve been doing. It’s what I asked him to keep doing, plus a little more for curiosity’s sake.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

He holds his palms out and takes a step back. “Never said it was. Just an observation.”

There’s a twinge in my chest like a string tugging at my heart. A pit in my gut that swirls like a rapid until I feel I might puke.

“You should probably go.”

Link runs a hand through his wet hair and sighs. “I probably should. Tell him to call me when he calms down?”

I start backing up the steps and shrug. “No promises, man.”

And then I turn and head back inside, ignoring the squelch of my shoes from the rain. I’m surely flooding the common area, but when a quick look around shows no signs of TK, I treck up the stairs to the second floor where our room is.

“TK?” I rap my knuckles on the door and give it a couple of seconds before pushing it open and slipping inside. With the door shut behind me, the only light in the room comes from my bed where I can faintly see a human outline from a soft, amber glow.

I wait a couple seconds for my eyes to adjust, then crawl onto the bed and sit with my back to the wall, a foot of space between TK and I.

“You know Link has one of these necklaces, too?”

A silver chain around his neck attaches to a teardrop shaped pendant that’s emitting the amber light. It doesn’t look like it’s made of cheap plastic, but nothing fancy either. Jewelry is not my forte.

“His is blue and shaped like a paw print, but we got them from the same place. It was our last vacation together as a family. Some little shop in Japan. A promise between Link and I that no matter what our parents chose to do, we’d always be there for each other. The divorce wouldn’t rip us apart.”

He sighs and drops his head into his folded arms. “Mom decided to move far away, and they wanted to split us up. Each parent has custody of one kid, and switches out for summers and holidays. Link fought to keep us together. We ended up both staying with my Dad. Visiting Mom on special occasions. That’s how things have been.”

He takes a deep breath and lifts his head, wiping away the tears it’s too dark to see.

“Link went off to college two years ago. A few towns over. I was having a hard time at my old school on my own. I didn’t make friends the way my father wanted. I didn’t hang out with anyone. Just waited on calls from Kai and Link whenever they were free. That’s why Dad scraped together the money to send me here. So I didn’t have to be alone.”

I slowly reach over and thread my fingers into his hair, peeling it away from his face and watching as the light from the necklace flickers over him, illuminating his eyes as they slide to mine.

“You don’t have to explain to me.”

Not because I don’t want to hear it, but because I know how painful opening up like this can be.

“I want to. If you were serious about giving us a try.”

There’s a small, hopeful smile on his face that I can’t help but lean forward and kiss. It’s only a quick brush of lips, but enough to drain some of the sadness from his expression.

“I got a call this morning. From Mom. It was for Link; she must have hit my number by mistake. I didn’t get to it in time, but I did hear the voicemail. About the room she was setting up, and how she had this big ole space Link and his band could practice in. How excited she was to have her son home.”

TK drops his head to my shoulder, seeking out my hand and clasping it in my lap.

“I texted Link and asked him what was going on. Because Mom lives in freaking New York. Nowhere near Link’s school or where his band is set up. And he tells me that once he finishes the semester, once he’s got his Associate’s ,he’ll be moving in with her.”

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