Page 11 of Our Final Game

I give my father one more glance. Sometimes I pathetically hope he’ll at least give me a goodbye, but he usually doesn’t, so I just quickly take in his stoned features.

“Have a good night, Father,” I mutter before stepping out and closing his door behind me.

How could we look so much the same and be nothing alike?

Chapter 5

Rohan

Zayne finishes up his usual speech that we go through before each game, and we listen intently. I can hear the crowd cheering even backstage. My nerves are surprisingly calm, but who knows how I’ll feel once I see that smug asshole tonight. Thankfully, we haven’t run into each other lately or even at the venue.

Call it a blessing.

“We ready?” Zayne says, turning to us at the archway before we hit the stage.

“Hell yeah!” Milo grins. Lucas and I give him a small nod. We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. We’ve practiced day and fucking night. If we lose this, no, we won’t lose this…

We can’t.

Not to him.

Our team is announced after Tyson’s, and we come out onto the stage with that cue. I try not to acknowledge him, but I can always feel him. The hair on my neck standing at attention anytime he’s near.

“Tonight’s the night! Rohan vs Tyson!” The interviewer says into the mic, and I roll my eyes. He’s clearly enjoying this a little too much.

“Tyson’s been going pretty strong, Rohan. We know you’re ready to get your title back. What do you think your chances are?”

“You’ll just have to see, I guess.” I shrug because I’m not answering that stupid ass question. I walk off towards the chairs as Zayne finishes up the interview. He and Roman, Tyson’s team leader, share a small smile and nod before heading down to their seats. The moment I slip the headset on, I hear Tyson’s deep, agonizing voice in the lobby.

Sometimes I think it irritates me even more because I won’t lie, he has a nice voice.

“Hey, kitten.”

“Don’t fucking call me that, Tyson!” I snap.

Already getting under my skin.

I hate when he calls me that. I have no idea when he started, but it makes my blood run hot. Can’t let him do this shit again. Usually, I would’ve muted him by now before he could even speak; I don’t know why I haven’t.

“Someone’s a bit cranky. Did my little kitten not sleep well last night?” he drawls.

I look ahead where Tyson’s leaned back into his chair, his body annoyingly relaxed as he smirks at me. I snap my head away and try to ignore him as best I can.

I shouldn’t have even looked.

“Don’t let him get to you, Ro,” Zayne says, sitting down next to me. I let out a sigh and nod. He’s right, I need to focus and not fall for his stupid taunting. But it’s like he knows exactly how to irritate the fuck out of me. Pushing buttons I didn’t even know I had.

“Here we goooo!” Milo smiles, “We got this, Roro!” I chuckle at him calling me that. Which he does when he’s trying to cheer me up.

“I’m ready.” I nod.

Lucas and Milo both put their headsets on and turn to the screen where the match is set to begin any minute. The lights lower, and the audience erupts before quieting down again as the game begins.

And I force down every ounce of desire to glance at him.

The match starts. I immediately go after Tyson, knowing I have to take him first so Milo and Lucas can do what they need to do. Zayne supports me for the first kill, and we take Tyson out quickly. The boys rack up some kills on his teammates before he respawns. I know he’s lurking, waiting for me. My jaw clinches as I go to shoot down one of his teammates, but it’s a decoy, and Tyson comes out from behind a wall, killing me instantly.

“Fuck!” I sneer, peeking at Tyson because I can’t fucking help myself. And he’s smirking at me. I flip him off and go back to the game after I’ve respawned.