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Mike leans forward, pressing his palms to the table, his gaze intense. We have the same blue eyes, same brown hair, except his is longer on the sides. He looks more like my dad than me, though I have the same pitch to my voice as my dad, where Mike’s is much deeper. So much so that he’s the voice of one of the characters in Mage Wars.
“Don’t act like a dick,” Mike growls. “This is a big day for Dad, and he has a lot riding on this going well. The live stream needs to be perfect.”
“It is,” I assure him. “I tested it five times.”
Lately, my dad and brother have been under a lot of stress. Even my sister, Grace, looks nervous. She’s at the corner of our booth talking to my mom, chewing on her fingernails. I haven’t seen her do that in years. Whatever’s going on with my siblings must be bigger than I know. My dad hasn’t said anything to me, but he has stressed the importance of this event several times over the last month.
“What’s going on with Dad?”
Mike bites the inside of his cheek and shoves his fingers through his hair, pushing it off his forehead. A beat passes, the air between us tense. “Dad should be the one to tell you.”
“No, tell me.” I jump up from my chair, staring Mike down from the other side of the table. “Now.”
He points at the stage at the center of the event center. “Dad’s giving his speech in five minutes.”
“What does that have to do with whatever you’re hiding?”
“He’s making a big announcement.”
I glare at Mike, irritated with his cold demeanor. “Just tell me. Why do I need to be the last person to know? Clearly, you, Grace, and Mom all know what’s going on.”
“Dad didn’t want to upset you,” Mike says, his voice low and even.
My nerves get the best of me, my body trembling from the energy shooting through my body. I hate surprises that involve major life changes.
What’s everyone hiding from me?
What could be so important that my dad’s afraid to tell me?
“C’mon.” Mike angles his body away from the table, gesturing for me to follow him. “We need to take our seats.”
Kevin steps on the stage, giving his usual spiel to welcome everyone to the conference. I sit in the front row next to Mike with Grace and my mom on his right. I glance at the open chair to my left, wondering why it hasn’t been filled until I see Cece approaching me.
She fills the chair next to me. “There’s my Spidey,” she lilts, flicking her long, black hair over her shoulder.
Cece has always called me that, knowing Spider-Man is my favorite comic book character, even though I hate it. But it beats JJ, another name she uses sometimes, mostly when she wants to piss me off. Which is often.
“I’m not your anything,” I growl, my voice low but deep.
“Oh, don’t be like that, JJ.” She runs her fingernails down the length of my arm causing me to freeze. “I’m your Mary Jane. You and I are supposed to be together. Everything’s finally falling into place.”
Her touch produces tiny bumps along my skin, my heart now pounding in my chest. My body reacts to her every time. I’ve never been able to shake Cece or my feelings for her.
“No, you are Gwen,” I counter, referring to Spider-Man’s first love.
She snickers. “Gwen dies.”
“Exactly,” I growl, ready to explode. “Now get off of me and fuck off.” I shake her hand off my arm and turn my body away from her.
“Ooh,” she whispers, leaning into my ear. “Be like that. I don’t care. Your anger only turns me on. Whether you like it or not, pretty soon my dad will own yours, and you will be mine. One way or another.”
What’s she talking about?
Her dad will never own mine.
I wish my heart could forget Cece. I’m with Shannon now. She treats me the way I’d always wished Cece would. And Shannon looks at me the way she should.
Sitting next to Cece, feeling so many emotions, I know I’m not worthy of Shannon. She’s too good for me. Shannon deserves better than half of my heart because that’s all I can give her until I get rid of Cece for good.
After Kevin Carmichael introduces my father, he appears from the right side of the stage dressed in his usual black slacks and button-down shirt. He looks casual, though I can see the worry on his face. Between Mike’s attitude and Cece’s comments, I’m dying with nervous anticipation. What’s my dad about to reveal to the world?
He gives his usual speech discussing why role-playing games are here to stay and how his new technology will take his company to the next level.
But then everything comes to a screeching halt at the end of his talk.
