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As daylight creptthrough the curtains, Tim was still nowhere to be seen, his half of the bed in disarray only from Lawrence’s restless movements. Lawrence put on his dressing gown and went to survey the rest of the flat for any sign of Tim. Sofas hadn’t been sat on, crumbs weren’t scattered, left from slices of marmite on toast. None of the usual signs of life.
He rang Tim’s phone again only to get the same dull recorded female voice telling him that the person he had called was unavailable. He called the studio again, hoping that Tim had gone in to beaver away on the new bit of music he seemed so happy about last night.
To take his mind off it all, Lawrence walked through to the kitchen to boil some eggs, then realised he wasn’t hungry at all, no doubt down to the use of pharmaceuticals… again.
He slammed down the pan in frustration, biting his nails, considering his next move, then walked over to the boombox and put the radio on, hoping to relax with a decent bit of music, but it was the news.
He stilled at the recap of the top story.
“Chart topping artist Jim Tones is in critical condition after a serious car accident in Islington last night when the black taxi he was in collided with a newspaper delivery van in the early hours of Saturday morning. The driver and Jim Tones, real name Tim Saunders both remain in intensive care in Homerton hospital.”
ChapterFour
LONDON: PRESENT DAY.
It wasn’t often, especially during his time on Earth, that Quint was rendered speechless, but he genuinely had no idea how to respond to the bombshell that Cody had just dropped, but after hearing the rest of the story, he eased his reaction. “No.” He couldn’t have him living with this guilt hanging over him. “You didn’t kill him. It was an accident. You can’t blame yourself for any of that.”
Cody shook his head, “It was all me. If we hadn’t had that argument, he’d never have ended up in hospital. He’d never have had irreparable brain damage, and I would never have had to stand by and do nothing as-”
“As what?”
“As they turned off his life support machine.”
That hit Quint so hard. He’d faced that clifftopwithLeo, but turn the tables, put Leo in the hospital bed, be forced to stand by and do nothing as the choice to end his suffering was stolen from his hands by strangers, all because of lack of gay rights and civil partnership back in the 80s?
And there: the utter heartbreak over Playersand Reboots, winners and losers. They all lost in the end, but worst was the one forced to stand back and do nothing but be left behind.
Even other Players if they’d been there that day, they would have had to stand aside and abide by the laws of the new land: although Tim and Cody were soul-mates, they weren’t allowed to get married. They weren’t given spouse status. No one had been able to stop it that day but the courts who denied him a lover’s heart and reactions.
“Why do I feel like I’m being punished?” said Cody, staring at the table. “Ishouldbe punished.”
“No. There are laws to abide by. We all know that,” said Quint. “And Tim had to be set free. We both know that everything that happens is meant to be. Whatever the situation, what they did helped him in the end even if it was taken out of your hands. You have to understand that.”
“But what if he stayed angry? What if he chose to reboot, to not come here?” asked Cody, worry painting his face.
Quint couldn’t sit there and lie to him. Honesty was paramount, no matter what pain it could potentially cause. “If he broke the rule and told you he was a Player, he will have rebooted this time. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll never find him again. As a Player, you know now that he wasn’t lying when he told you what he did, and you know that you have the rest of eternity to find each other again.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway, does it? Like you said, he brokethe rule.”
“Doesn’t matter. In our last lifetime, I rebooted and Leo still found me.”
Cody quirked a sad smile. “All I remember is his hurt and anger. This place was killing him. Why would he want to return?”
“For you?”
Cody’s mouth quivered. Quint could feel his pain. He knew that living without Leo beside him made life more painful and empty than it needed to be, but he wanted to try and at least to find some words of comfort to make Cody’s journey easier.
The transition from a Reboot to a Player was not an easy one. It wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly, and a lot of consideration had to be made. The lessons one learned as a Playerwere overwhelming, especially at first, and it wasn’t as easy an existence as you were led to believe.
The adjustment could take years, sometimes lifetimes, and even then, it wasn’t for everyone. In fact, from talking to many Players throughThe Lounge, Quint had found out that relatively few Players remain so before too long.
The Lounge.Of course.
Quint took out his phone and prompted Cody to reach for his own. “I’m going to show you something—something that will help you tremendously. This came along at the right time for me, and I’m positive it’s come along at the right time for you as well.”
Quint took Cody’s phone and entered his internet browser, typing a series of web addresses but with strange prefixes. After navigating a cyber labyrinth, Cody’s phone started to download the browser, which prompted an app icon to appear within it.
