The Secret in His Gaming Room

Miles Connell had never acted like that before.

During our third year of marriage, he turned his study into a gaming room. After that, the door stayed locked.

Once, I asked him what he kept in there.

He said he had expensive graphics cards and gaming peripherals in there and that I was not allowed to touch them, so I never asked again.

Zoe Schmich had been my best friend since childhood. We had known each other for over twenty years.

After a bad breakup, she moved in with me for two weeks.

One evening, Miles brought Zoe a bowl of homemade pudding and called her over.

“Come here, Zoe. I have something cool to show you.”

Zoe glanced at me, and I nodded.

Miles led her into the gaming room while I stayed in the living room, scrolling through my phone.

Five minutes later, I heard Zoe’s startled voice coming from inside.

I jumped to my feet just as the door opened, revealing Zoe standing with her back to me.

“Zoe?”

She turned around, her face streaked with tears.

“Nora, I-I can’t believe you’re capable of this!” she said, her voice so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable.

I froze. “Huh?”

“Drop the act.”

She cut me off, fixing me with a look I would never forget. “Y-You know exactly what you did!”

“What happened?” I asked.

Zoe never told me what she had seen. Instead, she stared at me for a long moment before forcing the words through clenched teeth.

“I can’t believe I ever called you my friend.”

With that, she slipped on her shoes and walked straight out the door.

I opened WhatsApp and tried to message her, but it would not go through.

I rounded on Miles and demanded, “What did you show her?”

He dried his hands, completely unfazed.

“Nothing much. Just some old stuff. Her turning on you had nothing to do with this. Maybe you two just had a misunderstanding.”

I genuinely thought it was just a coincidence, so I let it go.

Six months later, Erin Zappone and I went into business together and opened a design studio.

One night, we stayed up late at my house revising a design proposal.

Miles came in carrying a plate of fruit and smiled.

“Erin, I have some old design drafts here. Want to take a look?”

Erin worked in design, so her eyes lit up.

Remembering what had happened with Zoe, I was just about to stop Erin when she stood up.

“Sure, Miles!”

Miles led Erin into the gaming room, leaving me on the couch with sweaty palms.

The wait stretched to ten long minutes.

When the door opened, Erin stepped out with an expression I could not describe.

She walked straight toward me and slapped me hard across the face.

“Nora, I thought we were like sisters. How could you do this to me?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“What did I do?” I asked.

“Don’t act dumb.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“You thought deleting those backup records on your computer would keep anyone from finding out? From now on, our friendship is over!”