I Paused My Game.to Be Here Novels & Stories

I exhaled through my teeth and started toward Dante’s office. The game had only just begun.

Me: i ammm Me: you just dont listen 😭 I paused. Then— Me: im happy, okay? My thumb hesitated just a fraction before continuing. Me: like… really happy I swallowed gently as I felt a small pang settle into my chest, the.flicker of something real. I ignored it. Me: i didn’t think i’d be Me: I mean with all these A second passed. Then the push— Me: but i am I leaned back slightly, watching the screen like it might give something away. Seconds passed. Then—

A cup of coffee that had been falling from a businessman’s hand was suspended in the air, the liquid frozen in a perfect, brown arc. We were the only things moving. We were the "Active Assets" in a paused program. "They're selling us," I said, a cold, hard knot forming in my stomach. "They aren't just making a show. They're making a **Game**. And someone is sitting in their living room right now, deciding if we’re worth thirty dollars." "Look at the timer," Rowan pointed to the bottom corner of my vision. **[SHUTDOWN IN: 04:59]**

“I WANNA MAKE LOVE TO SOMEBODYY!” “I think that's enough now.” I hear his voice say into my ear. I pout and frown, shaking my head no over and over and over again until I feel dizzy and nausea. It makes me stop all movement. Asher notices this. He quickly grabs me, picks me up and starts to stand. I hear him say something to Jasmine before nodding his head, she smiles. He starts to walk away from them, my friends! “We-” Hicuup, “Wherre are wee-” Hiccup, “Gooinngg?” I slur.

After I was done, I take my phone and my purse, made my way to the downstairs and paused ****

Her game was certainly over! To be continued!!

I would play their game. But tonight, I didn’t sleep. Tonight, I listened. And waited.

“You don’t have to stop whatever you came here to do because of me. I will take my leave, someone is waiting for me” After that, I can’t seem to remember what happens next. Because everything turns black. ****** *****

After a second, I said quietly, “Do what you think is right.” The words sounded distant, like they belonged to someone else. Damian exhaled through his nose, a slow, heavy sigh. He reached forward and picked up the phone. “Hey,” he said, softer than usual. I turned my attention back to the TV, even though the game had paused, the characters frozen mid-motion. I focused on the glow, on the pixelated landscape that suddenly felt stupid and flat and completely unimportant. I could hear Marianne’s voice faintly through the speaker, too muffled to catch words, but bright, familiar. The sound of someone assuming they were welcome.