I screamed to the high heavens as I plummeted to my doom. The wind screamed at me, throwing clouds into my mouth---then a handful of insects. Absolutely disgusting.
The sea of green rushed towards me, each blink sliced a second off my life.
I kept screaming until I hit the ground with a loud thud. The ground slammed into me like a sledgehammer to the face.
Somehow I was alive. No, fuck that, I had bigger issues than just being alive.
Groaning, I lifted my head off the damp grass. My vision swarmed as I took in all the tall trees encircling me.
A sudden burst of shimmering light erupted before me, forcing me to squint as I watched the twisting white light take the shape of a small fairy. She hovered mid-air, bowing slightly before chirping, "Because you're new to this world, you wouldn't die from that fall."
... "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"
To explain this mess, we'll rewind to an hour ago.
I trudged to my apartment, my face a mix of disappointment and frustration.
I needed overtime, I needed the money. My manager didn't give a damn as he shot me down. It was heartbreaking. I had been job hunting, but my limited education and experience made it so I had to stay as a guard at Walmart a bit longer.
I rounded the corner to my first-floor apartment–when a voice stopped me in my tracks.
A raspy croaky voice.
A homeless-looking man sat on the edge of the sidewalk, looking directly at me. "Help an old man out..."
I mumbled under my breath, slipping a hand into my black jacket for some spare change. I handed it to him, not thinking much.
"Thanks my boy," he said, stuffing the changes into his faded, color-washed jeans.
On the side of him was a stand, stacked with CD cases. I randomly asked, "What you selling? Music?"
"Oh, nah. Games." He picked a red case off the stand and hovered it towards me. "For 20 bucks. Something a young fella like you would love. Works on the PS4."
I raised an eyebrow. "What's this game?"
"A... MMO. Gate To Another World. Tell you what––you helped me out, so I'll give it to you for five."
I sighed, fishing out a five-dollar bill. He grinned as he made the exchange, throwing in a final warning: "No refunds."
"Yeah yeah."
I continued toward my apartment, stepping inside and locking the door behind me. My girlfriend's work shoes sat near the entrance—right where she always left them.
She had a bad habit of never locking the door when she was home alone.
Shrugging off my jacket, I tossed it onto the nearest chair and headed to the TV area.
The sound of running water filled the kitchen, accompanied by loud Nicki Minaj music.
"I'm home," I called out over the noise before collapsing onto the couch.
"Oh, okay," she responded.
Fatigue weighed on me, as if all the energy had been drained from my body. Stress...
Pushing myself up, I made my way to the kitchen. Her phone rested on the counter, blasting music while she washed the dishes.
She was half-dressed, just in her bra and panties, her black hair draping over her back.
Grabbing a cup from the drainer, I said, "I can get some water?"
She shifted slightly, making room for me to fill my cup from the tap. I leaned against the counter, taking a sip.
"You look burned out. Work stress?" she asked.
"Nah... you know how it is. What about you? Did you get your bonus?"
"Absolutely. Four percent increase. Rent isn't going to kill us anymore."
"Unless the landlord pulls another surprise hike."
She laughed, shaking her head. And then—nothing.
I stood there, resting against the counter, while she continued washing the dishes. She hated cooking, so I did all of it. In turn, she always handled the dishes.
We didn't really talk. We used to when we were younger. But after school, after getting jobs, we kinda just lived together.
I looked at her ass for a couple of seconds. It wasn't anything special, but it was ass nonetheless. And I was in dire need of it.
I rested my chin on her shoulder while rubbing her ass. "You want me to do the rest, so... we can go back to the bedroom?"
"Hm... Sounds great."
She pulled her hands out of the soapy water, grabbed her phone, and left. I sighed to myself—I had a feeling I knew how this was going to play out.
I finished the rest of the dishes after about 15 minutes, dried my hands, and went to take a shower.
After drying myself, I walked out of the bathroom practically naked, but she wasn't in the bedroom.
When I went to the living room, she was lying on the couch, phone in hand.
I gently caressed her legs, moving my hands up to her inner thigh, but she said, "Actually... maybe not tonight, I'm feeling kinda tired."
I stopped and just looked at her for a couple of seconds before pulling my hands back and saying with a lackluster tone, "I see."
I threw myself on the other couch. It had been six months since we had sex. She gave me a handjob here and there, but it was so rare, it felt like it was done just to keep me from looking elsewhere. Like I wasn't worried about my reputation too much for that. The last thing I wanted was to ruin a potentially good future relationship because she found out I wasn't not trustworthy.
"Damn, you sounded kinda mad."
"Really?" I sat up, taking the game I threw on the couch earlier. I walked up to my PS4, powered it on, and opened the disc drive. I inserted the disc, waited for the system to read it, then navigated to the home screen. To my surprise, the game actually showed up. "I don't think so."
"You have that tone. When you're annoyed at something. Getting annoyed that I'm too tired to have sex is—"
I grabbed my controller, which was practically covered in dust, and selected the game, watching the installation bar pop up.
"I'm not mad. I'm relaxing. Not sure if you want me to think, 'Well gee, I actually like not getting play for months on end."
"But you're acting like... like... you're kinda just done with me. Like, 'Oh, there she goes again.' Like I'm not allowed to feel tired."
"Melisa, who told you you can't feel tired?"
"Your actions speak louder than words!"
"Having an 'okay then' tone and sitting down is none of that. Cause I for sure am not the one making an issue out of it..."
"Think you're so smart. I expect you to be a gentleman."
I looked her in the eyes. "Melisa, did my reaction make you feel uncomfortable in any way or form?"
"Actually, yeah."
"How so?"
"Well, it made me feel like... I did something bad."
"You didn't. Problem solved."
"No. It. Isn't. You still have that… not annoyed, but dismissive tone, like you're rolling your damn eyes as you speak. Like you're dealing with some dumb kid and can't wait for them to shut up."
"Actually, I'm kinda over it, and I think I'm allowed to be. I don't raise my voice, I don't try to change your mind, I just go do my thing. How I process it is my business, not yours. Matter of fact, how you feel about it doesn't even matter, because it doesn't affect you in any way."
"Why is it now that you feel so? Let's do some digging, cause when it has to deal with me, I have some right in it."
"Blah blah blah blah." I tapped my fingers on the controller as the game finished installing. "It's funny how every time I make an advance, you're all, 'Later,' 'Give me a minute,' 'Just let me finish this first,' or 'Sure, but can you do that first?' Like, you're always down—until it's actually time. Then suddenly, there's a problem. You get mysteriously tired, or you don't feel well, or something else comes up." I glanced at her, shaking my head. "Maybe I'm just going crazy, though."
"Oh, fuck you. So the only thing you care about is getting your dick sucked? Things can change in minutes, is that concept foreign to you?"
"Have I ever once tried to make you change your mind?"
"That doesn't mat–"
"Just answer the question."
"Things happen! Things happen randomly! Maybe I get ill a lot, you ever thought about that? Is it always, 'mah dick, mah dick... ooooo mah diiiccck'."
"It's been happening almost every day for six months. I have asked you if it's something I did, something I'm doing, if you need to pay a doctor a visit, if there's something you don't like—out of the bedroom or in it. You always say it's nothing. What you want me to do? Read your mind?"
"If I suck your dick now, will you stop acting like a damn ass? Cause clearly, that's what's been haunting your mind, a grown-ass man."
"I'm actually loading up a game right now."
"Oh ho? So all of a sudden, you don't want to have sex? All of a sudden you started back playing games?"
"Yeah, my boner is kinda gone. Besides, I don't want you saying some shit like I nagged you for some pussy. I already know you're going to twist this shit against me to your friends anyway."
The red circle on the screen stopped spinning, and the screen turned white.
"I don't know, Nick. It almost sounds like it."
"'I don't know, Nick. I'm kinda dumb as fuck.' All I fucking did was sit down, and when you started shit for no reason, I explained my reasoning."
The game screen came online, displaying a grand kingdom of white and gold. Knights clad in shining armor patrolled the streets, their capes flowing in the wind.
"I'm stupid now?! Who's the one with barely any education?" She swung her legs off the couch and planted her feet firmly on the floor, her voice rising in anger.
I absentmindedly pressed a button, and the screen blurred as the class selection menu opened.
Weird. It skipped the character name, customization, and race selection entirely.
The usual options were there: Knight, Ninja… but then the screen flashed red, and a new class appeared at the bottom.
"Hellspawn Summoner."
Defeat demons, succubus and monsters from hell, turning them into your loyal servants. You can even make a harem if you choose too.
The icon depicted a man shrouded in purple mist, surrounded by horned women in provocative clothing—or nearly nothing at all. Their bodies twisted around him, some whispering in his ear, others draped across his shoulders.
The weirdest part? That man looked eerily similar to me.
Damn.
She noticed me staring at the screen and took a look at it.
"Oh. So now you're playing porn games because you ain't getting any at home?!" She reached for the controller.
I brushed her hand aside. "It's just a damn game! Hell is wrong with you?"
She climbed over me, trying to wrestle the controller from my grip. "I just know you're cheating on me! You have to be! Because you're not getting ass? You piece of shit!"
I clenched my teeth. "The only damn thing on my mind is leaving your ass. And if you ask me, not getting any at home for months on end is a good reason."
She nearly had the controller, but those words stopped her cold.
Her face twisted. "Wow... Apologize. Apologize for saying that shit!"
My fingers hovered over the X button.
"Why should I? You don't even like me anymore. Neither do I. The only reason we're still together is because of rent and we've been dating since high school. That's it."
Then I pressed the button.
Her eyes burned with sudden rage. Her fist clenched.
I pointed at it with my free hand. "We are not in a movie, Melisa. If you hit me, I swear to God, I'll take out a fucking loan just to sue your ass. I'll call the cops, record you, and post that shit for all your friends to see you being hysterical with the cops. I'll make sure you break my nose too, see how you can lie yourself out of that."
She exhaled sharply through her nose, her expression unreadable. Then she said something I wasn't prepared for.
"I was going to drop my other boyfriend."
My breath caught. Other boyfriend?
She continued. "I felt guilty, you know? Having that on my conscience. Knowing you'd be mad if I slept with you while also sleeping with another man. But... you want to leave me? You've been thinking about leaving me? After everything I have done for you? If you really gave a shit about me, you would have actually tried to know what was going on in my life. Why is sex so importan--"
The blood in my veins turned to ice.
"...You goddamn witch!"
I lunged at her.
Then everything turned white.
The next thing I knew, I was falling.