The day before Kyle's eighteenth birthday, Megan came into his room and pulled him away from Apex Legends.
"Hey, I wanna ask you something… Do you mind if my friend joins us tomorrow?"
"Um, I'm not sure," Kyle said without taking his eyes off the screen. "Do I know this person?"
They usually celebrated together — just the two of them.
"We-e-ell… actually, you don't," she said. "We only started getting close recently."
She rushed the explanation, as if it might make him agree.
"But please… you have to say yes. You'll like him. I promise."
Kyle stayed silent, finishing his game. Then he pushed his chair back and finally looked at her.
A minute passed by.
"Okay," he said. "You win."
He had never been good at refusing Megan.
"Hooray!" she said. "Then we'll be here tomorrow at six. And—"
She glanced around.
"—clean your room. It's a mess."
"Yeah, okay, Mom."
The conversation ended. Kyle turned back to his computer. Megan didn't stay.
She had always tried to find friends for him — real ones.
Outside the virtual world, things rarely worked out.
Kyle suspected his father had something to do with it. If someone wasn't welcome, the house made sure of it.
But some of it was on him.
Kyle didn't talk much — not because he had nothing to say, but because sometimes he didn't want to. And other times, he didn't know how it would sound once it left his mouth.
Most people didn't wait long enough to find out.
After another round, Kyle leaned back, resting his chin in his palm.
Megan rarely brought people into his space. When she did, it meant something.
Still, it had never ended well.
Darren, she had said.
Kyle turned the name over in his head, trying to attach it to something — a face, a voice, anything.
Nothing came.
"Never heard of him," he murmured.
But the thought stayed.
And for some reason, it made it harder to focus on the screen.