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Chapter 2

Eve’s first instinct was to flip on the light switch, so that’s what she did. Immediately, the hotel room was flooded with bright, fluorescent lighting, which revealed Eric, shirtless, and pressed up against the wall with his arms wrapped around an unfamiliar brunette woman. The two had been caught mid-kiss, and the woman was latched onto Eric with one leg, using the wall for support.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked, her voice coming out more confidently than she felt.

In shock, Eric shoved the woman away; her hand, still tangled in his hair, dragged his head sideways as she stumbled away from him.

“Eve!” He cried out. “Hold on, I can explain!”

“I don’t want to hear your explanation,” Eve replied coolly. Tears stung at her eyes and threatened to fall, but she refused to let them. Not in front of Eric.

Eric fumbled pathetically on the dresser for his glasses, and the woman in the corner stood smirking as she tucked her chin-length hair behind her ears. “You’re the girlfriend?” She asked.

“You don’t get to talk!” Eve shot back.

“Eric told me all about you, and how controlling you are.” She sneered.

Eve’s mouth fell open. “What?!” She couldn’t believe Eric had not only been cheating on her, but also lying about her. Her eyes snapped to Eric, who had been hastily putting his shirt back on.

“Let’s all calm down,” he said quickly. “Eve, this is Misty.”

“I don’t care.”

“Eric, you told me you were going to dump her soon. Anyway, let’s hurry this up.” Misty crossed her arms and pouted at Eric.

“How long has this been going on?” Eve asked.

“This was the first time,” Eric said.

Eve rolled her eyes. “You mean you just met Misty in the hallway?”

“Well…no,” he stammered. “We’ve been talking online for about six months now. We play Fire Grid Horizon together.”

Eric’s favorite war game. Of course.

“It started as just a friendship, but Misty and I had so much in common that we started talking outside the game. Soon I started talking to her about my problems, like when you and I would fight, or when you would ignore my texts.”

“You mean when I was working?” Eve said, appalled.

“That’s the other thing. You don’t work; you blog.”

“Eric needs to be supported by someone with a real job.” Misty nodded vigorously in the corner.

Eve couldn’t believe her ears. “I work for a gaming news website, and I make enough money publishing my articles to live on my own. I don’t take any money from Eric.”

“You need to be able to contribute to the relationship. Eric needs to be able to feel like he has a safety net,” Misty said.

“Will you stay out of this?” Eve snapped.

Everything was clicking together in place in her mind. Eric had been protective of his phone for the last several months, and he had refused to play anything other than Fire Grid Horizon, which he knew Eve did not play.

“You planned this whole trip,” Eve said, realization dawning on her. Eric averted his eyes. “This was never about spending time together. You did this just so you could meet your internet girlfriend in real life!”

“Eve, please don’t be angry,” Eric begged.

“I am beyond angry!” Eve cried. She turned to look at Misty. “You have a room here at the convention too?”

“Yeah?”

“Great. Eric, get out.”

“Eve, we can still talk about this,” Eric said pitifully.

“Absolutely not,” Eve said. “Get your stuff, get Misty, and get out.”

Eve waited with her arms folded while Eric sadly moved about the room gathering his things. He looked at her as if he wanted to say more, but thought better of it. Misty tapped her foot impatiently.

The moment the door shut behind the two of them, Eve sank onto the bed.

I refuse to cry. I will ruin my make-up. He’s not worth that. Eve thought to herself. Instead, she picked up her phone and called Maddie. Maddie answered on the second ring.

“Oh my gosh, Eve! Tell me you are calling because you saw Mr. Cards!” She squealed.

“Mads-”

“Is he just as handsome in person?”

“Maddie-”

“What was his disguise?”

“Maddie! I just walked in on Eric cheating on me!” Eve blurted before her friend could interrupt.

There was stunned silence on the other end of the phone.

“I am going to murder him,” she said, her voice seething with rage. “Tell me everything.”

Eve told Maddie all about Eric and Misty and how she had thrown them both out of the room.

“What should we do when he gets home? Should we break into his house and put a raccoon in his bathroom?”

Eve managed a laugh. “That won’t be necessary. I never want to see him again.”

“So, what do you want to do?” Maddie asked softly. “Do you want to come home? I will buy you a plane ticket.” Maddie’s mom was a well-known software developer, so the price of a plane ticket would not have made a difference to her.

Eve thought for a second. “I don’t want to come home,” she said, determination rising in her body. “Eric has wasted three years of my life. I am not going to waste a single second more on him, and I am going to start with this convention.”

“There’s my girl!” Maddie said excitedly.

“I want to see panels and buy merch, and maybe I will even see Mr. Cards!”

“Yeah!” Maddie cheered.

“In fact, there’s a panel starting soon that I want to see really badly,” Eve said, remembering the Ghost Exterminators voice actors.

“Forget Eric. Go see that panel,” Maddie said supportively. “But, Eve?”

“Yeah?”

“Have the front desk issue new key cards, so Eric doesn’t try anything, okay?” Maddie warned.

“That’s a good idea, thanks, Maddie.” Eve hung up the phone and hurried to the front desk. She explained her situation using as few details as possible, and fortunately, the woman behind the counter was understanding and reset the room with a new key card.

“I can still make it to the panel,” Eve muttered to herself as she rushed into the convention. To her surprise, a long line leading to the panel room stretched out and wound its way down a hallway. Eve took a spot at the end of the line.

“Excuse me?” She asked the girl in front of her. “Is this the line for the Ghost Exterminators panel?”

The girl nodded. “Yes. I heard they had a technical issue while setting up the room, so the panel was delayed.”

“Thanks.” Eve decided to settle in for a long wait and leaned against a ledge that stuck out of the wall behind her.

“Sorry to bother you,” a low voice came from behind her. “Could I share your ledge with you?”