The Heart System

Just as a smile started to form, I remembered Emilia. What if she really was hurt? From what I could figure, someone had attacked her in the apartment, and after… whatever happened, they cleaned the place and removed the furniture to get rid of evidence. Things were bad. Really bad.

Kayla noticed my face change and looked at me, but I just forced a smile and pulled out of the parking spot, merging into traffic. Tomorrow at ten, we'd know what was actually going on. I just hoped the worst hadn't happened.

"Thanks for doing this," she said after a beat. "I'd be a nervous wreck going alone."

"Happy to be your emotional support human."

"We're going to her place, right?" I confirmed.

"Yeah. I offered to take her out, but she said she hasn't left the apartment much since… everything."

"Can't blame her."

Kayla stared out the window for a second. "Thank fuck you were there that night, Evan. If I'd known Richard was that kind of monster…"

"Hey, I worked with the guy. Nobody saw it coming. Not you, not me."

She exhaled hard. "Still. No more one-night stands for me."

I cleared my throat dramatically. "Ouch."

"That wasn't a one-night stand, you idiot," she said, punching my arm. "You gave me a massage and things escalated. That's different."

"You regret it?"

She set the wine bottle carefully between her heels. "You suck."

"Funny. You did too. Literally."

She hit me again, same spot, and I laughed, rubbing my shoulder. She tried to look pissed, but the corner of her mouth betrayed her.

"Ouch. You, uh—you dressed like we're going to a Michelin-star restaurant," I said, glancing at the dress again. "I'm in jeans and a T-shirt."

"I wanted to look like I actually gave a shit," she said softly. "Like I wasn't just showing up in sweats to say sorry. I needed her to see I was taking it seriously."

I nodded. "She'll see that."

Kayla looked over at me, something softer in her eyes now. "Drive, chauffeur."

I turned left and leaned back, eyes on the road but my mind stuck in that empty apartment. Furniture gone. Blood scrubbed. Guy moved fast. Too fast. If I'd pushed harder, threatened louder, would Emilia still be breathing? The guilt was chewing me raw.

I almost rear-ended the car in front when the light flipped red. Slammed the brakes too hard; Kayla jerked forward, the wine bottle rolling off the seat with a soft clunk.

"Sorry," I said, rubbing a hand over my face. "Busy day."

"I can tell." Kayla shifted in her seat and nudged the bottle away with her boot. "So how'd you end up with a car like this?"

"Stole it."

She rolled her eyes. "Evan."

I let out a breath. "Fine. I'm seeing someone. Nala Nolin. You might know her."

"Nala…" She tilted her head, thinking. "Nope."

"Guy Nolin's sister."

"Still nothing."

"Well, she's the new CEO of TechForge."

Kayla blinked. "Oh. Okay—yeah, I know TechForge." She turned toward me fully now. "Wait. You're dating a CEO?"

"Yep. It's her car."

She let that sit for a moment, then her eyebrows lowered a little. She opened her mouth, closed it again, tapped her fingers on her knee. The light changed to green and the cars behind us started honking, so I eased forward. Snow crunched under the tires, the whole road crawling.

"When you massaged me…" she said, barely above a normal tone, "were you already with her?"

I glanced over. She was staring out the window now, jaw tight. "What's that matter?"

"I just don't want to step into some disaster. Not after… well, Mendy." she said. "So just be straight with me."

"No. And we have an open relationship."

"Open?" She squinted at me. "So you're a… cuck?"

"What? No." My hands tightened on the wheel. "I don't share Nala with anyone. That's not happening."

"So you get to go around with other girls, but she can't?"

"I mean… yeah."

"So it's like a half-open thing?"

"I guess. Whatever. It works for us."

She let out a puff of air, shaking her head slowly. "How does a gas-station clerk talk a CEO into something like that?"

I shrugged. "I'm charming."

She snorted. "Fuck off."

╭────────────────────╮

- Quest Available

==========================

- Title: Stories

- Task: Tell Kayla you took Nala's

virginity before hopping off the car.

- Reward: 100c

==========================

- Accept Quest? [Yes] [No]

╰────────────────────╯

What? Nala wasn't some trophy I got to brag about. I pushed the thought aside; that kind of mindset was completely against my morals anyway. But… Kayla seemed to have her own ideas about it, I guess.

"So," Kayla said, softer now, "how was your first night with her?"

"That's private."

"You fucked me on a massage table, Evan," she reminded me, deadpan.

I chuckled. "Fair. But Nala's not some story I brag about. I'm not gonna sit here and flex like a douchebag."

╭───────────╮

EVENT

===============

Kayla's Interest +10

╰───────────╯

She looked at me for a long second, something warm flickering in her eyes.

╭────────────────────╮

REPUTATION SYSTEM

==========================

VILLAIN░░░░░░░██░░░░░░░░ HERO

==========================

Not being a douche: +10

╰────────────────────╯

"Wow," she said quietly. "You actually have morals. That's… annoyingly attractive."

"Hey, I try to be a decent human sometimes."

"Decent? Meeh. Human? No way."

╭───────────╮

WOMEN - INTERACTIONS

===============

Jasmine: Interest: 40 / 60★★

Kayla: Interest: 15 / 20

Tessa: Interest: 27 / 40★

Kim: Interest: 35 / 40★

Delilah: Interest: 75 / 80★★★

Cora: Interest: 100 / 100★★★★★

Mendy: Interest: 6 /20

Nala: Interest: 66 /80★★★

Penelope: Interest: 3 /20

Minne: Interest: 17 /20

Ivy: Interest: 2/20

===============

Progress:

★☆☆☆☆ - 20 Interest: Milestone reward

★★☆☆☆ - 40 Interest: Milestone reward

★★★☆☆ - 60 Interest: Milestone reward

★★★★☆ - 80 Interest: Milestone reward

★★★★★ -100 Interest: Milestone reward

===============

Select a woman to track progress.

╰───────────╯

I chuckled as I eased the car forward for another red light. Red. It reminded me of that damn blood on the ceiling. Even in a small happy moment like this, my brain still found a way to drag me back. It was eating me alive. I wasn't sure I could wait until tomorrow. Part of me wanted to call Greg right now and cancel this dinner altogether.

Kayla, sitting there with her hands tucked under her coat sleeves, saw the shift. One moment I was smiling, the next I was staring at a traffic light like it owed me an apology.

"Is everything okay?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah, I'm just…" I rubbed the back of my head. "You know. Tired, I guess."

"Tired, huh? Same." She leaned back. "Tired of overthinking everything. This whole Richard thing messed me up."

"Yeah." I nodded. "Wish I could just pack my shit and go on a vacation somewhere."

"Somewhere hot or cold?"

"Somewhere calm."

The light turned green but the car in front of us didn't move. The roads were icy, the tires on that car were summer ones, you could tell immediately. I checked the mirror, changed lanes, and got around them, but by the time I did, the damn light turned red again.

Kayla and I both looked left.

A woman was behind the wheel of the stuck car. Sharp glasses. Short black hair. Really attractive body. Early thirties maybe. Huge chest, tight blouse under her coat, the type of woman men fantasize about at their desks. But her face was serious. The kind that never smiled unless someone died.

"Poor woman," Kayla said. "I actually know her."

"Oh?"

"Hannah," Kayla said. "Well, my neighbor knows her and showed me a picture."

"Why were they showing you a photo?"

"Because Hannah rear-ended her." Kayla shrugged. "Guess she's not good with cars."

"Yeah. She didn't change her tires." I said. "Those things are not made for snow."

"You know too much about cars for a man who never owned one."

"Hey, I know a lot about bicycles too, but I've never driven one."

"That is one of the weirdest things I've ever heard," Kayla said. "Also, how do you not know how to ride a bicycle?"

The light turned green. I eased forward. "I can drive four-tired ones."

"What, your dad never held the seat of your bike and helped you ride it? Then let you go even when you said not to, and then you realize you can ride by yourself?"

"Nope."

Kayla nodded slowly. "Wow. Best dad ever."

"Hey, my dad tried his best."

"Right."

"We had this kid in second grade, Ali," I said. "Some brat found out Ali was wearing fake shoes. Replicas. They joked about him for weeks."

"And?"

"And my shoes were also fake," I said. "Those stupid roller-skate shoes were popular. You pressed a button and the wheels came out."

"Oh god, I remember those." Kayla laughed. "Worst design ever."

"Well, I told my father I was scared kids would find out mine were fake too." I said. "So he worked double shift for a week and bought me the original ones. I still remember the stupid smile on his face when he handed me the box."

Kayla softened. "Were you that poor that he had to work double shift?"

"No. Mine were replicas with Jeremy Mureson's wet signature on them. Those were expensive as hell. The original ones were insane."

"So he had to buy the signed ones because kids would notice if the signature disappeared," Kayla said.

"Pretty much."

"Okay. But did he ever play with you when you were little? Like, actually spend time with you?"

"Eh…" I thought for a moment. "Nope."

"So instead of teaching you things or playing with you, he threw money at whatever problem you had."

"Happiness kinda comes with money," I said. "Now that I'm grown, I never sit there thinking, 'Oh no, poor me, I never learned bikes.'"

"You never know the true value of something you never had," Kayla said. "Those moments with your family—"

"Jesus, Kayla. My dad didn't teach me bikes. Boo. Throw stones at him. That's all."

"Fine, no more arguing. But your dad sounds like he wasn't a good one."

"I didn't know I booked an appointment with you, Ms. Psychologist."

"I just love family drama. Did your dad have mistresses?"

"No."

"Shucks."

"Yours?"

"Yep."

"Shucks."

We chuckled faintly and the conversation died down. I turned another corner, slowing for the next red light. The car hummed quietly. The heater clicked. My mind drifted just enough for the dashboard to suddenly light up with Penelope's name.

Great timing.