The sand reformed with Brent landing on his backside falling back against the closed door of his room. The impact made a loud thud and Brent stirred back to consciousness as soon as his head hit the door. “I hope this doesn’t make a habit out of knocking me on my ass,” He said to himself rubbing the back of his head. He sat there staring off into space trying to gather his thoughts again. The moon cast it’s light into the dimly lit room. The only other light coming in from the bathroom. The door opened behind Brent almost causing him to fall backward, before he caught himself.

  “Brent?” came a familiar voice that Brent immediately recognized as his brother Dan. “What are you doing on the floor? And what was that crashing sound?”

  “It’s been awhile since I sat on the floor.” Brent replied in a sarcastic tone. “You know there’s a small bump in the floor? It feels nice. It’s the most action My ass has gotten in months.”

  “That’s sad.” Dan replied, watching his brother scurry to his feet. ”If that’s what the loud thud was just keep it down to a dull bounce, would you? The Landlords should be coming home tonight. A pipe burst in their apartment downstairs and flooded it. I have to go to work, but I’ve been down there the last few hours with the carpet cleaner trying to clean up all the water. The entire apartment is flooded.”

  “Alright. I’ll see what I can get done before they get here.” Brent said before letting out a loud sigh. “Have a good night at work.” He continued in a dull voice. Without a response Dan was off. Brent poked his head out the door watching him walk away. Brent could remember what happened at this age. It haunted him for several years. And it made him despite his brother that much more. Brent hated the man that walked down that hall. Brent turned around and walked over to the desktop computer that sat in the corner of his room, next to his bed. He turned on the computer and made himself comfortable at the desk.

  He logged into the game as soon as he could, going straight to his messages to study them carefully. There had to be some indication of what he was looking for. And How long into the story he was. The screen slowed for a few seconds and the sound of a doorbell rang out from his speakers. It was an invitation to talk. Brent recognized the name right away. It was the same username that was used by a girl named Ashley. The story rushed to his brain in less than a second. He could hear Jodi’s voice again asking him the question. “Who is Snowangel?” Brent didn’t lie to her. He could remember the look on her face when he told her. Ashley was a friend that seemed like a good idea at the time. This was shortly after he’d blown up at Jodi. Brent never expected to see her again after that, but fate brought them back together for one more night.

  Brent knew exactly what to do from here. He remained still for a half minute waiting for the invite to disappear. If he could avoid hooking up with Ashley, he wouldn’t have to lie to Jodi. So he let the moment pass. A few minutes later another invitation came and he let it pass too. He didn’t see Jodi that night at all, and quickly lost interest in the computer program. He got up and went downstairs attempting to teach himself how to use the carpet cleaner to soak up the water. It was a task that took him all night to complete and he could still feel the excess of moisture on the carpet as he walked around. He looked back at his work and shrugged before venturing up the stairs. In his mind he’d done as much as he could.

  Brent pulled into the driveway of the home and turned off the ignition. He got out of the car, stuffing his keys into his pocket and making haste to the doorway. It was nighttime and Brent was scheduled for an overnight shift. With the residents of the home he watched over He knew he would have the time to get online. This was the night that Brent knew it would happen. He waited all day for it, checking his phone periodically with a hint of nervousness.

  “Can you get on tonight?” read the message from his phone. Sure enough as Dr. Love Insinuated, it was from Jodi. He smiled and set the remote down, reaching into his laptop bag. His laptop was a jet black color and the screen folded over on top of the keyboard. Brent replied to the message with a “Sure.” and lifted the screen on the computer up. He wasted no time in booting up the computer. He waited patiently for the computer to start, ripping his eyes away every few moments to look down at his phone. The anticipation was leaving him nervous. He pulled the bottle out of his pocket and looked it over once more. This whole thing seemed so strange to him. Try as he might, He couldn’t dig up any memories of Katie. Whatever this whole thing was, It had left him with the same feelings he had when he met Jodi. That included the heartbreak he’d felt from Her telling him that she couldn’t be with him. Jodi replied to him with the words “I’m on here. Let’s video chat.”

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  The House was quiet where he worked. Most of the time they didn’t mind anyone getting on a computer as long as he tended to the needs of the Special needs patients in the home when he was called. Brent plugged a pair of headphones into the laptop while he worked to get his camera up. “Hey,” He said as the picture started to clear up. Her lips moved on the other side of the screen but the low volume prevented him from hearing. He guided the bar on the computer up to raise the volume. “Can you hear me?” He asked once more. His eyes seemingly glued to the computer in front of him. Jodi was beautiful. Her dark brown hair hung just barely above her shoulders. Her lips were a cherry red color and her complexion showed an ivory hue. Her black eyeshadow was just a tad darker than her hair. The hoodie she wore was a light gray color with a navy blue sleeve on each arm.

  “Yeah.” There was a short awkward pause before she continued. “How have you been?” She said, forging a smile on her face.

  “I’ve been good.” Brent replied nervously. ”What about yourself?” His eyes moved away from the screen, but not for long. Brent was by all means captivated by her.

  “I’m sorry for the way everything played out.” she said with a deep breath. Her eyes hung in shame. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just needed to get, you know who to leave me alone.”

  The feelings of anger and heartache rushed back to him. Brent’s memory played everything that had happened from the beginning. “What did you mean to do?” He asked begrudgingly.

  “I know you’re mad.” she said with her head hanging low. “He was starting to get creepy. Almost like a stalker. I didn’t mean to get you caught in the crossfire.”

  Brent closed his eyes and looked away from her. “You didn’t need to punish me for mistakes that someone else had made.” Brent’s heart was heavy. He was torn between the anger he felt toward her and the feelings that he got from being around her.

  “I couldn’t think of any other way.” She said. He could see her blue eyes staring into his through the screen. Jodi went quiet for a moment and Brent took advantage of the opportunity to choke back his frustration and try to calm himself. He took a deep breath closing his eyes if not for a second just to calm himself. Brent wanted to yell at her at the top of his lungs, but he refused to, knowing that it would only make things worse. “I broke up with my boyfriend finally. ”She continued, breaking the momentary silence between them.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” He said, forcing himself to take a deep breath and let the tension ease. Truth be told, He wasn’t all that sorry. He knew right in that moment that he just wanted her. A thought pushed through his head that made him hopeful for the first time since the conversation started. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Brent continued, He knew in the back of his mind what was coming and where he could change things.

  “What about you?” She asked, looking up at him after a long pause. Her eyes scanned the screen in a quick fashion, forcing a smile as she laid eyes on him. “How’s your love life going?”

  “I don’t really have one.” He said, meeting her gaze. “I don’t have anyone.” His throat had gotten heavy almost as if his breathing was strained.

  “Do you still want to be with me?” she muttered under the smile that formed across her face. ”Not like right away, but I never lied about having feelings for you.”

  “I haven’t lied about having feelings for you either.” Brent replied, with a slight grin on his face. ”It doesn’t have to be now. I’d be more than happy to wait for you to be ready.” A sense of relief washed over Brent’s mind. His heart felt at ease finally. He had done it. He’d finally done it. His thoughts raced with every possibility. Where things would go from here. The rest of the night went over well. Jodi invited a few more friends into the chat room, but Brent didn’t pay all that much attention to them. All he could focus on was her. He was on cloud nine as far as anyone could tell.