Chapter 2

Greyson parked his suitcase by the entryway console. He turned around and looked at Kaylee. His blue eyes were quiet and steady.

That familiar stare made Kaylee's vision blur. The hallway around her warped. Her mind was violently dragged back to her computer desk ten minutes earlier. Ten minutes earlier on her Twitch stream, Kaylee was controlling her champion in the mid-lane. The vibe in the chat was light and fun.

Suddenly, the enemy mid-laner typed a toxic message in the all-chat. The ID belonged to Jax Mercer, her ex-boyfriend.

Seeing that name made Kaylee's fingers freeze on the keyboard. Her champion stopped moving for half a second and took a massive hit to its health bar.

Jax didn't stop. He typed in the public chat that she was an unwanted loser in real life. The stream chat instantly flooded with question marks.

Kaylee took a deep breath. She forced down the physical nausea of her PTSD. She couldn't lose face in front of her viewers. She put on a tone of pure disdain.

She laughed into the microphone. She fired back that not only did she have guys chasing her, but the guy chasing her was ten thousand times better than Jax.

Jax sent a mocking emoji in the chat. He dared her to say the guy's name.

Anger completely clouded Kaylee's judgment. The name of the number one player in North America flashed in her mind. She blurted out the name Killer.

The moment she said it, the chat went completely dead for three seconds. Then, a tsunami of laughing emojis erupted.

Kaylee opened her mouth to change the subject. Before she could speak, the entire stream screen was covered in a massive, glowing gold animation.

The system highlighted a notification: User Killer has entered the chat and gifted 50 Tier 3 subscriptions.

Kaylee's right hand jerked. Her mouse flew off the mousepad. Her champion walked straight into an enemy tower.

The chat went absolutely insane. Everyone was screaming about the legend actually showing up.

A custom gold text bubble from Killer floated slowly across the center of the screen: Is that so? How come I didn't know about this?

That casual question hit Kaylee like a physical blow to the chest. Her face burned hot. She wanted the floor to open up and swallow her.

Jax spammed a row of laughing faces in the public game chat. That pushed Kaylee over the edge.

She bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to taste copper. She grabbed her mouse and dragged it back onto the pad. Her eyes went cold and entirely focused.

She executed an impossible flash combo with her champion. She dove under the enemy tower and killed Jax solo.

The second the kill registered, she hit exit. She ended the stream instantly and ripped the ethernet cable out of her computer.

The memory faded away like receding water. Kaylee's eyes refocused on Greyson's face in the real world.

Greyson watched the color drain from her cheeks. He took a step forward, his brow furrowing in fake concern. "Are you feeling okay?"

The physical dominance of his size as he moved closer made Kaylee jump backward. Her shoulder blades slammed hard into the wooden shoe cabinet.

She forced a smile that felt like a grimace. She waved her hands frantically. "I'm fine. Totally fine."

The corner of Greyson's mouth twitched upward for a fraction of a second. He politely asked where his room was.

Kaylee turned around like she was fleeing a fire. She practically ran down the hallway, leading him toward the guest room at the end.

She pushed the door open and pointed inside. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, terrified to look at his face.

Greyson said thank you. He carried his suitcase into the room, leaving her staring at his broad back.

Kaylee leaned against the wall outside the door. She pressed her hand hard against her chest, feeling her heart hammering against her ribs. She still didn't know what he knew. He hadn't said anything about the stream. But he had accepted her friend request. The uncertainty gnawed at her-a cold, twisting knot in her stomach that she couldn't untie.