Chapter 8: Selling the PC for Wedding Money
Theo returned to his room after meeting Estea. Sesan was still asleep, so he hadn’t been able to see her. He flopped onto the bed and lay silent for a moment. Then he sprang up and clutched his hair.
"Wait a minute. I didn’t just agree to be a caretaker, right? No, it was a husband. To three women. That means I’d be married to three older women, and my chances of ever getting with anyone else are completely gone. Does this mean my life is basically over too?"
It was as though the reality of what he’d agreed to had only just begun to sink in, and already he was picturing a life in which he’d effectively signed his own away.
He shook his head.
’They wouldn’t limit me like that... besides, it’s not like I’m interested in these other girls.’
From a very young age he had trained himself to feel for Jupiter Lady and no one else. Now that he couldn’t feel anything for her, now that he actually hated her, he felt incapable of loving anyone at all, like a heart torn clean down the middle with nothing left to fill the gap.
So maybe this wasn’t such a bad arrangement. He would help them get back on their feet, use whatever the system paid out once he figured out this whole investment business, and then, when the three of them could finally stand on their own, he could clear off to some distant place, or just move into the Tower and live there for good.
The Tower was another world folded into this one, inter-dimensional, the root cause of the apocalypse and the reason the world had changed at all. Because of it, Earth could now reach out and touch the many other worlds spread across its floors. Some of those floors were extraordinarily dangerous. Even so, there were people who spent their entire lives just trying to get up there and stay.
Out of pure instinct, Theo’s hand went to his groin, reaching for his rod, only to remember everything that had happened.
’Right. I can’t lower myself to goon to that bitch anymore...’
His gaze drifted to the PC on the floor.
’And I broke that too...’
Just like that, the urge died, and what it left behind was a hollow sort of emptiness. He crawled back onto the bed, curled up under the blankets, and slept like a baby.
***
The next day, a knock came at Theo’s door. He woke and dragged himself groggily across the room to open it.
Thaleria stood in the doorway, wearing a white sundress patterned with small flowers, and over it a thick pink cardigan that hung down past her hips. She held her hands together in front of her, the sleeves almost swallowing them whole.
"Good morning. I thought we should move fast, and start planning the wedding. I called the little church down the street last night, and they said a simple ceremony would cost two thousand three hundred to host us."
Theo rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and when he finally spoke his voice came out thick and rough.
"There should be no need to rush it."
A rebellious look crossed Thaleria’s face.
"There is. I could drop dead any day now. Any of us could, whether it’s all three of us or just the other two, and before that happens I’d like to marry you. Besides, there’s another reason I’m pushing for this."
Theo’s brows lifted a little.
Thaleria pressed on with a set jaw.
"The first condition placed on recovering our possessions and our floor in the Tower is that we be of sound enough mind to own them, because the floors we govern are powerful. The second condition is that a family member can claim them and keep them safe for us."
She sighed.
"But we had no family. We’d never even thought about starting one, until now."
She held his gaze then, hard and steady.
"It’ll be a hard fight, I won’t pretend otherwise. But I’ll do everything I can to help you grow stronger in whatever time I have left. If you claim those floors, you’ll be rich. You won’t have to suffer just to keep looking after us. You’ll be able to live your own life, and still have more than enough to take care of us too, especially Estea and Sesan."
She paused for a breath, then added,
"So it needs to happen fast, before the Tower Association gets wind of what we’re trying to do. I’d honestly prefer it happen today, even."
Then her face fell.
"But we don’t have that kind of money to give the church."
Theo stared at her for a few blank seconds, taking in the somber set of her face and the tension bunched up in her shoulders. Then he reached out, rested both hands on those shoulders, and gave her a calm smile.
"Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. And please, learn to put yourself first for once. Leave the money to me. I’ll get it somehow."
Thaleria studied his face a moment, then nodded with a small smile. She cast one glance past him into the room before stepping back.
"And please, tidy up your room. I can smell it all the way out here..."
Theo felt the words go through him like an arrow to the soul. He chuckled dryly.
"I’m sorry. I’ve, uh... been a bit of a degenerate up to now. But I’ll fix that today."
She nodded and walked away.
Afterwards, Theo dug out the phone he’d borrowed and forgotten to return. He found the notes app where he kept a handful of numbers and dialed one in particular. After a few rings, an excited voice came crackling through.
{Yooo, Theoodore!}
"I’ve told you, it’s Theolyne. Not Theodore."
{I think your parents should be jailed for naming you that. What’s up, bro, you never even called since you bought that baby. Why you calling now?}
Theo stuttered a bit.
"Uhh... well, the thing is. I want to sell that baby."
{...}
{You good, Theo? Broke? If you broke I can lend you some money?}
Theo chuckled.
"No, it’s not like that, Stan. I need money to do some things, so I need a lot of money."
{Hmm... that’s sad. What’s its state now?}
"The monitor is broken, but the station seems perfectly fine."
{Theo, how the fuck did you break the monitor?!}
Theo scratched his temple with a faint smile.
"It’s a long story, Stan. But please, I need a fair rate. I bought that shit for twenty four thousand, remember?"
{I get you, pal, but you know it’s not our fault. Because of cost of production since after the apocalypse, these old world techs have been going uphill with their prices. And it’s the least we can get them for. But you know what, since you said the station is good, I’ll do you thirteen thousand. But that’s on the condition that the station is good. I’ll reduce that money if I notice anything bad, Theo.}
"But Stan, isn’t thirteen unfair? It hasn’t even been six months since I got it."
{Pal, this is the best I can do for you, pal. Take the deal or no deal at all.}
Theo stood there a while, just looking at the PC. He’d bought it to keep him company after losing his dad, something to fill the quiet of the empty apartment, a hum in the corner that meant he wasn’t entirely alone. And now he had to sell it. It felt less like offloading a machine and more like handing over something precious, and the thought landed on him like a physical blow.
He hesitated.
But then he sighed.
’I’m owing her rent money anyways...’
He packed the PC away carefully, and then set about the room itself. He hauled the nylon bags of garbage out to the dumpster, scrubbed the floor, gathered up the laundry that had been breeding in the corners, and finally made his bed.
Two hours later, the room that had looked like the lair of a chronic NEET now looked like it belonged to a man with a bright and brilliant future ahead of him. Light poured in through the window and spilled across the freshly made bed. The floor was so clean he could almost catch his own reflection in it, and the whole room smelled like sunshine.
Theo checked the time. It was a little past 9:45 in the morning by the time he was done. He stepped into the shower, took a quick cold bath, and hurried back out. Then he pulled on a pair of old jeans and a hoodie, along with the nice white canvas shoes he’d gotten for his nineteenth birthday. Then he stepped out, the PC slung over his shoulder in a large bag.
He met Stan at the Faux Edrein station, the train hub that linked all the districts together and ran out past the edge of the city. The man had blonde hair tinted red at the tips, with piercings through his ears, his nose, and the edge of his brows.
He looked over the station first and found it in good shape. Then he turned to the monitor, and somewhere in the middle of his inspection a skeptical look settled onto his face.
"This damage is brutal, Theodore. Why make it sound like it’s something minor? I’ll give you eleven thousand for this, pal."
Theo frowned.
"Come on, man. I know you duped me for this thing. Can you at least help me out this once?"
Stan chuckled like a thief who’d been caught in the act.
"Pal, don’t say that. I was being genuine with you."
"Save that. Give me thirteen."
Stan looked at the screen for a bit, then sighed.
"Let’s do twelve five, pal. I swear, I’m already trying enough as it is."
Theo sighed and nodded.
"Alright."
With that, Stan sent the money across, and the alert buzzed on the phone almost instantly. Theo stared at his account balance.
{Available Balance: $12,520.00}
He let out one more sigh, then made his way to Crowell District and stepped into a departmental jewelry store.