Chapter 1 Part 23 - Letter
We all continue our work in silence, not uttering a word aside from a 'bye' whenever a club member decided to leave.
In no more than ten minutes it was just Monika and myself, sitting on the sofa in silence.
"You know, Xavier…" Monika says, breaking the quiet that had previously dominated the room. "I'm really proud of you for what you did there…"
"Yeah."
"I know you loved her, and it must have been really hard for you, but…" Monika goes silent again.
"But I'll be the best girlfriend ever for you!"
I look up, surprised by Monika's excitement.
"Monika…" I exhale.
Monika cuts me off. "I just want you to always remember that I'll be better than her. I'll always love you, no matter what!"
"Monika…"
"Monika, I love you, too." I smile.
Monika inches towards me on the sofa and leans her head towards mine, but just before our lips are about to lock…
...We notice something on the coffee table.
A note.
I pick it up.
"What is it?" Monika asks out of curiosity.
"It's from Elizabeth." I say, my voice devoid of emotion.
I open up the folded sheet.
I read as I wrap my arm around Monika for additional protection from whatever I'm about to read. She follows suit.
"Dear Xavier,
I loved you. I thought our kisses were genuine, but I guess not. I suppose I was such a
horrible person to you that you picked a sociopathic computer program over me. You picked
someone… Something that you had only known for a few days over what you've known for five
years. I was happy. I thought you were happy, too. When you got thrown into this hellish world,
your body was operated by a robot. No one else knew, but I knew you were acting… Different.
But when I finally got the wit to tell you, you shot me in the head with a bullet and threw me in
here, too. I thought when I saw you that first day I was there, 'At least I have you.' You're all I
needed to stay sane here, trapped, sharing a body with another person. When I was going
through an excruciating struggle with my computronic alter-ego, I thought you would be there to
help me, to get me through it. Instead, you decided to break my heart. Instead, the one thing I
thought could help me get through this lunacy betrayed me. I still love you, Xavier, but I will
never forgive you. Never. I'll stay in an eternal sleep and let Yuri pilot her own body, since unlike
you, I'm a decent person. May we never cross paths again.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth"
I turn to Monika. Her eyebrows are furrowed and tears are welling up in her eyes. I simply look down at the ground.
"What have I done?" I utter.
"Xavier." Monika says.
"You'll always have me." She says.
We finish what we started. Our lips lock.
We keep at it for… Who knows how long? I completely forget I'm trapped in a game or that Elizabeth, or Tyler are both gone from my life. Monika's all I need.
Just Monika.