Page 99 of Override

...what?

Taibhse:

I answered your question. I never answered how old I am.

I burst out laughing. Actually laughing.

The kind that makes me wipe tears from the corners of my eyes before I can even type.

Me:

You are impossible.

The typing bubble appears almost immediately.

Taibhse:

Statistically probable.

I shake my head.

Me:

You're enjoying this way too much.

A few seconds pass before his reply arrives.

Taibhse:

Slightly.

Another pause.

Then—

Taibhse:

For the record… I'm not anybody's grandfather either.

Can I ask you something?

I hesitate.

Then type anyway.

Me:

Depends.

Taibhse:

Why Everlong?

I stare at the words for several long seconds.

Out of everything he could have asked...

That. My fingers hover over the keyboard while memories surface, unbidden, faster than I can push them down. Rain-soaked afternoons. My father pretending not to know I'd stolen his truck keys. Windows down. Music loud enough that neither of us could hear my mother yelling from the front porch.