Robert knocked loudly on my outer doors. Before getting up from my desk, I checked that it was him via the CCTV feed linked to my computer. He was the only other person in my house, so I probably could have just expected it was him knocking, but I couldn’t risk being wrong. He knocked again as I went to the closed door of my office. In the hall, I passed three more closed doors—my bedroom, bathroom and lounge—before I arrived at the heavy wooden door that divided my rooms from the rest of my house.

Robert offered me a steaming mug of hot chocolate once I’d opened the door just wide enough that I could see him clearly. I nudged the door open a little farther and reminded myself that this was Robert. I felt safe with him.

“Thank you,” I quietly said as I took it from his hands.

“Of course. For a moment there, I’d thought that maybe you were asleep.”

I smiled weakly up at him. “When have you ever known me to be able to fall asleep before midnight?”

He shook his head and looked a bit sad. “Not in the eight years I’ve been working as your bodyguard. Your uncle will be here soon to relieve me of duty, so I wanted to say goodnight and goodbye to you, Blake. It’s been generally a pleasure to work for you, all things considered. And I wish that I hadn’t gotten so old on you.”

Robert had been fifty when my uncle had hired him. He was getting slower as he now neared sixty and, though it had been my uncle’s decision to let him go, I hadn’t voiced any arguments at the time against the points he had brought up. The sad fact of the matter was that I didn’t feel safe with him anymore, and I absolutely had to feel safe in my own house.

“Thank you for staying on as long as you could.” Most people didn’t last more than a year. Protecting me wasn’t hard work at all, since I never left my house. And the money was more than good, according to my uncle, who handled all of my finances. I knew the reason most of my bodyguards had quit after barely a few months was out of sheer boredom.

Robert held out his hand for me to shake, but his expression told me that he didn’t expect me to make contact. This moment was a repeat of the first time I’d met him. He’d offered me his hand then, too, and I’d refused to touch him. Even now, after eight years of knowing him and Robert being nothing but nice to me, especially when I’d been a royal pain in his ass, I still hesitated to shake his hand.

My hand was trembling as I brought it up to meet his. Our contact barely lasted a second, but he was grinning at me when I yanked my hand out of his as quickly as I could, despite how rude it probably made me look. I liked Robert, but I couldn’t stand to be touched.

“There you go,” he said. “There is hope yet for you coming back to the human race.”

His teasing made me snicker, but his words made me sad. I hadn’t had anything to do with the human race in twenty years and that wasn’t going to change any time soon.

“Take care of yourself, Robert. I hope you enjoy your retirement.” My uncle had said that he’d set Robert up nicely with an excellent retirement package that would get him the little cabin on a lake he’d told me about in the early years of working for me. That was back when he’d tried to be my friend, instead of someone simply existing in my house on the off chance something were to happen to me.

“Thank you. I want you to be safe.”

That was my goal, though my safety, it seemed, had never really been up to me, unfortunately. There was nothing more for either of us to say after that point, and he left just as my Uncle Phin was coming in to bridge the gap between Robert leaving for the night and my new bodyguards arriving at eight the next morning. Robert could have told them all about me and what I needed, but my uncle had decided to do it himself, so I watched Robert get into his car and drive off into the night for the last time.

To replace him, I was to have a team of three men. My uncle had assured me that they were well worth their price tag. I didn’t care about something as trivial as money, as long as I felt safe with them.

I was back on my computer by the time Uncle Phin came to find me. He was the only one who had the key to my rooms besides myself. The only other member of the house that could go in and out of my space as they pleased was my cat Bandit, and she rarely left my side as it was. That made it easier for her to yowl her general displeasure for life at me as only a Siamese cat could do.

“How was your day?” Uncle Phin asked as he came to take my now empty mug away.

I’d taken my sleeping pills with the hot chocolate, so maybe I’d be able to make them work for once. I was getting tired of only sleeping a few hours a night. At least my nightmares had finally gone away. I hadn’t had one in at least six months. I knew that for a fact because I’d been keeping track, as my online counselor had suggested, so that I could see if there were any triggers that might cause me to have a spike in either the number of nightmares I was having per week or their individual vividness. Through tracking them, I’d realized that stress was the biggest factor in me not getting a good night’s sleep.

“I spent two hours fixing a bug in Underworlds that has been causing people levels fifty and over to permanently die instead of just losing experience points. There were a lot of angry players that sent me messages today.”

My uncle had never played a computer game in his life that I knew of, but he’d tried hard to understand mine.

“And I gave them all a month of free game time, too, in order to make up for the inconvenience,” I continued on.

Uncle Phin nodded then stepped back from my desk. “Very good. Do you need anything?” I shook my head. “Well, goodnight. Don’t stay up too late. I’ll be meeting the new team in the morning, and I’d like you to be near the intercom in case you want to ask them any questions yourself.”

He talked to me like I was a child, but I hadn’t known that kind of innocence since I’d been seven.

* * * *

I’d been able to get nearly three hours of sleep that night, which was practically a record for me lately, before my alarm went off on my phone. I could no longer lie in my king-sized four-poster bed. Bandit loudly meowed her displeasure as I lifted her off my chest and rolled out. I made sure that she had food and water before I checked the TV feed from the monitors in my bedroom and knew it was okay to leave my room and go across the hall to the bathroom.

I showered quickly, because the noise of the water drowned out any other sound in the house, and I’d hate to miss an intruder. Then, I was back across the hall to my bedroom. I dressed as fast as I could, then went downstairs to get some granola, blackberries and yogurt for breakfast. Since my three new bodyguards were supposed to be there at eight and it was nearly seven-thirty when I made it to the kitchen for breakfast, I ate at lightning speed. I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and by the time Uncle Phin came out of his room downstairs, I was already locking the outer door to my rooms behind me.

I leaned against the door for a few seconds and just breathed. In ten minutes, there would be three new people living here. They wouldn’t be in my space, but they would be sharing my house, because I required around-the-clock protection. I’d given Robert one weekend off a month, since Uncle Phin could stay with me then, but my uncle was getting older too, and, with three bodyguards, I’d have them keep a rotating schedule of weekends off, so that I’d always have at least one person protecting me. I’d feel safer then.

I went into my office with Bandit right on my heels, even though she had a cat door in every room and could have easily left me alone to go downstairs and see Uncle Phin. She actually did like him at times, because he gave her treats. Or, she could have gone downstairs to meet our new house guests. But, instead, she waited for me to sit down at my desk, then she jumped up on my lap to demand attention. I stroked her back idly while I watched the feed. Soon three black cars, all identical sedans, pulled into my wide driveway. They had plenty of room since the only other car there was Uncle Phin’s little sports car. I didn’t own a car since I’d never needed to learn how to drive. Uncle Phin had tried to get me to be interested in it—or going outside in general—but that had been a lost cause well before he’d realized I’d stopped living in the outside world.

Three men, all looking around their mid-thirties, emerged from the cars. They smiled to each other, talked for a bit—though I couldn’t hear what they were saying since the audio on that camera had been out for about a week—then they went to the front door. I switched to another feed that showed Uncle Phin letting them in. He shook hands with them then led them to the sitting room, as my mother had called it. As a child, I hadn’t been allowed to play in that room because the chairs were all antique and, in my childish exuberance, I could have gotten something dirty.

It was strange now, watching not one new person, but three, sitting in that room where Uncle Phin liked to conduct his business. I’d never had three new people before, not at the same time, anyway. Sophia had been my housekeeper for fifteen years, and Robert had been with me for eight. I’d had a couple of others before him, and Uncle Phin had always taken care of everything. Aside from the occasional hello in passing, none of them had ever interacted much. Now I was looking at three men who were smiling together and sitting close to one another.

I pursed my lips and turned up the sound on my speakers in case any of them were hard to hear. Sophia had been soft-spoken, too, at first, before she realized talking too quietly meant that I couldn’t hear her through the intercoms.

“Blake? Are you ready to begin?” Uncle Phin asked. He knew I’d be listening in. I always did when there were new people. I pressed the button on the intercom that just made noise. I wasn’t ready to talk to them, though I was sure that I’d be required to at some point. One press for yes, two for no. I pushed it once.

“Good,” Uncle Phin began. “Gentlemen, I know we’ve talked some on the phone, and I’ve read your credentials and spoken to your previous employers. I’m quite happy with what I’ve learned and the people I’ve spoken to. I think the three of you will be able to take care of my nephew, who just made that beep, in case you were wondering.”

I saw one of them touch the other on the knee, and I frowned. It seemed deliberate. Then the other one touched the hand of the one whose leg had been touched. Now I was really confused.

I pressed the intercom button. “Ask them why they’re touching.”

Uncle Phin turned to the box on the wall where the intercom was, and I saw the three of them turn in that direction as well. I knew they couldn’t see me, but I still felt exposed, like they were staring right at me. “What was that, Blake?”

I swallowed thickly. I didn’t even know their names, and I realized I’d asked something potentially invasive. “I…” Licking my lips didn’t really help me feel any better. “They’re touching.”

Uncle Phin looked to them for an explanation, and he shrugged as if he had no idea what I was talking about. The guy in the middle, though—the one who had been touched by both of the men—glanced at the intercom, stood then came over to it. I leaned back. I felt as if he were getting into my space. Only Sophia came right up to the cameras to talk to me. Everyone else acted like I was just some disembodied voice floating around the room.

“Hi, Blake. I’m Malcolm. With me are Rex and CJ. This is going to sound unusual, but the three of us are in a relationship—together. If that bothers you enough that you don’t want us here, we will leave. If you’d like us to stay, then we’ll adjust our behavior in the common areas to suit whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know that there were relationships like that in the world to begin with. I had no idea how to respond without sounding like an idiot.

“Their relationship was disclosed to me, and I see no problem with it,” Uncle Phin said.

“I agree,” I said quietly.

Then it was back to business, my outburst apparently forgotten. I preferred it that way. Malcolm was still peering at the camera, though. “Do you want to come meet us? We’d like to meet you.”

I pressed the button twice for no. He frowned, but he did step back and away from the intercom. I felt instantly released, even though he hadn’t really been holding me, and much better for it. As he went back to the couch, I leaned forward over my desk and propped my hands up under my chin to be able to watch the rest of their first meeting.

“Blake’s routine must be kept so that he retains stability in his environment,” Uncle Phin said. “Here is his schedule.” He handed a piece of paper to each of them. “He is not to be disturbed while he is working, during his therapy appointments or between the hours of two and six a.m., when he is most likely to be sleeping.”

“When does he leave the house?” CJ asked.

That was an easy answer. Never.

My uncle shook his head. “He doesn’t. Now, the only person who is to have access to the house, besides myself and you three, is the housekeeper. Sophia has been with him for fifteen years, and she is the only one who has permission to go into his private area. Your biggest role while you’re here is to make sure that he feels safe. There really isn’t much to that requirement at all, other than simply having a presence in the house, giving him his space and making sure that no one is allowed in who isn’t supposed to be here. His medications are delivered monthly, and you can leave them outside of his rooms. He orders groceries for himself weekly, which are delivered. If you get to the point where you are able to talk to him and get him to add your groceries onto his order, then that’s fine. Otherwise, there is a grocery store two blocks away, and you can send me the receipts so that I can reimburse you for the food you eat while you’re here. I’ll be paying you every two weeks. You can figure out your own rotating days off, as long as there is always at least one person here with him. When he needs something, get it for him, but, otherwise, you’re free to do as you like here, as long as it doesn’t interfere with what he does.”

Rex put the paper down. “And what is it that he does?”

“He designs video games,” Uncle Phin answered. “Now, are there any questions?”

Malcolm nodded. “Sure. When do we get to meet him?”

Uncle Phin gave them a small smile. “When he decides that you can. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be off now, gentlemen. Have a good rest of your day and, if you need anything, please feel free to ask him, unless you need to call me.”

They said their goodbyes after that, and I watched the three men that would now be sharing my house bring in their duffel bags. There were three furnished bedrooms for them to use, in addition to the one my uncle slept in when he stayed over, but they surprised me by all piling into one. There were no cameras in the bedrooms, though, so I couldn’t sate my curiosity when I tried to figure out how three men were supposed to share one queen-sized bed. One was plenty big enough for me, and if I’d ever had another person to share it with, he could probably fit in there as well. But three men was far too many for one bed, in my opinion.

I watched them come out of the room a half an hour later, while I was supposed to be doing some coding for Underworlds, and I saw them start exploring the house. One—CJ—stayed in the kitchen. He looked to be taking stock of what was in there. He even had a pen and a pad of paper, like he was figuring out what meals he could make from what I had between the pantry and the fridge. At least there was enough for me to fix what I wanted if he ate some of my stuff. I was good at improvising my meals based on what was available. I’d had to be since I didn’t really come out of my room to tell people not to touch my beautiful fillets of wild-caught salmon that CJ was currently eyeing.

I was supposed to be working on the much-anticipated expansion of Underworlds, but, in my mind, the game was already complete. When I was seventeen, I had conceptualized Underworlds, a game where the player went to sleep and had to get through fifty-seven different worlds that existed under the one we all live in. Each level became progressively harder until the player met Saleen at the very bottom, then either defeated her to come back to the world we all knew or joined her to become one of her minions. When I was eighteen, I took a few hundred thousand out of my inheritance, that had been in a trust until then, and I hired a team of designers to build the game I’d been envisioning—at least a workable prototype of it. By the time I was twenty-one, it was ready to be unveiled at the world’s biggest online gaming convention. When we received an offer to be bought out, I decided to be a partner instead. I kept my team, they found their own employees and we made a lot off the sales of the games and the merchandise. I had been amazing and everything I’d wanted. It still was.

But now I needed to come up with an expansion pack for a game that needed no expansions. It didn’t even have room for one, because everything was intact right there. I could have the players all go up fifty-seven worlds to eventually get to Heaven, but that would be Aboveworlds or Upperworlds—not Underworlds. My game was dark and tragic. The Upperworlds idea was full of bright things and angels. I really needed to come up with something, though, because I had already missed two deadlines as it was.