Code Hearted

0001

 "Wake up."

I turned over, not even bothering to pull the thin blanket back over me. It was useless and never helped anyway.

"Wake up Marilyn."

Adrian.

Had to be.

He was the only one who also lived in the apartment. Of course it was him. My beloved Assigned Partner.

Except he only was that because I was declared 'possibly eligible for pro-creation' and he was a convict who was given the choice between having an Assigned Partner or serving time in prison.

A match made in heaven.

"I'm getting up." I said, slowly sitting up on the thin mattress. One foot made no sound as I placed it on the ground while the other made a jarring noise.

The flat we shared (also assigned to us) was too small for two beds. We were also too poor to go against the Government and buy a larger apartment so we could have separate rooms. Adrian was nice, but we both knew there was no way we could fall in love with each other.

"I've made breakfast." Adrian said, walking out the room. I quickly pulled on some socks as protection against the cold stone floors and ducked into the bathroom.

Adrian had left the mirror uncovered and I caught a glimpse of myself.

Hair tangled from sleep and falling down around my face, yesterday's make up smeared, my bionics-

I grabbed a towel and covered the mirror. No one needed to see that this early in the morning.

I used the toilet, washed my hands, scrubbed my face and left the bathroom, joining Adrian at our small kitchen table.

Eggs and bacon. A good, hearty breakfast. Perfect for another trip to the trauma centre.

He pushed over a mug of hot, creamy coffee and I smiled at him. He was a good man, he never deserved that conviction. And I didn't deserve him.

That was saying a lot.

Then again, my self-worth plummeted straight to hell whenever I looked at my arm. It used to be flesh. It weren't now.

"You should eat. The appointment's at ten and they always say to eat something before hand." Adrian said, cutting through my self-hating thoughts. I hurriedly picked up my fork and shovelled down my food. He went through all this effort for me and I wasn't going to let that go to waste.

"Are you going to go see Zola before the appointment?" He asked.

"No. I'm going to see her afterwards." I said, chugging back my coffee.

"Ah. for some comfort only she can provide?" Adrian asked, smirking at me.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I said, standing up and taking my plate and mug over to the sink. Zola.

Her name was pleasant to even think.

Zola. My girlfriend. My illegal girlfriend. One of the many reasons why it could never work between Adrian and me. Well, part of a reason.

"What about you? Why don't you invite Kyle over while I'm over at Zola's?" I said, leaning against the counter. Adrian was still in his seat, nursing his drink.

Kyle. Also known as Adrian's boyfriend and some poor girl's Assigned Partner. Another reason why it could never work between Adrian and me.

"I already have." Adrian said slyly, leaning back in his chair. When he looked like that, relaxed and happy, he really was quite handsome. All big green eyes and dark hair and a crooked smile. It was when he looked like that, that I felt sad. He deserved so much better than all of that. Than me.

"I'd better get dressed, we need to leave soon." I said, dismissing myself. Adrian nodded, clearing up the kitchen area.

I closed the bedroom door and quickly rummaged through the wardrobe. I pulled out a pair of light jeans, a simple shirt and a plain hoodie. I pulled them on and felt reassured. It covered up as much of me as possible. If I tucked my hands in my pockets, I even looked normal.

For the second time, I walked into the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, I took a deep breath and pulled the towel off it.

Ignoring the fact that my left arm was made exclusively out of mechanical parts encased in a strange, high-tech polymer and the other was made out of flesh and metal instead of bone, I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail and hastily dabbed foundation onto my face sparingly. When my skin didn't look patchy from sleep, I applied mascara and the smallest hint of lipstick.

We didn't have much, so I made sure to treasure the luxuries we were allowed.

The thing was, we had enough money to live by, we even had a hefty savings account between the two of us, for when something inevitably went horribly wrong, but the money we did earn came mostly from the scientists who used me as a human experimentation trial.

It was dirty money.

Luckily Adrian had a fair-paying job.

I wasn't allowed to work. Hospital's orders. They had changed my file so it said I was emotionally and mentally unstable, effectively keeping me in the house and out of the work place.

Adrian gently knocked on the door as I finished brushing my teeth.

"Marilyn? Are you okay?" He asked. I wiped my mouth and open the door. He'd gotten dressed in a simple button-up shirt and jeans as well, with a worn leather jacket over the shirt.

"I'm fine. Just dreading the appointment." I said honestly, walking over and sitting on the bed so I could pull my boots on.

"Do we know what this one is? General check-up?" Adrian asked.

"They say it's a general check-up. Make sure everything's working smoothly." I replied, standing up and collecting my wallet from the bedside table. I also picked up the pair of leather gloves I wore when having my hands in my pockets wasn't acceptable.

Adrian's Wristband beeped.

"It's just my alarm." He said, pulling up the holographic screen and disabling it. "We should go."

"Okay, let's go." I said.