Mechanical Gods (lgbtq+)

Chapter Fifteen: A Promise by the Trees

     "What?"

     "I see things. Things that I thought weren't there but were, and I try to climb or drag myself away from it, try to hide in a cocoon, but I still see it. I don't know why, but its there. Like a shadow fleeting from glances, mocking at the corner of my eyes, and when I stare hard enough, I found it smiling at me. It prickled at the nape of my neck, and though it's sight should make me feel afraid, it was comforting. Like it belonged there."

     "I don't know what you are talking about, Aiden."

     "I'm telling you that I somewhat understand why you are afraid."

     Aiden sighed and pointed at his right temple. "Here. In here, I believe something's wrong. You saw it, too, in the way you look at me for the past week ever since I hurt that man in the alley. I never meant to, but I didn't want him to hurt you. I will never let anyone hurt you. But it's in your eyes, and I understood. That fear every time you take stealing glances at my back, or the way you watch yourself when you are around me. I stay quiet because I feel the same way, too."

     "There's nothing wrong with you, Aiden," Tyler blurted out.

     "You don't believe that."

     "No, I do."

     "And you admitted you are scared of me."

     "Not because of that. Not of you and what you are, but what will happen next. I'm scared for your future."

     "They say the future cannot be determined. It is not written in stone."

     "You went against the Act. Plus, you lied to the authorities. You create and access different scripts and develop it as your own. People will begin to notice as Gideon Reese did. So, forgive me for thinking you are walking on some thin ice."

     "You looked up my scripts," said Aiden, frowning. He clenched his teeth, and Tyler was surprised by this reaction. He hadn't seen an Android upset before.

     "I have a right to, Aiden. I am your owner."

     "Did you change anything? In me?"

     "No! Why would I do that to you?"

     It was clear that Aiden had more to say, but he held his tongue and let out a deep sigh. Aiden was shaking a little, and he grasped the wooden barrier of the balcony, and Tyler heard the wood cracking underneath his firm grip.

     "I am sorry if it upsets you, Aiden."

     "I am not upset. It just feels like you are poking inside my head."

     Tyler didn't know that Aiden felt that way, and he imagined himself in his shoes, with someone invading his privacy like that made his skin crawl. "Okay. I get it. I promise I won't do it again if you feel that way."

     "Well, did you find anything?" He asked.

     Tyler told him everything he found in that datapad, and all the notes he wrote down from the many days of observations on Aiden. He also told him what Al believed he should do with him, and when he heard the part of taking him back to the factory, Aiden's frown deepened.

     "I won't do that to you. I'm not bringing you back there."

     Aiden nodded. "I...I don't understand it, but I don't want to go back to that place. I want to stay with you."

     "You'll never leave my side," said Tyler, stepping closer. "But, may I ask why you don't want to go there again?"

     "I mentioned the shadow, right?"