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So I get her one of those.
Victoria acts like I just gave her a diamond.
“This is so thoughtful,” she keeps repeating. “These are expensive, aren’t they?”
I shrug. “You can work it off.”
She’s looking at the scooter when I say that, and her head turns slowly, eyes half-lidded, long, dark mane falling over her shoulder and cheek. “Could I?”
Everything inside goes hot and hard again. I wonder if Manny felt this way before Rhea was made for him—or after they were separated. This stupid, thought-blotting-out lust from one misinterpreted word or look.
“Uh. At the shop. It was only a hundred bucks, and I got it as a rental. You can rent medical equipment there. That’s a week-long rental. But if you need it for longer, we’ll get it again.”
“We will, huh?”
Victoria has a high pain tolerance. I can tell by the way her lips press together and turn white at the edge as she forces herself to sit in Rhea’s rolling chair, her body language reading composed and collected.
And maybe, just maybe, a little come-hither, too.
“Why are you being so nice to me? Do you help every stranger you meet?” Victoria asks.
“No. I don’t. I don’t like most people,” I admit.
“Just us cold-blooded killer types?” Her voice has an edge.
Fuck, why is the edge so tempting? “You don’t seem cold.”
“I can be warm enough.”
I sit down on the edge of the service counter, on the employee side. Inches from her. Big legs in semi-clean black work pants close to her long, elegant legs. “I guess I would help someone if they needed it.” That’s a huge admission. “Add that to the list of secrets, okay?”
Victoria chuckles, a small, rich sound that runs away before I can catch it, but I feel it inside, making everything pulse. I was bred or made or whatever to listen to screaming and death rattles. I love her breathy voice. Her laughter.
Great. Not only am I a failure as a human, I’m also a failure as a monster. I don’t know if there’s anything I’m good at.
“I won’t need help soon. I can get out of your hair.”
My heart does squats, the kind that burn. “You what? No! No, you should stay. I help you, you help me. Manny and Rhea are gonna need some help around here sooner or later.”
“It could be months later.”
“It takes time to learn things. The uh— the billing system. I can show you the basics of that. Well, tomorrow I can. I don’t have the password to Rhea’s log-in. Maybe they would make you your own account.” I don’t know how it would work. I just know that after four days, I want her to stay.
“What about the parts system?” Victoria rests on her good hand, the one not attached to the blue and yellow side of her collarbone.
“I oughta be good with spare parts, right?” I laugh. It’s a dad joke that falls flat, but I pull up the second rolling desk chair and sit down next to Victoria.
If you want to share a catalog, even a thick one like a phone book, you have to sit close. I can smell the shampoo she uses, the lilac deodorant I’ve seen in her bag, the mint toothpaste. Basic, simple human smells.
My mouth practically waters.
“You know... You’re right.”
“About Manny and Rhea needing help?”
“About being good with spare parts. I don’t know why they would make someone who was supposed to do such ugly things so handsome.”
“Wh-what?” I don’t mean to breathe out the word. I just want to let it sink in, but I can’t.
