The Runaway

I

†Amalie†

The air was crisp autumn leaves whirled across the concrete sidewalk as I opened the door to my house. I didn't expect Johnnie Mathers to bring home a girl. My heart sank as he brought her upstairs, unaware of my presence. I had assumed that he had been cheating for a while, yet I pushed my suspicions aside in hope that I was only being a jealous girlfriend. The floorboards creaked softly above where my bedroom stood. Anger flooded me and I marched up the wooden mahogany stairs, wanting to make it known that I was home. I could faintly hear Johnnie's voice as I neared the bedroom door. "I thought she wouldn't be back for another three hours," he hissed. I stopped in my tracks, unable to open the door. "Why don't you-"
"It's not that simple!"
"It seems very simple to me. If you don't want her, leave her. If you do, then leave me out of this. Don't put that woman and I through hell just because of your own selfish desires!"
The door opened up to reveal the woman Johnnie had cheated on me with. Her skin was plastered with freckles, as if sand had been permanently glued to her as frizzy blonde hair stuck to her face. Her makeup was like dried frosting on a molded cake and her eyes were a polluted shade of green. She mouthed the words I'm sorry and sympathetically looked at me before she left. Dull eyes pierced into my soul as I walked in. His eyes were no longer warm and welcoming. I knew then that he no longer loved me. We had been together for nearly six years and it seemed to me that after all this time our relationship meant nothing to him. "It's over, Johnnie. I can't believe that after six years you have the audacity to cheat on me in MY house in MY bedroom! You make me sick. Give me your key to the house," I spat. He grimaced and pulled out the small, rusted key from his pocket. It had once been silver with a tiny cursive J printed on it, but after a while it started to rust from being out in the rain a lot. He pressed it into the palm of my hand and started toward the door before I stopped him. "If the rest of your shit isn't out of my house by tomorrow afternoon when I get back from class, I'm fucking burning it. Have a nice life."
He walked out and didn't utter a word. I slumped to the floor when I heard him slam the front door. I looked around the room. All my photos of him and I were no longer appeasing. Things would never be the same. Just how many girls did he bring over? How many times did he sleep with a girl in my bed? I couldn't bear to be alone with my thoughts and the tension in the room was toxic. I got up and looked around the house for the keys to the truck. I was planning to head to the liquor store. It wasn't that far, only a five minute drive there and back. I finally found my keys and headed out the door. Billions of stars scattered in the sky as I got in my truck. I turned the key and as usual, it didn't start. Its blue paint was already chipping and the engine had more problems than what I could afford. I sighed as I turned the key again. It took a few more tries before it finally started up. As I pulled out of the driveway, something slashed my left rear tire. "Fuck," I cursed to myself and got out of the truck, turning on my flashlight. 'This day keeps getting better and better,' I muttered to myself as I flashed the light at my tire. I noticed some metal reflect off of my phone's flashlight and kneeled down to look at the source.
"What the-?"
I couldn't believe what I saw. It was a man with mechanical limbs. His left leg was mangled in wires and circuits. There was no flesh other than the synthetic material that was used for his skin. His eyes were a piercing blue, like they could shoot sparks of electricity from them. He appeared to be no older than twenty three. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed me run over him. I pulled him up and brought him inside. I sat him on the couch and dialed Rodrigo Vasquez, a close friend of mine. If anyone could fix this man's leg, it was Rody. He picked up the phone and before I could respond, the man grabbed my phone and hung up.
"What are you-?!"
"Don't," he threatened. His husky voice was deadly, a sound so sickly sweet filled with venom. He towered over me, pinning me to a corner of my living room. I wondered how he managed to get to the other side of the room so quickly. I curiously looked town and gasped at what I saw. It looked like nothing had happened to his leg at all. There were no longer circuits and wires. I looked up in horror. Just who or what did I let into my home? I felt paralyzed as his eyes locked onto mine. His eyes were bright red, no longer the electric blue I had seen when I brought him in. This man was no human. He couldn't be. His fast recovery, his speed, and his eyes were all proof of that. "No one can know about what you have seen tonight. Understand?"
I nodded my head as he backed away from the corner. He was already at the front door. "W-wait!"
His hand hovered over the handle as he cocked his head toward my direction. "What?"
I didn't know what I was thinking at the time, but the words came tumbling out of my mouth. "You can stay here. You probably don't have anywhere to go and-"
"No."
"N-no?"
"Thank you for the offer, but I shouldn't burden you any further."
"You haven't-"
"I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say. I'm a stranger to you. You don't know me. Hell, I even threatened you. And even if I hadn't, someone could come over and shoot up the place because they know that I've been staying here. Do you really want to put yourself in danger by letting some stranger stay in your home?"
He had a point. I knew that I was being reckless, but I didn't want to be alone and it was the least I could offer after running him over. "That may be true, but who's to say that I don't go running to he police after you leave?" Not that anyone would believe me. "And like I said, you probably don't have somewhere to stay at the moment. It's the least I can do after running over you."
He lowered his arm and looked at me. "You really want me to stay?" His eyes, which were blue again, were filled with curiosity. I looked down and nodded, unable to speak. "Alright," he said.
I looked up, and mentally punched myself in the face. What kind of idiot gives a stranger a reason to stay after they've threatened you? This one, apparently. I lead him upstairs to a guest bedroom. The room hadn't been occupied for a long while. Memories of when I first bought the house flooded my mind. Johnnie had suggested to make this room an office. He insisted that I have a place to work with minimal distractions. He knew I had a hard time focusing on anything, but I told him that I was going to make it a guest bedroom just in case someone were to stay overnight.
I snapped out of my thoughts as the stranger came up to me. It suddenly dawned on me that I had offered for him to stay and didn't ask for his name. "We should probably introduce ourselves if we are to stay in this house together. My name is Amelie Romero."
"My name is Elias."