Books [eNVy]

chapter 14 - parents

Tessa woke up from sleep, the curtains drawn in front of her window, small cracks of light peeking through it.

She lifting the sheets from off her bed, reminding herself of what day it was.

The Gala.

It had never been easy making conversation with people for her.

She preferred talking to drones who admired her. Not that she was narcissistic, but she enjoyed having people be interested in what she likes and talks about for once.

She remembered what happened last night, knowing she would have to see her mother again.

Each meeting with JcJenson Tessa would be told exactly what to do or she would be chained into her room for the rest of the evening.

She hated this.

She knew it wasn't right.

But she would at least have company; Cyn, J, and herself being chained to the walls as well.

It was a pit in her stomach she couldn't undo.

Tessa also remembered she had to see N today.

He hadn't been well.

At all.

She could sense it.

He got so upset when trying to take Cyn out of his life for V.

She felt guilty for putting this pressure on him, but she knew J had talked to him today.

She felt sick.

She didn't want to say goodbye to V, N, or Cyn.

Maybe not as much Cyn.

Something felt off about her.

It had always been this way.

That's why she had J lock her in the basement from time to time.

Tessa reminded herself now that she needed to get up. J was already gone doing chores around the house, making Tessa have to make her bed herself.

She enjoyed this sense of freedom however. She always relied on drones to help her around, her parents thinking it was a good way of keeping her busy instead of parenting her themselves.

It felt controlling and limiting. Tessa never liked that.

As Tessa put on her dress, she heard her parents outside her door. Her mom was louder, and her dad was trying to reason with her.

Tessa pressed her ear against the door, their voices echoing through the hallway outside of it.

[TW - Homophobia]

[👍will show up when it's over]

"I CANNOT KEEP RAISING SUCH A DISGRACE."

"Louisa please, she's only 16. You can't let a child have any sort of freedom?"

"I WON'T ALLOW IT. MY DAUGHTER, KISSING A ROBOT? LET ALONE A GIRL- ROBOT."

Tessa froze, her heart skipping a beat.

She remembered what happened that night suddenly.

It all came back to her.

In the kitchen with J.

Had someone seen it?

Had someone reported it?

What happened?

Tessa listened closer, trying to keep her breathing slow so they wouldn't hear her hyperventilating.

Her eyes felt like they had been pricked, small tears forming.

"Louisa it's 3068, don't you think girls liking girls is normal?"

"IN MY HOUSEHOLD? ABSOLUTELY NOT. I will not withstand this selfish behavior. She needs to carry on the family name. How is she going to do that WITH A ROBOT?"

"Louisa please,"

"The robots aren't even sentient enough for that James. Don't you think Tessa was just so lonely that she just programmed SD-J to like her? Do you ever think of that?"

"LOUISA."

"James, I will not stand for this. Think of how our family and coworkers will think of us if we tell them our daughter is in love with our own creation?"

"Louisa. Let Tessa be a child, please,"

"DO YOU NOT HEAR ME JAMES??"

"LOUISA I HEAR YOU LOUD. AND. CLEAR."

Louisa was silent.

"I have no idea why you are so insistent on passing on this company to our daughter. She hates us. She hates this company all she ever does is play with them and then watched them be abused,"

"James I-"

"She likes girls? So what? I have no idea why you're this upset about that. It has nothing to do with you. Why don't you try and learn more about your daughter? Why don't you try and understand her instead of using the robots to gather information about humans, and then abusing that power. It was your idea to make these robots like this. Using them to find people's weaknesses and using it for blackmail and profit,"

Tessa didn't understand the words her father was saying.

Was J and N used solely to get information from Tessa? Did they even care about them?

She listened more.

"If you can't raise your daughter, you can't raise this company," James finished, leaving Louisa astonished.

"James I promise I can-"

"Tonight I will be giving a speech about how you and I will be getting a divorce and how I will be taking the company,"

Tessa shook.

But a part of her was happy.

A life without her mom.

She needed this.

Knowing her dad accepted her made her even happier, the smile on her face getting wider the more she thought about it.

"Then I'm taking Tessa," Louisa said.

Tessa's smile faded.

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feel bad for abusing Tessa buuuuut 

word count - 788