Separated By a Wall

Ryker's House

The Q&A lasted for a long while. The sky was already turning dark with tinges of orange and pink as the sun set. I let out a yawn. "Well, I should be getting back." I say, geting off the couch and stretching my limbs. Hayden left earlier to get ready for bed so it was just me and Ryker. "Why don't you stay here for the night? I'm sure the humans are prowling the wall now anyways." I shake my head, yawning again. "You can't go back yet. Just stay here for the night." I raised an eyebrow, perplexed by his proposition. There was no reason for me to stay. A little walking wouldn't hurt. Besides, I was starting to get used to life without the CareBot. It was better in a way. Harder. But still, I liked being able to do it for myself and not having to rely on machines.

"There's nowhere to sleep." I tried to explain. I really didn't want to stay here. It wasn't that I didn't trust them. They had plenty of opportunities to kill me if they wanted to. Hayden could have suffocated me. He could have left me at the mercy of that guard. Ryker could have left me at the wall but instead he brought me in. They already proved trustworthy to me. The thing I'm worried about is Ryker's father. If he found me here in the morning, he might start another argument. Even though he implied that he would let me live, he would still be watching. I picked up that much. And I get the feeling that by staying here, I would find a look of disapproval on his face when I got up. I promised I would leave.

"Take my bed." I give him an uneasy look and he strides towards me, gripping my hand. "You'll be fine." he assures me. Thinking it over, I look back at him. His eyes were a light brown again and they were staring at me expectantly. Slowly nodding, he pulls me upstairs and down the hall until he stops at a door made off the same stuff as the coffee table. Wood. How do they have so much here?

He opens the door and I look around the familiar room. The bed still looked the same from when I had my mini panic attack. It wasn't floating in mid air but it was still a bed. "Where will you sleep, then?" I ask, taking a sudden interest in my shoes. "I'll just sleep here." My eyes widen considerably and I felt like I was going to have another panic attack. "Unless you'd rather I take the couch?" You're probably wondering why Ryker was being so civil with me and not as spiteful. And I know you think I have some sort of answer. But the truth is, I don't.

Throughout the questioning he started warming to me for some reason. I don't know how that's possible. Maybe it's an Anoch thing. Humans are very closed off. They don't really trust in the people that don't prove their trust. And that was a very hard thing to earn. Especially when anyone could be a backstabber. I never really had trust issues like a regular human. I tended to only keep my guard up when it was necessary. The only thing I trusted was the CareBot. And the only person I trusted was Caitlin. But I practically grew up with her. I trusted her from the start.

"No its not that. I-It's just... humans live alone. The don't share beds. This is... uh, new." My voice was becoming smaller and smaller and raised about an octave. "We could sleep on opposite sides." he shrugs like its no big deal and I nod, still not daring to meet his gaze. I wondered how he was handling this so casually. He expected a human to sleep here in his house. What happened to 'humans don't do anything without a price?' Ryker walked closer to me and I held my breath. But instead, he just brushed past me and started taking off his shoes.

I stare at him oddly. "You don't sleep with shoes on?" Ryker doesn't say anything for a moment and I think I offended him. I was going to rush to my defense but he beat me to it. "No. But humans do?" he says with an 'I guessed it' tone. I nod. I realize I'm still standing there and walk to the other side of the bed. I didn't think that Ryker would appreciate my boots under his covers, so I did the same and took them off, shrugging off my jacket as well. Slipping under the covers, I gasped audibly.

"It's... it's so soft!" I cry, bouncing on it like five year old. Ryker simply laughs at me and follows under the covers, switching the lights off. I lie down turning to face him. The moonlight streamed through the window making his eyes twinkle in the darkness. "Can you show me more stuff in your world tomorrow?" He grins. "Technically, it's your world. What do you want to see?" I think about it. There's so much to see. How would we be living without the Anoch? Would we be the same? "I want to see things like the grass, and where you get wood. Is there a factory that makes it? I want to see your daily routine. What's your way of life?" He looks thoughtful and for a minute, I think he's going to turn me down. But instead, his grin turns into a smile.