Welcome to the complicated life of Lyla. An up and coming star, making strides in technology to assist the disabled. Especially the blind, seeing as that hits close to home for her.
Known in general as a nice and compassionate person, she doesn't ha...
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Gerard was more than a security system or a power saver mode for the house. He became a steady hand in most of Lyla's business life. He sorted through her incoming emails, telling her which ones were a top priority. Unlike an assistant, Gerard could and would nag Lyla until she completed her tasks. Some days Lyla cursed the day she dreams him up.
Most of their days were spent building his knowledge and her walls. Even once she recovered and the police had deemed it safe to go back to work. She didn't go to the office much. Occasionally for a board meeting, once for someone's birthday. She has long since replaced herself as Head of Research. Nothing more than a figurehead and a board member.
It was all excuse to have a different office.
They had to replace the floor. Blood is impossible to get out of a hardwood floor. She had tried to use her old office a handful of times, resulting in her having more aggressive night terrors. No amount of soothing jazz from Gerard could chase away the trauma.
It got to the point that Lyla would go without sleep for as long as she could. Gerard would alert Emma -unbeknownst to Lyla- every time she would hit 40 hours awake. That only lead to a very disgruntled Emma barging in and forcing Lyla to bed. They both knew Emma wasn't going anywhere until she got her way. Most of those nights Emma would just crash on the couch.
That guilt, the night terrors, and that bloody new floor were all Lyla needed to pull the trigger on a new office.
Lyla's current lifestyle didn't go over well with her mother when Loretta had come to visit.
The worry in her buff eyes was visible to even Lyla who didn't have her feed on yet. It had to be the tone in which her mother was speaking to her.
"You can't stay in this house locked away on your computer forever Ly." The stern tone only came out when her mother was disapproving of her actions.
Being almost 30 didn't stop Lyla from dropping her head and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, like a small child. To Loretta is appeared her only child was feeling remorseful and might be rethinking her ways. In truth Lyla was struggling to not laugh in her poor mother's face, the idea of Gerard being a normal computer, tickled her pinker than bubble gum.
Loretta started tugging off her coat, looking for a coat rack. Shaking her head with dismay written all over her face. Several heavy sighs later she just placed her coat on the back of the closest chair. The judgment that had set around those light brown eyes was lost on Lyla. Her mother preferred her "the way God had intended". As cruel as that may sound, Loretta wasn't a cruel woman. She was a simple woman who believed most of what Lyla did was unnatural, therefore wrong. She also tried to support her daughter every chance she had. It was a hard line to toe but her mom somehow pulled it off. Lyla knew Loretta would always be in her corner.
Gerard's ding annoyed Loretta, she bristled every time she heard it or him talk.
"You couldn't have given him one of those robot voices?" She interrupted Gerard as he told Lyla she had a call. Her mother huffed and puffed as she stopped pretending to be just fine, as stood up. "You both interact as if he is a real person, that's not healthy you know," Loretta was almost shouting by the time she had gotten her coat, and put it on.
Lyla kept her smile during it all doing her best to just be calm. She knew how her mother was and still invited her here. She clapped her hands when she stood. An attempt to get her more attention off "the computer robot" and on to her. "Thank you for trying, Mom," Lyla wrapped her arms around her mom. Loretta visibly relaxed against her grown child. She broke their embrace memories swirling in her mind putting tears in her eyes. Almost making her thankful for her daughter having no sight. Lyla sensed the change in her mother, hearing her sniffle. With a tight lip smile, she ushered her mom out the door. Declarations of love were hollered between the two women.
A blaring buzz sound had no issue jarring Lyla awake. Her post wake up confusion was wiped from her mind as an acidic smell filled her nostrils.
Smoke. Once her brain recognized it, it was all cylinders go.
Cursing herself for turning her implant off, she scrambled off her bed.
"Gerard, where is the fire?" Shouting to be heard over the buzzing sound. "Turn off the alarm, and turn on my implant." She all but begged as she overshot the hallway and slammed into the hall wall. Pain laced its way through the muscles and nerves of her shoulder. Her eyes danced around desperately trying to give her brain all the information it can't process. She didn't have time to stop. Keeping that shoulder on the wall she followed it and Gerard's directions to the kitchen.
"Gerard?!" Lyla yelled and stumbled her way into the kitchen. Adrenaline and fear making her sloppy and overcompensating for her lacking sight. Taking a risky deep breath she determined the fire was closer to her room.
"Where is Gerard? Was is he unavailable?" She muttered and she made her way to his control room. It was closer than where her phone was.
The alarm was still blaring. Already at her wit's end, she slammed her hand against the wall beside her. The downside to just waving your arm in front of you. Fear had now replaced all the blood in her heart, spreading through her body with each heartbeat. Giving in to the panic in her mind, she started running - not a great idea-.
This is why Lyla made her company, so people wouldn't have to panic like this.
Lyla knew that at the end of the hall on the other side of the kitchen was the control room door. Did that stop her from running at full tilt down this hallway? No, it did not. She came face to face with the door accompanied by a crunching thud, and an unladylike grunt.
Rubbing her face with one hand she opens the door in the other.
The buzzing alarm was dulled only in here it was joined by a beep toned alarm. That beep told Lyla that Gerard was down.
Feeling out for the chair she walked into the room, questioning if she actually put it away. Those thoughts were interrupted by the fabric of it running across her fingertips. Lyla was kicking herself for leaving it in the middle of the room. She dragged the chair with her.
Reaching for the desk, Lyla sat in the chair. Sighing deeply when she found the desk and pulled herself up to it. Running her hands across the massive symbolized keyboard. She was looking for a specific one.
Her ring finger ran over what she thought was it. Just as she went to double-check the alarms stopped.
"Lyla?" Gerard's lightly British accented voice cut through the chaos in her mind.
"Give me my eyes, please." She requested in a soft voice. He didn't answer, he didn't have to. Lyla was staring at the feeds seconds later, trying to determine where the fire was.
There wasn't one. She got up and raced out of the control room. Moving through the hallways and open spaces only to find nothing, her pace picked up. Until she was running through the house. Doubting herself, even more, when she couldn't even smell the smoke anymore. The feeds would have the answers she told herself as she went back to the control. Tears threaten to spill down her face. She spent hours searching every video feed for the house, all the data logs, everything she and Gerard could think of.
There was no trace of a fire, or alarms being triggered. The fire department never received a call from my house, so they never showed up. Gerard had experienced a flaw in his coding. A bug caused him to go offline. That is what she latched on to.
