Static Crush {M/M} ✔

Chapter #12

Hale follows because it's an order, but it fills him with mortification to enter without the homeowner's permission. For her part, Briony looks dumbstruck by the intrusion.

She slams the door behind them and says, "You can't just barge in here uninvited!"

"I just did," Melissa snaps, walking past them into the living room. "Twelve years, Briony. Twelve years we've been friends, and you're ready to let that friendship die because, what—you don't like my android?"

Briony stomps after Melissa, folding her arms over her chest, her discomfort evident in every twitching muscle. "It's creepy."

"It's an android," Melissa says, with dramatic emphasis on the final word. "You might as well be throwing our friendship away over a fancy dishwasher!"

"Wh—That's not even remotely the same thing! It's not just an android, Melissa, it's a fucking spy! It's like having a camera watch and listen to my every move, and I can't take it."

Hale almost interrupts to point out that Briony's security cameras do much the same thing, but Melissa's retort cuts him off. "Don't be ridiculous." Her voice drips with disdain. "It makes us drinks and cleans up wine stains. It's not like an android cares what we talk about! Or who you're fucking."

That hits a nerve. Briony looks incensed. She glares at Hale. "That's exactly my point! You shouldn't know about me and Mark. You should never have known! I don't want you thinking—it's not like you and Hector."

"You think I care about you and Mark?!" Melissa demands. "I don't give a shit about who you choose to fuck, Briony. I give a shit that you don't talk to me about anything at all. I give a shit that, of all the hills for our friendship to die on, me having an android is the one! No. You know—that's not fair—because guess what? At least Hale improves my life, whereas these past two weeks you've made me nothing but miserable!" Her voice shrills, passing from anger into slight hysteria.

Briony's face flashes with fury. "Well, if that's the case, why bother coming over! Just live your happy life with your android. You obviously don't need us, so just go!"

"Fine!" Melissa snarls. "I'll be sure to tell everyone how you treat your friends!"

"Go ahead! Nobody cares what you say anyway! Everybody just thinks you're pathetic, and I'm always defending you, but I guess you proved me wrong, huh? You really are that pathetic."

Melissa's rage flashes briefly, her mouth open to retort, but whatever she thought to say dies in her throat. Her eyes look too shiny in the low light of Briony's living room. Hale wishes Melissa hadn't ordered him to come with her. There isn't a single thing he can do that will cheer either of them. Nothing to defuse the tension.

Of all the things for Briony to say, that hits a nerve for Melissa. She deflates like a time-lapse of a flower wilting while the hurt sinks in.

Her voice comes out tight and hoarse when she speaks. "I'm...I'm sorry, okay? I didn't want to lose you as a friend and—" She glances at Hale. "If it's really a big deal, I'll return the android, okay?"

Hale feels hollowed out by her words. He fights to disguise it but doesn't really need to. Neither looks at him. He remembers how hard Melissa worked to make the Odiers notice her. Like her. He watches her do that now, folding up all the righteous anger she feels and putting it aside to make room for Briony's feelings instead.

These thoughts collide painfully with the fear that's been crystallizing within him for weeks. If Melissa returns him, it's likely Bionic Capital will have him reset so he can be sold to a new purchaser. They will wipe his memory. They will reboot him to factory settings. A blank slate.