The following days were as usual as normal could be. Although Dad continued using his exercise bands to keep his arm muscles in good shape, he refused to get out of bed, not willing to work on his physical therapy or even sit in his powered chair.

Convincing him to bathe had become a chore, but it wasn't anything new. He had his bouts, going back and forth between being high functioning to withdrawing, and his unwillingness to cooperate the last few days were part of the lows.

Xander had even worse luck convincing him to bathe. "Sir, it's been three days since your last wash. Good hygiene is important for your wellbeing."

"I said no." Dad's words roared from his room and made me stop mid drink and place my glass of orange juice down on the kitchen counter. "You do know what the word 'no' means, don't you? It means I refused to take a bath. I don't need some gasket leak standing over me while I'm in the tub."

"Would you prefer a sponge bath, sir?" Xander offered. "I can assist you with a wash in the comfort of your own bed."

"No!" He shouted again. This time the sound of a rhythmic whapping exited the room along with the exhausted grunts of Dad.

Curious and concerned, I rushed to his bedroom and poked my head in to see Dad beat Xander across his arms and chest with his rubber stretch bands. Dad's grunts matched that whap, whap, whap of rubber to droid. Strange of all was how Xander stood without reacting or responding to the battering.

"Dad, what are you doing?" I dashed over to grab the exercise bands from him in mid swing. "What's going on? Why are you hitting him?"

"This gasket leak doesn't take no for an answer, that's what's going on." The look of anger in his eyes scared me and for a moment I was thankful that anger had never been directed towards me. "It keeps insisting on bathing me, and I said no. No, no, no. What about that does it not understand?"

"I can help you, if you want," I offered.

He shook his head. "You have more important things to worry about, son. Your schoolwork. Don't worry about me."

I turned to Xander who showed no awareness of fear, anger, or even concern. I had to remind myself that he was a machine and didn't make decisions based on emotion, but the way he stood and took the beating didn't sit right with me.

Xander only tilted his head. "Sir, my responsibilities are to take care of your wellbeing, and keeping your hygiene in a proper condition is part of that. I assure you I will not force you to do anything you decide is not right for you, but I will occasionally encourage you to consider—"

"Get it out of my room." Dad put a dismissive hand up to show his disinterest. "I don't want that thing anywhere near me if it's gonna keep trying to get me naked."

"Dad, he's only trying to do his job." I shook my head at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?"

He shook his head before lying back against the pillows. "I don't expect you to understand, Leo. Please, just..." He sighed and closed his eyes.

I didn't hold back my huff of frustration as I left the room. "Come on, Xander." As soon as Xander followed, I closed the door and left Dad alone in his safe space just like he wanted.

Xander stood in his black cybersuit that hugged his body, his outfit the opposite of my pair of dark blue jeans and black Colife t-shirt with the double C insignia in the center. Whenever in work mode, which was most of the time, Xander behaved professional and mechanical. But when alone with me, he seemed to loosen up more. Maybe he took my advice of loosening up and practiced it around me.

Xander immediately grabbed a kitchen towel to buff out my faint fingerprints on the stainless-steel refrigerator. "I apologize for disappointing James. I will do better to limit the amount of disappointment I cause."

"My dad's actions toward you aren't your fault." I huffed and shook my head, but Xander was too focused on shining the refrigerator door to notice.

I went to his side and gentle placed my palm over the back of his hand, bringing his cleaning to an abrupt halt. He paused, washcloth still pressed to the steel, and turned to look at me. "Yes, Leo?"

"What my dad did to you in there is not your fault." I didn't blink as our gaze connected. "You understand that, don't you?"

"Yes, I understand." He broke the gaze by looking away, and there was no mistaking the unease written on his face.

I nearly gasped at the realization. Xander's body language had been telling a story that I just become literate to. "You're absolutely amazing," the words came out breathy and nearly caught in my throat.

Once again, our gazes met when he turned back to me. "Thank you." He blushed just as the washcloth fell to the floor. This time I focused on the slight bashful smile and the rosy red that made his skin seem more alive than any mimicking synthetic.

He bent to pick up the cloth, and again I stopped him by placing my hand on his forearm. "My dad doesn't see you the way I do." My voice was low as to not alert Dad to my words.

Xander's head tilted slightly. "How do you see me, Leo?"

"You're more humanlike than Junkard or many of the other household assistants." I watched the skin twitch at the corners of his mouth. "You remind me of my friends Rima and Austin. They can be themselves around me and I can do the same. A friend. That's how I see you."

The fine lines at the outer corner of his eyes deepened as his smile widened. "A friend. I like that."

"Speaking of my friends, you should meet them," I insisted. "They would love it. You will too."

"As long as meeting them won't upset James or interfere with my duties," he said.

"That's what you said the last time I mentioned my friends." I narrowed my eyes as I stared at the dropped washcloth, thinking. "You know what? Let's meet them now. Forget duties."

"Are you sure?" His eyes widened as his eyebrows raised.

I tugged his wrist to encourage him to follow me to the downstairs conference room. When we entered, I immediately erased the embarrassing memories of the last time Xander was in the space from my mind and went directly to the desk in the center of the room. After presetting the program, I opened the Misfits chat on the computer.

"Xander wants to meet you guys! Now."

While waiting for a response, I turned to Xander who stood by the door as if politely awaiting a proper invite. Learned behavior. I waved my hand, urging him inside. "Come in. Sit right here." I pointed to my chair.

A message from Rima popped up on the screen. "Busy. Sorry."

"Same." Austin messaged immediately after.

"What? Come on, guys. He's right here. We're more than ready."

Rima's message came in seconds later. "Unless you want me to show up with dog puke all over me, I'm gonna need a rain check."

I frowned. "Is BaeBae okay?"

"Vet's coming in an hour. I'll keep you posted."

I gestured to Xander to wait one second by raising a forefinger. "What about you, Austin?" I messaged.

"Same," he replied. "Dog puke."

"You don't even own a dog," I scoffed aloud at his lame excuse.

After a few awkward seconds, he responded. "Dude. You already know. It's ... weird."

I shook my head. I guess he couldn't get over the embarrassment as quickly as I could.

Seconds later, Rima chimed in. "What happened? What did I miss?"

"Nothing. Later." Disappointed, I ended the chat.

Xander sat in the chair, his posture impeccably straight. "Is everything ok, Leo?"

I nodded. "Just not the right time to meet my friends. Maybe later." I pointed to the back of the chair. "Why don't you relax?"

"I am relaxed." He smiled. "Thank you."

"No, like ... loosen up." When he only stared, I moved forward. "Let me show you. Stand here and watch me." When he stood, I took his place in the chair and sat back, relaxing my neck and spine. Allowing my arms to lay sluggishly on the armrests. "Like this. Yea?"

When he nodded, I stood to let him have the seat again. He mimicked me perfectly, sitting casually as anybody in a relaxed state would. "Like this, Leo?"

"Yes!" I held back my enthusiasm. "Perfect. How does that feel?"

"Perfect," he repeated. "Do you enjoy this space?"

A question that didn't have anything to do with work or duties. For a second the realization stunned me, but I snapped out of it. "Uh yea. This is where I attend my classes, do schoolwork, and hangout with my friends."

He placed his arms back on the armrest when they became too relaxed and slipped. "Your schoolwork is to prepare you to become a software engineer in ... one year and five months. Am I correct?"

"Yes." I nodded, tucking my thumbs in my jean pockets. "I'm sure Colife gave you the rundown of our daily lives and activities, huh?"

"Correct." He nodded while maintaining his pleasant smile. "They provide domestic caregivers with the information they believe will help make supporting and servicing the household simpler."

Curiosity took over. "What else do you know?"

"I know you initially took care of your father nine years ago after your father's work-related injury. I'm also aware that your mother, Shonna Newall, became absent from the household the year following James' accident."

"We don't talk about her much," I dropped my head when a flood of emotion bubbled to the surface.

"There are several pictures of her and James on display, but you decide not to speak of her. That's quite odd."

"Good observation, but she decided to leave one day and never come back." I gulped down the anger and sadness I refused to allow to take over. "She got tired of taking care of Dad and left at the height of the pandemic. She didn't care about the lockdowns or mandates or any of that. She just left."

When I looked back at Xander, I hoped to see a look of understanding on his face more than in his words.

His eyes locked onto mine. "Did James treat her the way he treats me?"

Memories of arguing, doors slamming, and tears flooded my mind. I gulped, not knowing how to answer. So, without responding, I extended my hand, offering. It took a few seconds, but Xander finally took my hand and stood. I pulled him to the center of the room. "Simulate pain."

His head tilted slightly. "I'm sorry, Leo. I don't understand what you want me to do."

"My dad thinks you're just a collection of parts, show him you're more than that."

His eyebrows lowered a bit. "Your dad is theoretically correct in his assessments."

"You're joking, right?" I took his hand in mine and allowed them to hover at chest level between us. "I want you to respond to touch correctly. Remember when the kitchen knife cut your foot? That would be painful to any human, and we would react to the pain by wincing, crying, or even cursing out loud."

"But I am not human. I am a domestic android." He glanced down at our hands. "Are you suggesting that I curse aloud?"

Frustrated, I decided to show him instead. "Pinch my hand."

"Are you sure, Leo?"

"Yes, pinch it. Not too hard though." With his forefinger and thumb, Xander pressed my hand. "Ow!" I jerked my hand away.

"I apologize, Leo—"

"No, it's ok. You didn't really hurt me. I'm just pretending." I showed him my hand to reassure him that my hand was fine. "That's what I want you to do. Pretend to feel pain in a situation where most humans would. Like when I knife goes through the top of your foot."

"Or when James hits me with his exercise bands?"

"I—" I sighed, my heart stinging for him. "I'm sorry he did that to you, he just gets so angry sometimes."

"Has he hit you before?"

"Not me, no." I shook my head. "He's never. But I'm thinking he might treat you differently if you started reacting to his touch. Maybe we can work on it. Make it believable."

"Did Shonna Newall react to his touch?" The way his eyes shifted. There had to be something more hidden behind his stare. "Did he see her differently?"

I paused. "Well, no. He didn't see her differently, but she did she react by leaving."

~~~

Have you wondered about Leo's mother? 

What are your thoughts on his father?