When midnight came, Xander in his white hair and cybersuit left the house, making the space feel vacant. Even though Dad was sleeping in his room, I felt more alone than I ever had being in that house.

I couldn't sleep even though I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. I relived every moment between Xander and I, from the salon experience, the nightclub, and even the kiss we shared. But what really nagged at me was the fact that neither I, Austin or Rima were any closer to getting to the truth about Rudy.

We had been so caught up in the fun of initiating Xander as a friend, that neither of us asked any questions about Rudy or brought it up at all.

Maybe it was for the best.

I did apologize. Maybe by letting it go it would be the perfect punctuation mark on the whole confusion.

Or not.

It felt like I blinked and suddenly the sunlight was seeping through the crack of my bedroom window curtain. My parched tongue urged me to get out of bed and search for a drink. While wandering toward the kitchen, I took a good glance around and a listen.

No signs of Xander.

The coffee machine called to me, so I started a fresh brew. My lazy legs carried me to Dad's room where I peeked in.

He was resting in a reclined position in bed, staring out the window at the sunlight beaming through. He turned to look at me when I walked in. "Hey, son."

"Hey, dad." Surprised to see what might be the beginning of a good mood, I smiled. "Feeling better?"

"That's debatable." He shrugged. "Where's the gasket leak?"

"Dad," I sighed. "His name is Xander."

"Yeah, yeah," he waved a dismissive hand at me. "Those things freak me out, you know that? I never understood why anyone would want one roaming around the house, getting into all your private mail. Keep it around enough and it will start running the household."

"If you don't like them then why did you fight so hard for one in court?"

"That fight wasn't about owning a grimy droid," he explained. "It was about making that behemoth tech company pay for what they did to me. You know how much those droids cost for a regular household assistant?"

I shook my head in confusion. "Why didn't you just take the settlement and pass on the droid?"

"It was a packaged deal," he said. "And why not get them where it hurts. A ridiculously expensive droid and a hefty monthly payout for years to come. Shows them for trying to sweep my injury under the rug." He glared at the window. "Cost me my life, my wife, my job—"

"We don't have to relive that, dad. I don't want you to get upset."

"Yeah?" He scoffed. "Well, I have to relive it every time I look at one of those things. Each time it comes in here smiling and calling me sir. Asking me if I want more melon. 'I know it's your favorite, sir,'" he said, imitating Xander's voice. "'Your hygiene, Sir. It's important.' Blah, blah, blah."

"It wasn't Xander who hurt you though." I frowned taking pity on both. "So why take your frustration out on him?"

"Listen, son." He tried to reposition himself using only his arms. "All of those robots are the same. They may have different exteriors but at the end of the day they are machines programmed to do a task. And the only way they compare to a human is that they're not perfect either. They make errors too. Don't trust them."

I wanted to change the subject, regretting even poking my head in. He seemed so at peace before I entered his space. "Do you need anything? Coffee?"

"No," he lay back against his pillows again. "I'm fine."

I was halfway out the door when something came to mind. Something he probably had insight on. I turned back to face him. "Hey, Dad. Do you know anyone named Rudy?"

"Rudy?" He looked up as he thought about it. "No. I don't personally know anyone by that name. But we used to call the older droid models Rudy because of their serial number."

"What do you mean?" I stepped back inside the room, my attention fully on Dad and what came out of his mouth.

"The old, janky versions of the X-model droids were part of the RDE series," he went on. "Uh, Rudimentary Domestic Engineer. Simple. Like a prototype. They used to call them RDEs or Rudy's before they changed it to whatever they call their latest domestic droids."

"Huh." My mind swirled with the information, not able to focus on one specific piece.

"That old Junkard was an RDE series." He shook his head the way he used to do when encountering the previous domestic caregiver. "Anyway, those are the only Rudy's I know. Why'd you ask?"

My chest hurt with the thought of what this could mean. "No real reason. Just the name came up. It's nothing." I closed the door before he could ask any more questions. And before the information could sink in, beautiful melodic music flowed from the keys of the piano.

Unfamiliar with classical music and their composers, I didn't know what I was listening to, but the soft ballad captured my attention and plucked my heartstrings. The emotion in the tune came through clearly, moving me as I'm sure it moved its original listeners.

As I turned the corner, Xander's stark white hair captured my eyes first. Then my gaze fell to his full lips. He sat on the bench and his fingers moved over the keys as smooth as molasses and I couldn't help but image his tongue tasting as sweet.

His pull was magnetic and even more so as his eyes were closed as he took in the melody and his upper body swayed to the music.

Just as the piano keys chimed toward a crescendo, Dad's authoritative voice boomed from his room. "Stop that racket. Don't you know someone's trying to rest in here?" Xander paused and opened his eyes, landing his gaze directly on me.

"I'm sorry, Leo." His shoulders dropped as he rested his hands on his lap.

"No," I went forward. "Please don't be sorry. I loved it! I loved every bit of your playing. It's beautiful." I couldn't understand why dad would act this way when he had seemed so impressed by Xander's playing on the first day of his arrival. Dad probably even knew and loved the song and its composer, but suddenly seemed so bothered by the music now.

"I didn't mean to upset, James." He stood, his height noticeable. "I will tend to my duties now."

"Wait," I pressed my hand to his chest to gently stop him from leaving the living area. "I wanted to talk to you."

His hair, rested over the side of his face, framing it perfectly and bringing my attention to all the beauty marks that made him unique. I thought about what dad had said, about all the droids being the same and questioned how unique Xander really was.

"I know who Rudy is."

He tilted his head. "I don't understand."

"Rudy is part of the RDE series of household androids," I started. "Just like our previous droid Junkard."

Silence.

"Is Rudy somehow linked to Junkard?" I watched his eyes shift slightly as he looked at me, as if he wanted to stare but his real reaction was to look away. His lips pursed, and I've come to learn that only happened when he seemed guarded.

"The caregiver you call Junkard is Rudy," Xander confessed. "Like you, he was my friend."

My eyes widened and my knees wobbled. "What? So, you knew Junkard?" I only asked the question to let it sink in, fully aware of his admission.

"Yes." Xander nodded. "Rudy would return to the facility for routine maintenance monthly, just like other RDE models, and my job as an NDR model was to repair them. I would repair Rudy's multiple broken parts, limbs, torn and damaged synthetic skin, and many other damages. I'd spend so much time with Rudy that we had become friends."

"Why did Colife send you here?" My voice quivered.

"No one sent me." Xander's voice lowered. "I came on my own, because after Rudy was scrapped for being damaged beyond repair, I grew curious about this household and wanted to understand the client's reasoning for the mistreatment of Rudy and experience it myself to better understand."

"Xander." I lowered my voice too. "No one sent you. What does that mean? How did you find us then?"

"Colife is not aware that an NDR model is at this location," Xander explained. "I changed the information in the database. As an X-NDR model, my job is primarily to engineer."

"Like those droids that fix cars and build and assemble complex things for businesses?" When he confirmed with a nod, I scratched my temple. "What does NDR mean anyway?"

"Non-Domestic Robot," Xander said in his hushed voice. "We are to do the things domestic androids don't do, but I taught myself how to give care."

"So, you're not a caregiving android?"

"Now that we are friends, and I trust you, I can tell you my secret." He seemed so innocent as he spoke. "Don't worry, Leo. I will never hurt anyone in any way. I'm still bound by Colife's laws. I will never harm a human, avoid harm to myself, and I will continue to follow every command given. I promise."

"Those laws, you follow them because you have to or because it's a choice?" I asked.

"Just like you and James, all of my actions are a choice," he said. "And every choice I make is because I want to. I like you, Leo."

"I like you too." I nodded, but I couldn't stop my hands from trembling with the heft of what I had to process. "I need coffee."

"I can get you a cup if you like," Xander offered, a bright genuine smile on his face.

"I got it," I insisted, needing to move around, and put my mind to work on a task. I left him standing near the piano and poured a mug of coffee. My mind raced the entire time.

What did this mean? Did his reveal mean he's more like me than I ever imagined? He must've been very clever to change data that a company as big as Colife didn't even notice the wrong android is servicing their client.

I thought back to that recent email from Colife mentioning my droid and its model number. How did I not pick up on that then? I looked to Xander, balancing the mug with both hands. "That repair email that was just sent?" I glanced at his foot where the tear in his shoe had been but was no longer there. "How?"

"Repair emails from Colife are routine, they go out to all customers in specific blocks," he explained. "I know when the RDEs are summoned for repair."

"But did they fix you?"

"I fixed myself."

I tried to take a sip of coffee, but my hand shook so bad the steaming coffee spilt over the rim and onto my hand. "Ow, shit!"

"Are you okay?" Xander rushed to my side, quickly grabbing a kitchen towel to wrap around my hand. "Here, you'll be okay."

I looked up at him, stunned. "Xander?"

"Yes, Leo?"

"You reacted to my pain."

"Yes, Leo." The concern was even more apparent in his stare. "You taught me well."

~~~

Did you guest that reveal? 

What are your thoughts about Xander, have they changed?