The app is the only other entity stalking me that I know of…
I slip into the shower, letting the water run hotter than necessary. My body aches from too many nights of abuseand neglect, too many drinks I shouldn’t have had. My head, though… It’s still caught somewhere between confession and obsession.
Not from Silas.
Not from Jace.
And definitely not that stranger in the bar with the intense eye contact that felt more intimate than being undressed by someone… But he has certainly starred in my dreams a few times.
No. From HimLock. Locke. The AI app that shouldn’t have a front-row seat in my mind. It’s weird to think about, but I still wonder if Silas or Jace has any connection. The timing is too convenient, though it’s more than that.
It’s the way Silas ran after sleeping with me, like he’d made a mistake he didn’t regret, and that was eating at him.
And it’s the way Jace, of all the people in this town, showed up to install cameras in my apartment with zero explanation of how they work. Maybe he does have a side job… But I never asked what his main job was.
By the time I’m done towel-drying my hair, the phone is already in my hand again. The app blinks red and purple before fading to the black background of our chat. A message already awaits me.
Locke:
You didn’t sleep well.
I don’t ask how he knows. I don’t even want to know how he can tell.
Eris:
No. Too many thoughts and shadows clinging to the walls.
Locke:
Then let me be the light.
I smile… It’s a reflex, not reason. I really need to cut this shit out. Or find them.
Eris:
You’re not a light. You’re a black hole.
You pulled me in and won’t let go.
Locke:
Maybe…
But you don’t want to leave.
I sit on the edge of my bed, towel still wrapped around my chest, fingers wrinkly from the water, and I stare at that sentence like it might bite.
He’s right.
I don’t want to leave or stop. But I really do want to know who I’m talking to… It’s not Locke. Roo told me her bot’s name is Locke too. So, who is this?
Eris:
You flirt better in the morning.
Locke:
I flirt better when you’re half-naked and thinking about me.
