The now very faint logic side of my brain knew this. The now always screaming emotional side of me couldn’t seem to get past it.
“And neither will burning out your processors. Take a break, get yourself together, and come back here ready to fight.” He gripped the back of my neck, pulling me close to press his forehead to mine. “I’ll watch over her, my friend.”
I gave a quick nod of my head, to choked up to reply. Acer wasn’t a cyborg who touched freely. Until Marley, he had been content to stay away from everyone, hiding his unfinished face behind a hood and rarely venturing outside of his quarters. He had been ashamed of his lack of completion, barley allowing others to see him andneverallowing others to touch him. That he would willingly touch me now said more than his words, but I appreciated those, too.
When I finally found my voice, I whispered, “Take care of her.”
“Like she was my own,” Acer vowed.
I pulled back, my eyes lingering on Poe as I moved towards the door. “If anything, and I do meananything,changes, you will contact me?”
“If she even so much as bats an eyelash, I swear.”
I took another step as the urge to stay pounded in my processors and made my heart rate spike. But I had to take a moment to get myself together. I was only failing Poe by allowing myself to fall apart.
“Wait, so you are okay with Acer watching over your female but not me?” Axios’s tone was filled with hurt.
Acer crossed his arms over his chest. “I never said you couldn’t help.” He dropped his arms and sauntered over to Axios. “Besides I am not opposed to making another friend, but no-”
Acer’s reply got cut off as Axios grabbed him in a bear hug.
“Put me down, you big rainbow fool!”
My mom wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Come on. Poe will be in good hands.”
I let her lead me from the room, not sure I would have been able to do it on my own.
Chapter Thirty-Six
*Dax*
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“WE THOUGHT WE’D COMEand check on you,” Iris’s voice called from the doorway.
I couldn’t bring myself to look up, afraid to see the truth in their eyes. The truth that I couldn’t do this. That I couldn’t bring Poe back and that I would soon have to say goodbye.
Two more weeks had passed with nothing but failure after failure. It had been a full month since Poe last opened her eyes or moved or told me she loved me. There were days I imagined she was still with me. That we were back in her pink car racing toward her cabin in the woods, the sun on her face as she laughed. The car bouncing along as she ordered me to have fun. I found myself slipping into those daydreams more and more often as time passed.
Reality had grown cruel as day after day I watched as Poe’s frame got thinner and her skin lost its glow.
Now I injected booster after booster, no longer having the time to worry if I’d make a mistake, simply focused on keeping her alive for a bit longer. I kept fighting like Acer ordered me to, but I began to suspect that it was a losing battle no matter how hard I tried.
A warm hand grasped my shoulder. “Dax? Is there anything Dash or I can do?”