Reaper, Axios, and Dax were standing at the end of the hall blocking my path. I turned around and found Poe standing behind me with a few cyborgs I hadn’t seen before. One was a blue Service Model, the other a yellow one whose unfinished metal face glared at me under the bright hallway lights.
Like that was going to scare me.
“I am leaving. I have had enough of all the cyborg rebellion’s bullshit.” I narrowed my eyes and met all their gazes. “Let. Me. Out,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Oz,” Poe held up her hands. “Please, we can work this out. I know-”
I turned to Poe. “You know nothing!” I screamed. “Do they all know? Have you been telling all the cyborgs about my dirty little secrets? Maybe hoping they would pity your poor best friend?”
Poe’s face paled. “It’s not like that.” She shook her head, taking a step towards me, her eyes filling with tears.
I took a step, backing away from her.
I didn’t want her words.
Or her tears. “All my life people have wanted things from me. Believing I owed them, thinking they had the right even if I said no.”
Hurt and anger welled up inside my chest. “Until you, Poe. But it turns out even you wanted things from me I didn’t want to give. And when I refused, you went and took it anyway.”
Poe let out a sob. “Oz,” heartbreak echoed in her voice.
“Don’t.” I held up my hand. “Don’t cry for me. I don’t want your pity.” I glared at every single cyborg surrounding me. “I don’t want it from any of you.”
A wave of exhaustion came over me. I was so fucking tired. “I really tried here, you know. I did what you wanted. Tried to stay out of trouble, tried to show you I could be trusted.” I looked around at the walls of the cyborg rebellion. “Thought for once I could belong.”
My eyes drifted to Axios’s face. It was stained with dark fluid, the cyborg’s version of tears. “Axios was the only one. The only one willing to see past my mistakes and get to know me.”
“I would love to get to know you.”
I spun around and my mouth dropped open. There stood Viper, his eyes finding mine, an open expression of want on his face.
“Viper,“ I whispered softly, knowing that with his cyborg hearing he would hear me. “You left me.” Even though I had heard what Dax had told me, it still stung that he hadn’t tried harder to stay with me. It was fucking stupid. Viper didn’t owe me anything.
We hadn’t made a declaration of undying love, but the implant and the fight with Poe must have fucked me up good because suddenly all I wanted was for Viper to care.
We had had a moment in the bathroom. I still wasn’t sure if that moment was a truce, an offer of friendship, or something more I hadn’t believed was possible between us.
Fuck. The cyborg rebellion was making me soft.My eyes roamed over Viper’s tall and impressive frame.Nope. It was all him.The urge to stay pounded in my veins. To stop running and trust in whatever was happening between us.
My gaze moved over all the cyborgs who had gathered to stop my bid for freedom. Then my eyes drifted to Poe’s tear-stained face. All the color had drained from her features. Her hands were wringing together in front of her, and she looked like she was a minute away from a full meltdown. Even Dax’s arm wrapped around her shoulder wasn’t seeming to help.
I had done this.Shit. Don’t get me wrong, I was still mad as hell she went snooping into my past and babbling it to the green cyborg beside her.
Was that a good enough reason to walk away from the girl I had stormed the cyborg rebellion for? I had been willing to die for her. Could I be strong enough to live for her? Or more importantly, for myself?
I hadn’t lied. I was so tired of this. Of running. Of fending for myself in a cold and cruel world. Of spending nights in strangers’ beds because they offered me someplace warm and something to eat. Could I trust the cyborgs?And a certain purple one in particular?
Viper took a step towards me, his arms outstretched. “I wanted to stay. I wanted to be there when you woke up. And if you didn’t…” His voice trailed off like he couldn’t finish the sentence. He blinked and the fear I saw on his face shook me to my core.
Fear for me?Everything around me began to spin.
Reaper moved closer. “It was my fault. I made him leave. No matter if it had seemed that his feelings towards you had changed, he was still responsible for the weeks of your captivity.” He let out a deep sigh. “I truly regret my actions regarding you. I should have never allowed Viper to put you in that room. While I understand his anger, you were correct. All your actions here have honored the statement that you meant us no further harm. Axios has done nothing but sing your praises and Poe’s love of you tells me that you must be a good person.” He took another step in my direction, a tiny smile teasing the corners of his lips.
Holy shit. The great Reaper is nearly smiling. And at me. That’s it. I died and this is some alternate dimension.
“Cyborgs are not fool proof. We make plenty of mistakes. None of us should have those mistakes follow us for the rest of our lives if we make the effort to improve.”
The unfinished yellow one snickered from the sidelines. “Yeah. Aria would have dumped your metal ass if that was the case. You choked out herbest friendand then ran from her like a little bitc-”