Double Edge | WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST + AMBYS 2023 WINNER

Chapter 02

Time. As a kid, that was all I had. My father walked out on my mom, and she tried. She cared, did everything for me, and showered me with love. But all I did was fuck it up. I got in trouble; I ran from the police. Against my mother's advice, I chased after, who I thought at the time, was the girl of my dreams; that turned into a problem, too.

But I had time, right? I thought I did. Doing the math in my head, I thought I had every chance to make up for what I'd done; for what I put my mother through. Like there'd come a day when I could have my daughter, keep her with me, and love her more than her mother ever could. That time never came. It was figurative. It didn't exist. And it turned into rage. Griff was right about me.

The doors to Paxton's headquarters beeped as I stepped inside. The security monitors overhead displayed my name, my importance, and the model series of the cybernetic parts inside my body. Giovanni Solís. Twenty-five. Series 1100.

Sliding my tongue over my teeth, I scoffed and walked past the receptionist's desk. The girl behind the computer watched me with a big smile. "Morning, Gio." She batted her lashes. "We're already getting action reports from you."

"Yeah, Mel." I shot her a forced smile. Of course, they received reports. If I took in a deep breath, that was an action. Blinking was, too. Hell, the energy it took to look at Mel and be polite probably strained the receptors installed in my brain. She was friendly and welcoming, but she was also thirsty and looked at me like I was a tall glass of water. If I didn't have the time to fix my family, I sure as hell didn't have time for a relationship.

"Well," she flipped her long curly hair from one shoulder to the other, smiling still, "Kimi is inside waiting for your full body scan."

I nodded. That scan would show the little altercation this morning. Sure, it wasn't real, but the reactions from those in the store were. Not sure what a botched mini-store robbery would do for Paxton, but there wasn't much going on. At least not yet.

"Got it, thanks." I turned for the door on the left; it wasn't advanced like the main entrance. Neither was the hallway after. Just white floors and walls with minimal pictures. Basic compared to the outside of the luxury building.

From the few open offices, the workers inside watched me pass. Some waved; I did the same. Others viewed me as the experiment I was. They didn't bother me. It was human nature to be afraid of what you didn't know. Shit, I didn't even understand what Paxton had done to me, but I knew what I planned to use it for.

"Gio!" Kimi waved at me from the door at the end of the hall. The smile I shot her was genuine. So was the little hop in my step. Kimi was my technician, inspecting my body daily. She was gorgeous, too. Petite, curvy, with dimples on both cheeks. Her brown skin always smelled like vanilla and shea butter lotion, and I always told myself I'd have time for Kimi.

But we made this professional. That was my call. I didn't want to force her into my life any more than she needed to be.

"You're late." Kimi pressed herself against the door frame as I slid inside the office. When I passed her, she reached into my jeans and snatched the pack of cigarettes from my back pocket. "And I thought we said no smoking, hm?"

"Those aren't mine." Eyes on her, I walked backward to the medical bed. The room's "doctor" look was cute and all, but not like her. I liked when she glared at me; something about that smoldering fire in her eyes.

"Not yours?" Kimi shook the pack once before closing the door behind her. She locked it, too. When she glanced at the cigarette label, she shook her head. "They're the type you buy."

"They are." I jumped back on the bed and made myself comfortable. "But I didn't buy those. Someone else did."

"Mhm." She pressed her lips together, up to her nose, and tossed the pack on the counter to her right. It hit the binders, labeled by months and years; the last two sections on that rack Kimi dedicated to me.