I felt so excited that it put a little pep in my tipsy step. I went home, got my charger and some underwear without making much noise, and started back towards the convenience store. My room didn’t look quite like my room anymore. I had started packing and discarding things I couldn’t or wouldn’t need to take with me when I finally left the house. I couldn’t risk calling Peter’s bluff, so it was best if I got the ball rolling before he did it for me.

I wanted to trust Mr A so badly. I wanted to find someone in my corner for real who didn’t want sex with me. I loved sex, but knowing it was all I mounted to in most people’s eyes made me feel less human and more like a sex doll. I wanted someone to make me feel human again. But I couldn’t trust that this ‘Mr. A’ could. He could be hiding his true intentions and because he worked alongside vacuras, that made him more dangerous than any human in my opinion.

When I got to the convenience store, I jogged towards the only car parked in front. Mr A was coming out of the store with a mask on like the first time I met him. He was wearing a hoodie, track pants and sneakers which really looked strange on him. Maybe it was because I was more used to seeing him in a uniform. He had a canvas bag of his purchases hanging from his arm that he waved to greet me. He opened the car door for me, and I slipped in wordlessly.

When he got into the car, I asked, “Why do you wear a mask?”

He pulled the mask down to his chin. “I tend to receive a lot of attention because of my markings. People stare. I do not like being stared at. Could you please hold this for me?” he asked, holding the bag out to me.

I buckled myself in and took the bag, holding it carefully on my lap. “Late night snack run?” I asked once we were off.

“Yes. Cravings, I suppose they are called.”

“Yeah, cravings,” I murmured. I watched him drive for a moment, thinking how relaxed he looked. I didn’t know how to drive, so I liked watching other people do it.

“Besides, Little Human Boy wanted cookies.”

“What did you just call me?” came a voice from the back. “I’m just short. You have something against short people?”

I hadn’t expected Mr A to bring anyone along to pick me up. Why the hell had he been so silent back there? Creepy. “I don’t.”

“He gets enough teasing about it, so please do not call him that,” Mr A said.

“I don’t have anything against short people,” I reiterated. “I don’t know your name and it isn’t meant to be an insult. You just look like a little boy.”

“Little Human Boy’s name is Ionadi Milan,” he said, peeking his head through the front seats to look at me. His strawberry blond head was covered with a blanket and his round hazel eyes did make him look childlike. “Got it?”

“Nice to finally know your name. I’m-”

“Zedikai,” he finished for me, withdrawing to the back seat. “I know. You should call me my first name, Milan, since Sang and I have the same surname. Milan is my first name.”

“Milan it is then,” I mumbled, wondering why he would have given me his last name first.

The rest of the ride to the hotel was silent. When we arrived, Milan took the bag from me on our way inside. He was completely wrapped in a blanket as if he hadn’t wanted to get out of bed but needed to get his food. We took the elevator up and went into the suite. I remembered to take my shoes off and followed the two to the kitchen.

“Ya, io! Sei ni ov ora’na?” Mr A asked, grabbing the blanket Milan had wrapped around himself to stop his determined stride out of the kitchen.

Milan had his hands full with half the snacks that were in the bag like he was ready to have an entire dessert feast. He looked back at Mr A guiltily. “But-”

“Nieto,” Mr A said strictly, prompting Milan to put the snacks back on the table.

“You cannot have that many snacks at once,” Mr A said, taking out a green cookie with white chunks in it and handing it to Milan. “You can have this one tonight. This is what you asked for.” Milan took the cookie and went to rummage through the fridge, mumbling to himself. “Are you hungry?” Mr A asked me, unwrapping a sandwich for himself.

“Kind of,” I admitted, playing it down a bit.

“Sweet or savoury?”

“Savory.”

“Uhm… curry bun, tuna sandwich, or egg sandwich?”

“Curry bun…?” I took the bun when he held it out to me and sat at the table. It was warm. I’d never had curry before, but it sounded the most interesting among my options.

“That is probably the best choice seeing as how you are intoxicated. Having something warm might reduce the side effects that you may face in the morning.”

“What? I’m not drunk,” I defended.

“Zedikai, I only asked you where you were because you were beginning to slur your words. Not only are you still slurring your words, but you smell like beer. Eat up.”

Annoyingly perceptive, I thought. I admired the steam coming off the bread as I took it out of the box. “So, I know Milan’s name. Are you going to tell me yours?” I asked, briefly glancing at Milan waddling out of the kitchen with his cookie and a small carton of strawberry milk in his hand. He went to eat in the living room and turned on the TV.

Mr A sat at the table with his sandwich on a plate and two bottles of water in one hand. I couldn’t help but notice how long his fingers were. “I would prefer if you called me by my last name, but since we are trying to become friends, you may call me Aubyn.”

“What’s your last name?” I asked, curiously, pretending I didn’t hear him say we were trying to become friends. I didn’t see it as a bad thing. Technically, getting to know one another could lead to a friendship of sorts. But I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. He was being so nice that I wanted to remain in his good graces.

“Gessel.”

“I can call you Mr Gessel if you prefer. It’s no big deal,” I said with a shrug.

He paused mid-bite and stared into space for a few seconds before he looked at me and shook his head with an amused glint in his eyes. “Please, do not call me that.”

“But you just said-”

“Aubyn. You call me Aubyn.”

I raised my hands in surrender. “Fine. Aubyn it is.”

I finished eating quickly. I had been hungrier than I thought. I’d never had a curry bun before or even curry, but it was really good. It was so soft on the outside, yet the curry filling tasted like rich, spicy stew in the middle.

“So, when are we going to talk about this plan of yours?” I asked.

“That might have to wait a bit longer. You told me you are trying to move to Othanai so I will need to do some research on the details of how you can do that. Are you worried?” He finished his water and brought it, along with his cleared plate, to the kitchen.

I joined him. “Not at all. You have the vibe of a man who knows how to get stuff done. Also, I have the right to refuse if I don’t like the plan, right? That’s what you told me back at my school,” I reminded him, throwing away the water bottle.

“Absolutely. I do hope you agree though. I would not want to see you end up on the street when you have options. Someone close to me likes to remind me that people make better choices if they have better options. I just need some time to find and present you with those options.”

I supposed that made sense. “But why me? You could have picked up any one of those women that night and helped them turn their lives around.”

Aubyn shrugged. “I guess so, but you approached the car.”

I watched him clean up and turn off all the lights. Milan was standing in the hallway seemingly waiting for Aubyn.

Aubyn gently touched the smaller boy’s cheek. “Go. I’ll join you soon.”

Milan went down the hallway opposite to where I knew Aubyn’s room was. The relationship between them baffled me. I couldn’t tell if Aubyn and Milan had an intimate relationship, or if Milan was the human Aubyn said would tear Mr S’ penis off if he stuck it in someone else. They all seemed close. Too close.