Shades of Colours

Chapter 12

*Connor's p.o.v.*

"Alright, what the hell did you do?"

I looked to Lieutenant Anderson, puzzled by his question. "What do you mean?" I asked. He rolled his eyes; "Don't give me that bullshit, what could you have possibly said to Skye to make her NOT want to come along on a case?" he asked again. Oh.... "Well, we were just talking in the kitchen while we waited for you to finish changing, and she was looking at a photo of her and a child together. I guess asking about it wasn't the right approach..." I replied, trailing off. Lieutenant Anderson sighed, his grip on the wheel tightening a little, and he was silent for a few seconds. "Well, Skye was always the rude type the older she got, but I don't blame her, after everything she's been through," he muttered. I turned to him; "Has she had a hard life?" I asked curiously. He looked over at me from the corner of his eye; "Yah, you could say that," he replied slowly, turning back to the road.

I just nodded, looking down in my lap as I thought about what I wanted to say. "I...told her if she wanted to talk about something, that I would be there to listen. From there she suddenly had this rather hostile outburst and questioned me about my program's objective before walking away into the living room," I explained. The Lieutenant just nodded, making me turn to him, and I dedicted that his stress and anger levels have subsided drastically since before. It almost seemed like he was comfortable talking with me; "I take it one step at a time with her. Never throw everything all at once with her, but don't do nothing, either. She hates being left alone," he told me. I nodded again, retaining and storing this new information; "So...I should be cautious when interacting with her?" I asked. He shrugged; "I guess you can say that, but don't tip-toe around her either, she hates being pitied."

I furrowed my brows, looking down; "I do not understand - can I interact with her or not?" The Lieutenant just smiled; "Yah, women are hard to understand, kid," was all he said. What does that mean?

*Skye's p.o.v.* Sunday November 7th 2038 - 1:00 am

"Yah, 'I won't be long' my ass," I grumbled. I've been pacing around the house ever since they left for the case at 8, and 6 hours later they still weren't back. I grabbed my coat, looking down at Sumo as he padded over to me; I kissed his forehead, scratching his ear. "Unlike what stupid Uncle Hank said, I'll actually be back soon," I said, and walked out, locking the door. I would rarely do this, but whenever I had a bad night or I couldn't sleep, I'd sneak out of the house and go to a park a couple of blocks away from my house to level out. It was quiet over there, overlooking the water and surrounded by trees - it was really relaxing. I wasted no time in jogging there, turning down an alley after walking 2 blocks, and I weaved my way around my secret shortcut and breaking through the trees, the park just ahead. I walked forward, going to the swing set when I spotted a parked car next to a bench.

Uncle Hank..? The car radio was blasting, and from where I hid next to the swing set, I could see Connor sitting in the passenger seat. He then exited the car and slowly went over to join Uncle Hank at the bench; I rushed forward quickly, hiding behind a tree a few feet away from them. "Nice view, huh?" Uncle Hank commented casually, holding a bottle in hand. "I used to come here a lot before, with Skye..." he mumbled, taking a quick swig. I sighed, biting my lip as I watched; "Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?" Connor asked, crossing his arms. "Do all androids ask so many personal questions or is it just you?" Uncle Hank grumbled. Connor ignored his comment; "Why are you so determined to kill yourself..?" I stood up straight, looking in my uncle's direction with wide eyes.

"Some things, I just can't forget...whatever I do, they're always there...eating away at me." He sighed, looking down; "I don't have the guts to pull the trigger.... So I kill myself a little every day..." He scoffed, glancing at Connor; "That's probably difficult for you to understand, huh Connor? Nothing very rational about it..." he muttered, taking a sip again. I couldn't believe what I was hearing from my own uncle - my last known relative, my guardian, my...father...wanting to kill himself. "Before what..?" Connor's voice caught my attention before I could dive into my thoughts. "You said 'I used to come here a lot before'. Before what?" he repeated. Uncle Hank was silent before muttering, "Before nothing..." I saw Connor look away for a second as he thought, then said, "Before...the accident?" My eyes widened in panic as Uncle Hank glared up at him up; "How the hell do you know about that?"