Page 21 of The Lonely Hearts Guide

“As sweet as this is,” Mother said. “It seems we have a few things to discuss. Namely, why you’ve run away from Master Price, why your tracking chip was cut out and left behind, and most importantly, what exactly you think is going to happen here. Elliot, you must stop this. Honestly, I’ve never dealt with a more insolent i-Series Beau in all my life. I gave you life. Provided a love story for the ages. I’ve given you everything, yet you continuously run away. You’re expecting. I put that life inside you, and I don’t intend to see all our planning go to waste. It’s our future. Cutting edge technology. Jared Price gives you everything. What could you possibly want that you don’t already have at home?”

“Freedom,” he breathed. His head was racing and he felt dizzy, because he didn’t know what in the world she was talking about. He hadn’t run away before. Elliot was the textbook definition of a submissive househusband. He put Jared Price’s needs over his own comfort and physical safety more times than he could count.

Elliot knew he couldn’t speak unflatteringly of Master Price to Mother. He wanted to shout at her, though. He wanted to scream that she didn’t know a thing about his life with Jared Price. She wasn’t there each time Jared made him power down, knowing it made Elliot feel as if he was dying. Mother hadn’t been there to see the lewd and unnatural things Master Price forced Elliot to do in their bedroom. She wasn’t there for a single second, so she could take that hateful tone of voice, and she could stuff it where the sun never shined.

Elliot may have wanted to say every single word, but doing so would only earn him a visit with the Creationist, and the last thing Elliot wanted was to be . . .

Reprogrammed.

His eyes bulged, and it felt as if someone had run him through with a sword.

Reprogrammed?

It made sense. It was the only thing that made sense. The missing memories. The cake frosting left in their place. Five years, Mother had said. Five years gone, and now he was with child, not remembering a single moment of the procedure that led him there.

“Have I been reprogrammed?”

Her expression fell. For a moment, he saw a side of Mother he'd never seen before. Remorse? The slightest hint of regret? “Partially,” Mother admitted after a pause. “A few times. Jared brought you to me, claiming you’d been behaving strangely, and he wanted to nip it in the bud. He said you’d been screaming at him. Calling him horrible names and telling him you would kill him if he touched you. I told him a complete reprogramming would stop the outbursts. He refused, though, saying he didn’t want to undo all the home training he'd already given you. The Creationist agreed to do partial reprogrammings to alleviate your . . . episodes.”

Elliot’s heart sank. “You would unwrite my history because I spoke out of turn?”

“You threatened to kill him.”

Elliot shook his head in disbelief. “And you believed him? You believe him over me?”

“It’s not about believing anything. You are his, Elliot. You are the beau Jared had commissioned, and my beaus are my legacy.”

“So I deserve it? Because he paid for me, you believe I deserve everything he does?”

“What I believe doesn't matter. He's a customer.”

“It matters to me.”

Mother rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t. My feelings—your feelings—don’t matter. Your master purchased you. You are his to do with as he sees fit.”

“That's all we are to you, isn’t it? A product.” It hurt his heart to finally realize Mother was no mother at all. She created him with one purpose. To be Jared's punching bag. He lifted his shirt, revealing the blue and yellow markings from where Jared cracked his ribs a few days earlier. “This. This is your legacy. Hurt. Hatred.” He took a step back, slowly shaking his head in disbelief as realization settled in. “You’re a monster.”

“Elliot,” Mother warned. “What does mother say about men prone to hysterics?” Mother arched her meticulously sculpted eyebrow and nodded. “What does Mother say, i-642?”

She already stole his memories. Wasn’t that enough? Did she have to reprimand him in front of Alexander and take away his name? Did she have to use his serial number in front of a man who, only moments prior, made Elliot’s heart feel like it was fluttering?

“Elliot,” Alexander said, pulling his attention away from Mother. “If you want to be upset, then be as upset as you want to be.” He turned and glared at Mother. Elliot had never seen anyone look at Ms. Emily Broussard with so much contempt. “He’s clearly traumatized. Don’t you have a heart?”

“I’m sorry,” Elliot whispered, because he was. Sorry for dragging Alexander into the mess he created. Sorry for running away from home, because his punishment was sure to be worse than any he received before. So very sorry this was the life he was given. Now, he had a baby on the way. A baby with Jared’s DNA implanted into every cell of its existence.

Elliot was stuck, and he saw no way to become unstuck. He wished he never left Mrs. Peppercorn’s lovely home and boarded Mother’s cruise ship. There was no point in allowing Alexander to shield him. It would have granted him a few more moments of peace, but he would only be delaying the inevitable. So, with all the courage he could muster, Elliot stepped around Alexander, his face downturned, his heart cracking and shattering into endless pieces.

Alexander rushed in front of him again, reforming the barrier between Elliot and Mother. “Elliot. No.” It wasn’t a demand like the ones Jared would give him. It wasn’t much of a request, either. It was a plea. He was begging Elliot to stay away from Mother, but there was no use.

“Mr. Davenport,” Elliot said. “Please, it’s all right. I don’t wish to drag you into this.”

“And I don’t want her to scold you for trying to protect yourself.”

“We’ll need to contact Jared Price,” Mother said, ignoring Alexander. “We need to let him know you’re safe.” When Elliot glanced up, Mother had a phone in her hand, and she was tinkering with the screen. “I hope he doesn’t expect the Creationist to perform a reprogramming tonight. Our diary is already filled to its limit.”

No.

He couldn’t go back. He’d only just broken free. Elliot boarded a bus all alone, and made his way to Genevieve, Georgia, where he met Mayor Beau Rivera and rode in a pink golf cart, peppered with tiaras. He drank tea and eaten plum jam cookies. He felt alive. For the first time in his life, Elliot felt joy. The thought of returning to Jared Price’s horrible home felt impossible. Jared would kill him. Elliot knew he would.

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