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“I’m not sure what you are talking about. However, I will warn you about baseless accusations against upstanding members of society, Ms. London. You’re aware that this incident happened in my city, in my house. You do not want to make an enemy of me. It would be like a bird trying to fight a lion. A lion will only tolerate it flying around until he smacks it down to Earth with ease. You and your little boyfriend are out of your league.”
“Funny, I think they said that same thing to Jackie Robinson. Anyhow, my main focus right now is helping my boyfriend. I’m sure we’ll be talking again very soon,” I replied, hanging up before I was forced to go through any more of that torture. I’m sure he meant to intimidate with that phone call, but it only pushed me further.
Ring.
Ring.
It was Esther—her twelfth call already, and it wasn’t even 3:00 p.m. yet.
Silencing the phone, I threw it into my purse and watched the scenery pass by me, the New York City yellow taxis lined up near hotels and bars, already waiting desperately for fare. Meanwhile, others either biked or ran by. Most people on the Upper East Side, such as myself, used private cars or the occasional Uber.
“How long are you staying, ma’am?” my driver questioned.
“One day. I’ll be down shortly,” I responded as he pulled to a stop up in front of a tan-colored brick townhouse on the corner of Mayor and 3rd Street.
As I stepped out, a gust of wind scattered my hair. I slipped my hands into the pockets of my fitted gray coat. After pushing open the gate and climbing the stairs, I pressed the doorbell.
“Coming!” I heard a man’s voice yell alongside a dog’s barking. A few seconds later, the door peeled open, and I smiled when he stared at me, perplexed.
“Amelia?”
“Hey there. Mind if I come in?”
He stepped to the side, and the very first thing I saw on his floor was a tall white robotic dog with blue eyes that tilted its head down upon seeing me.
“He recognizes you as friend and wants you to pet him,” Sheldon said from behind me.
“What happened to Rosy?” I asked, placing the palm of my hand on the top of the dog’s head.
“She died three years ago,” he stated, leading me to his living room. It was covered in robotics, wires, and tools. He quickly tried to clean off a seat for me. “Sorry for the mess.”
“No, it’s fine. Your trailer was like this, too, when we were young.” I didn’t sit, instead moving to the fireplace. On either side of it, his walls were littered with degrees.
Master of Science in Robotics Technology
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Robotics
Doctor of Computer Engineering Technology
Master of Technology Software Development
All from, of course, M.I.T, and he was only thirty. Sheldon Worcester was the smartest man I knew.
“What brings you to my neck of the woods?”
“I need your help,” I said turning to face him. His brown eyes were glued to me. It was hard to describe Sheldon because he was always changing. When we were younger, he was truthfully annoying as fuck, always having to prove he knew it all. But as the years went by, he mellowed out slightly. He had wavy, honey brown shoulder-length hair and a short beard over his pronounced jaw that, added to his height, made him looked like he belonged on the cover of GQ.
“You need my help?” he repeated, sitting on the arm of his chair.
Sighing, I nodded. “Noah was arrested.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he scoffed bitterly. “The first time we see each other in what, five years? And you’re here for none other than Noah fucking Sloan.”
Apparently he still wasn’t over the fact that I could never love him the way he wanted me to. Instead, I had told him that I saw him as a brother. After that, we tried to keep in touch, but he told me he couldn’t, not when I saw him that way. He said he would wait for me. That when I got over Noah, to come and find him. I hated doing this to him now, but I had no other choice.
“Don’t think of it as a favor for Noah,” I said.
“But it is. What did I hear this morning? He got arrested after going crazy and beating some big wig—”
