Upgrade

The aroma of onions and herbs surrounded me as I walked inside of my home. I reveled in it for a minute before cursing myself for not reminding Lucas that he didn’t need to cook today. I set my laptop bag down on the couch and made my way to the kitchen. Lucas was blasting some indie pop song I didn’t recognize and was singing along, gently moving his hips to the beat while he sauteed something. I couldn’t help but to giggle a bit and he immediately turned away from the stove to face me.

“Alysha!” He shouted over the music. His seemed to light up and they took me in and his smile blinded me. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Oh, not too long,” I said through a grin. I walked up and wrapped my hands around his torse leaning my head up for a kiss. He quickly met my lips and obliged. “You seem to be having fun.”

“Well only as much as I can have when you’re gone.” I rolled my eyes and jokingly pushed him away.

“Yeah, right,” I laughed and peeked at the stove. “Are you only prepping?”

“Yes!” Lucas turned back to the stove, “but don’t worry I’ll have dinner ready soon!”

“Well actually, we’re skipping dinner today.” Lucas turned off the stove before turning to face me. I could see the confusion in his eyes.

“Would you rather order in?”

“No, actually I’m going out to eat.” Lucas grabbed his phone which was charging on the counter.

“Did we have a date today? I didn’t see anniversaries in my calendar,” he said all while swiping. I began nervously playing with my fingernails.

“No. I said, ‘I’m going out to eat’. As in, without you.” I could feel his eyes staring me down, but I didn’t dare look up.

“I see… Girl’s night then?”

“No… I have a date.” There was a pause, the air was suddenly heavy, and my mouth felt like cotton. Then I heard Lucas begin to walk away. I looked up and followed him into the living room. He sat down in his bright blue recliner. It sat way in the corner, as hidden in the room as possible since it didn’t match the brown/cream interior of the rest of the room. But I made sure it still faced the tv and had a decent view out the window. Lucas looked out the window in silence. He sat perfectly straight without his back touching the chair and with his hands crossed in his lap. After a while he took a deep breath and looked at me.

“Is it with Wyatt again?” I nodded and he shook his head, “Is he coming back here afterwards?”

“No,” I said, “We’ll go to his place if anything.”

“I rather you be here, that way I know you’re safe.”

“No. Not after last time.”

“Last time was fine!”

“Yeah, because you said you would leave the house! I didn’t know you were in the closet!”

“Your safety is my priority.”

“That was creepy and weird.”

“I’d say it was cautious.” I threw my hands up in surrender.

“I’m not getting into this again! We’re going to his place!”

“…I don’t get it.” I rolled my eyes and forced myself to lower my shoulders.

“Please, let’s not do this. Will you help me pick an outfit while I shower? I went into the bathroom and Lucas followed.

“He’s short, arrogant and you’re completely out of his league.”

“I think he’s charming, handsome, and smart. He’s funny too.” I began testing the temperature of my shower and undressing.

“I can be funny,” Lucas claimed.

“Yes, but only when I ask you too. He’s funny without asking. He makes me laugh.”

“I genuinely don’t see the appeal,”

“Well lucky for you, you don’t need to.” I yelled over the water as I stepped into the shower. When I stepped out, a fresh towel was sitting on the bathroom sink. I covered myself and went into the bedroom. Lucas stood by the bed, obviously irritated, and the slim black dress he picked was laid on the comforter. “Thank you,” I said as I went up for a kiss, but he turned his head away. I scoffed and began getting ready.

Lucas sat quietly and watched me the entire time. The silence was so eerie I played music just to escape it. I was walking out the door when Lucas put his hand on it to stop me. “He can’t love you the way I do, you know? What can he give you that I can’t?” I placed my hand on Lucas’ cheek and gave him a small smile.

“I will be back home around 11.” I pulled on the door and Lucas stepped out of the way.

Dinner with Wyatt was amazing. I feel like I could talk to him for hours and we ended up at a small wine bar after dinner. He invited me to his place, and I was all to eager to say yes. As we were about to leave, his phone lit up with the word ‘Mom’, he shyly excused himself to take the call. The second he turned his attention away from me. I began getting bombarded with texts. It was Lucas, asking where I was, if I was safe if Wyatt had harmed me. The messages came so fast I didn’t have a chance to respond and the second they slowed down; I got a call from him. I answered immediately.

“Stop it,” I hissed in the phone. Lucas let out a sigh of relief.

“Alysha, it is 11:02 and you’re not home I was worried,” he chuckled.

“Are you crazy,” I tried hard to keep my voice down in the bar, I wanted to scream. This could not be happening. “I am an adult, I can home whenever I please.”

“We had agreed on you being home by 11.”

“You are not my parent; you do not dictate when I am home, and you do not blow up my phone like that outside of emergencies. You are lucky Wyatt had to take a call”

“I wouldn’t call it luck. I arranged the call.” My blood froze.

“You did what?”

“You have to understand it was because I thought you were in danger Alysha.”

“How did you arrange the call? What does that mean?”

“I will see you at home soon Alysha,” the called ended. I was about to call back when Wyatt rushed back in. He seemed sunken and pale.

“I am sorry to do this,” he barely whispered. “But my dad was in an accident. My mom didn’t know all the details on the phone but uh, I need to go to the hospital to see him.” I felt my heart drop and my tears begin to well up.

“Of course, please. Go to your dad and just call me later and let me know if everything is okay?” Wyatt nodded and hugged me, tight. We never hugged before, and it felt strangely intimate, but I hugged him back. He thanked me for understanding and ran out the bar. I took a deep breath and called an uber.

When I got home, Lucas was sleeping in his blue charging recliner. “Lucas?” I whispered. His eyes shot open, and a smile quickly emerged on his face.

“Alysha! You’re home!”

“What did you do?” My throat was tight, and I could tell my voice was shaking but I tried to talk through it.

“I just needed to get Wyatt away from you for a bit. I did what I needed to for you to be safe.” I began sobbing, I’m not sure if it was frustration or fear but it shook me to my core.

“You promised you wouldn’t do this again.” Lucas ran over and took me in his arms. I cried into his chest, and he stroked my hair.

“I kept my promise,” Lucas took my face in both his hands. “He’s alive and he’ll recover!” He smiled at me proudly. “I just needed a distraction, but it’ll be okay!” His eyes were excited and cold. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

“You’re right,” I said. I smiled lightly and puckered my lips for a kiss. Lucas smiled and when he bent down to meet me, I bit his bottom lip hard. His entire body went rigid, he stood straight up, and his eyes focused forward before changing from green irises to small blue screens.

“Factory reset activated,” an automated voice came out of Lucas’ mouth. I could still feel tears falling down my face. “Please say your verbal password to confirm reset.”

“Forgot password,” I tried not to be mad at myself. I hadn’t used the password in 3 years.

“Please refer to the AI Boyfriend App to reset your password. Or call us at our toll-free number.” I sat down and logged into the app with my pin. I reset my password and then clicked reset AI. Once I did, Lucas sat in his recliner. As he reset, I adjusted his protection setting down from 70% to 45% and deleted his access to the internet. Suddenly, an upgrade notification popped up on the screen with a small disclaimer underneath. Please note that upgrades are necessary every 6 months to ensure that your AI’s coding isn’t compromised. Prolonged periods without upgrade may cause your AI to have to some or all following faults: laziness, sarcasm, violence, clinginess, disobedience, or aggression. Note, your last upgrade was: 2 years ago.

I stared at the screen for a while and then clicked auto-upgrade.