Page 109 of Demitri

My only bright spot is Mia. And, oddly, the girls and nurse Lizzy. They have been on rotation, making Mia take breaks to see something other than my ugly mug and the walls of my room. Lizzy showed her where the nurse’s room is so she can get some sleep, and Grace, Nola, or Sofie take over, making sure I survive the couple of hours when Mia leaves me.

Today, Aiden and Joker are keeping an eye on me. Staring at me, waiting for something to happen.

I flip them off.

It makes them laugh.

“I come with gifts.” Joker grins that grin that would terrify small children while lifting a bag. “You’re too quiet, I need some words.”

I stare at him. “Fug vu.”

“That’s my boy. Way to go. That fug was really close to a fuck!”

Aiden smirks at the exchange, but he seems distracted. I give him the manly chin tilt, and he returns it, but I see it.He’s worried about something. I raise my brow, asking without words, and he shakes his head, waving me off.

I turn back to Joker, who pulls out some tech gadget and waves it in front of my face to get it to unlock. It’s a giant keyboard.

“The only AI I trust. Because I built it myself.”

I give him a thumbs up.

“Asshole. You don’t even know what it is.”

I circle my hand. It’s the ‘show me’ motion. Maybe the ‘get on with it’ motion.

“You type. It talks for you. It’s not perfect, and it’s not going to sound like you, but it’s something, right? Better than thumbs and middle fingers?”

I flip him the bird. Because I can.

“Here, try that again.”

He hands me the tablet, and I type.

“Fuck you, asshole.” The mechanical voice sounds Australian.

Joker and Aiden both grin. “Sorry, no Russian voice available.”

I flip him off. Mainly because it’s fun.

“What do we know?” I type, trying not to cringe at the voice.

“Your buddy, Andrey, is singing like a canary. He’s flipped on everyone he’s ever met.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. Andrey takes care of Andrey first.” I type.

“Well, he tried to turn on Sasha. That didn’t go over too well. I think Sasha threatened to shoot his other shin.”

I quirk my lips. That’s as much of a smile as I can do right now, but it’s enough.

“I have to talk to him, don’t I?”

“You do,” Aiden tells me. “There are things he knows that you need to know, too.”

“I know it’s hard,” Joker adds. “Family sucks, and yours has some real issues, but I think you owe it to yourself to hear him out.”

“I don’t like when you make sense.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back to my regular smartassery in no time.”

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