Artificial Heart

Prisha released an anxious breath as she opened her door and got out. Immediately, an umbrella was thrust into her grip.

‘Hello!’ the man shouted over the rain. He was already soaked, the rain plastering his hair to his head. He was grinning. ‘I’m Troy!’

‘Prisha!’ she yelled back.

He nodded and gestured her over towards the stairs. Scott was holding back the dog by the collar, which was yelping and jumping. Renee was already hurrying ahead, gripping her own umbrella.

Prisha rushed up behind her, careful on the slippery steps. A boy was holding the door open. He took their umbrellas and dropped them into a box by the door. Rain trickled down the back of Prisha’s neck. She slid off her muddy shoes and tucked her damp socks into them. Renee did the same.

She glimpsed the room. Like the outside, it was old-fashioned. Twenty-year old carpet. Old eclectic furniture. Tiny kitchen. There were a few posters on the walls depicting Anime and scenes from horror movies. In the middle of the floor in front of the television was a glass coffee table. Smoke curled from old cigarettes and what smelled like joints. Prisha wrinkled her nose.

Two more people, a man and woman, were sitting on the couch in front of the window with the green sheet. The woman was holding a joint between her slim fingers, smoke curling from the end, her legs folded up beneath her.

‘Hi,’ Prisha said.

Neither said anything. Renee frowned. Prisha shivered from the cold. The boy raced away, coming back with a couple of towels.

‘Th-thank you,’ Prisha said. Clearly the child had more manners than the “adults”.

The sisters turned at the sound of stomping up the stairs. Scott entered, head ducked against the rain. Troy and the woman quickly followed, both drenched.

‘Phew! What a day!?’ Scott looked at the two sisters. ‘All good?’

Prisha handed him her towel. Renee handed her towel to the others.

‘Thanks.’ Scott busily dried his head. He handed it over to the boy. ‘Thanks Freddy.’

Scott’s black hair was plastered to his head. He looked tired but he was smiling. ‘We’ve left your stuff in the car until it stops raining. You don’t need anything yet?’ They both shook their head. ‘I guess we should make the introductions.’

Troy and the woman sat down at the coffee table. The woman took up a joint, her curly blond hair sticking wetly against the sides of her face. The rain hammered loudly against the roof. It pounded against the windows.

‘Is it really her?’ spoke the woman from the couch. She was frowning doubtfully. Her black hair was tied up tightly in a bun, accentuating the sharpness of her chin and cheekbones. Her arms were like sticks. There were tattoos down her right arm.

‘Yes, I told you so,’ Scott said.

‘Why’s there two?’ the man beside her said.

‘They’re sisters.’

The woman laughed. ’In what Woke universe? One’s Indian and the other looks fucking Nordic!’

‘Bangladeshi,’ Prisha said. ‘I’m adopted. Not that it’s any of your Goddamn business.’ She looked at Scott accusingly. Were these the people he really wanted them to associate with? How would they protect them from anything?

The man pulled himself to the edge of the couch and studied them curiously, his hands folded between his legs. He was muscular in his tight shirt. Older than the others. Dark-skinned, probably south-east Asian. Mid-thirties. ‘Which one is it?’ he asked with no accent. Aussie-born.

‘Me,’ Renee said before Prisha could speak.

Scott jerked his head towards them. Prisha tried not to show her surprise.

‘Really?’ The man sat back into the couch.

’Yes, really. Why?’

The man shrugged. ‘You just look so ordinary to be so significant. No offence.’

Renee grunted.

His eyes were glinting a little too hungrily under his thick eyebrows and Prisha was suddenly glad that Renee lied. He waved his hand. ’My name’s Sangha. And who is me called?’

‘Renee,’ she sniffed. ‘And this is my sister, Prisha.’

‘Leanne,’ the woman beside him said. She was smirking.

Prisha twisted her mouth.

‘Troy.’

‘Emily,’ the curly blond woman at the coffee table said as she took another drag, eyeing Renee over closely.

‘And I’m Freddy,’ the boy said, holding out his hand with a grin.

Renee and Prisha shook it.

‘My little brother,’ Troy explained.

‘So you took the pictures,’ Leanne said suddenly.

‘Yes,’ Renee said.

‘You should have taken more.’

’I was busy.

Leanne laughed. ’I’m sure.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Prisha snapped. Heat flooded her cheeks.

Leanne blew out a mouthful of smoke. ‘You know what I mean. It’s obvious in the pictures …’

‘What? What’s so obvious?’ Renee dared her.

Leanne smirked. Prisha wanted to strangle her. Scott shifted awkwardly.

‘Don’t take it personally. We all think it’s cool,’ Sangha said. ‘She’s just jealous.’

‘Fuck you, Sang.’ She leaned over to put out her joint in the ashtray beside her, then fell back into the couch, folding her arms as she breathed out a lungful of smoke.

Renee turned on Scott. ’Where the hell have you brought us? Who are these people?’

Troy answered. ‘This is my house—and Freddy’s. Emily lives here too.’ He’d dried out his red hair with the towel and it was sticking out in all directions. His blue eyes were as kind as his smile. ‘We like to think ourselves as some kind of sanctuary. You can stay here as long as you want. Everyone here has at some point or another.’ He looked pointedly at the two on the couch. ‘And it’s something they should remember.’

Leanne sniffed.

‘Come with me and I’ll show you to your room,’ Troy told them.

He led them down the hall, leaving Scott and the others behind. She heard them whispering. She was so sick of being talked about. She was probably being talked about all over the Goddamn planet. The thought made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. She hadn’t thought of it like that before.

He directed them into a room with a queen-sized bed. ‘I’m afraid there’s only the one bed. I have a spare matt—’

‘—we’ll sleep together. It’s fine,’ Prisha said.

He nodded. ‘Once it stops raining, you can load the cupboards with your stuff. Treat it like your own bedroom.’

‘Why are you doing this?’ Renee asked suspiciously. ‘Why are you helping us?’

‘You’re kidding me, right? Why wouldn’t I be a part of this?’ His glittering eyes fixed upon Renee. ‘We’re all happy you’re here. Excited. Amazed. You’ll be safe, I promise. We won’t tell a soul.’ He opened his mouth, then shut it. He clearly wanted to ask questions but Renee’s expression put a stop to that. ‘Come out when you’re ready. Pizza for dinner.’

He suddenly realised he was staring. Clearing his throat, he switched his attention very briefly to Prisha. He nodded at her politely, then turned and left.

Renee closed the door behind him.

‘You shouldn’t have done that, Nay.’

‘Done what?’

‘Pretend you’re me!’

‘Yeah, I should. You’re my little sister. I’m supposed to protect you.’

Prisha huffed. ‘I’m hardly little anymore.’

She grinned. ‘And it’ll be fun.’

‘You have a very twisted idea of what’s fun.’ Then she smiled. ‘But thank you.’

Renee squeezed her arm. ‘I know you. You’ve got enough on your mind. You don’t need their … perverted curiosity as well.’ Her long blond hair was draped in a ponytail down her left shoulder. There was a damp patch over her right breast. For a moment, her deep brown eyes reminded her of Alf.

‘Is it really obvious?’ Prisha said.

‘What?’

‘The photos. What that woman said. About me and Alf.’

’Oh … well … it’s hard to say. I already knew you were … you know … before you showed them to me.’

Prisha frowned. ‘Tell me the truth.’

’I don’t know what to say, Prish. It’s the look in his eye. In his real eye, I mean. The way he looks at the camera. The way he looks at you.’

Prisha’s mouth shook. She flopped down onto the bed. ‘I miss him. I miss him so much, Nay, it hurts.’ She folded her arms around herself. Warm heat filled the corners of her eyes. ‘He gives the best hugs.’

‘We shouldn’t be talking like this,’ Renee said, looking around the room. ‘The place could be bugged.’

Prisha snorted. ‘Bugged? By who?’

‘By these weirdos. That woman on the couch—what a bitch.’

Prisha smiled, knowing she was changing the topic purposefully. The tears dried from her eyes.

‘And what’s with these fucking sheets for curtains? Don’t they know how to decorate?’ Rolling her eyes, Renee went over and crooked aside the sheet to peer through the window.

‘I don’t know. Not bad for two young men, though.’

’I suppose. It is clean. Surprisingly.’

The ticking of the clock on the bedside cabinet filled the quiet. A car roared along the road.

‘So … what do you think?’ Prisha asked.

‘About what?’

’About these … er … kids.’

’Kids … yeah. I don’t know what Scott was thinking but I guess it’s better than nothing. I like him.’

‘Who?’

‘Scott. He’s older at least. And he’s sacrificing a lot.’ She shook her head. ‘Such a fool.’ She sat down on the bed beside Prisha.

Prisha sat up. ‘What are you going to do if they ask questions about Alf?’

Renee shrugged. ’Lie as best I can. I’m good at making shit up. They don’t need to know the truth. Besides, they shouldn’t know the truth.’

’They’re helping us.’

Renee flicked her damp hair back from her shoulder. ’Yeah … we’ll see about that. They’re not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, Prish. They’re just excitable and curious. Young and stupid. They want information. They want you.’ She looked at her pointedly. ’Everybody wants you.’

Prisha looked down into her lap.

‘Why’d you do it, Prish?’

Prisha jerked her head up, surprised. ’Adventure, Nay. To live.’