3

The android's presence in the house was meant to relax him and allow him to get better, to properly mourn Nessie's death, but every time he saw its face, the only memories that flooded his mind were the ones of Bella Swan. Guilt twisted in his gut whenever it happened and he'd try to force himself to look at a picture of Nessie, one where was smiling freely. And then he would see her uncanny resemblance to Bella and the cycle began.

It was the summer after he turned seventeen when Bella finally left her boyfriend-turned-fiancée Edward after getting cold feet about the wedding. They had spent some time together before whenever Chief Swan visited his father, and though the enjoyed one another's company, her attention was wholly on the Cullens. There was no room in her life for him. But soon after the wedding was postponed, she ended up spending nearly every single day in La Push with him in an effort to avoid the Cullens and before long, their friendship grew into something that made his insides burn with delight. He was happy then. She was happy then -happier than he had ever seen her. For the first time, neither of them had expectations or responsibilities. They just had each other, and it was enough. He loved her more than he thought he could.

And then summer ended, reality came crashing, and Bella didn't come back to La Push. Jacob visited her home after many failed plans only to have her open the front door and see the large diamond ring on her finger. Edward Cullen had stolen the love of his life away.

That was the summer when Jacob learned nothing was infallible.

Jacob decided to go back to work and do his research on androids in peace.

Jacob bristled silently two days later when the Cullen Enterprises Companion commercial came on. They advertised attractive, young looking androids to lonely people with extra cash lying around.

There had been an outcry from many organizations over the years about the potential hazard it would produce in the climate of the already decreasing birthrate in the population. The only thing the conservative organizations had proved to those willing to purchase these androids was that humans were terrible partners -they just weren't perfect enough.

Things only got worse when Human Rights organizations began to promote the use of the Android Companion as companions to those with mental disorders or a history of violence but despite a lessening degree of violence towards women, there was still something terrifying about seeing a woman naked on the side of the road with wires hanging out of her body.

Violence against robots rose exponentially.

"Don't you get annoyed seeing your friends sold for something like that?" Jacob asked it when the commercial continued. The female on the android wore a revealing nightgown and turned halfway to gesture with one finger for the viewer to come towards her.

"I don't have friends," Isabella replied politely.

This made Jacob frown. Bella had had lots of friends when she was alive. Especially when the Cullens had left and Jacob had finally brought her out of her shell and out came a vivacious young woman with a smart mouth on her. "So, it doesn't bother you that strangers are buying your kind and using them however they want?"

"Didn't your friends buy me so that you can use me however you want?" Isabella argued, wearing a coy smile, similar to the android on the television. "It hasn't bothered me yet."

Jacob felt some of the blood rushing out of his head and go down south. "It's not the same thing. They're," he pointed to the television screen displaying a female and male android rotating on a platform with a price flashing beside them, "not just cleaning someone's house. They're getting sold to have sex with complete strangers with no say. That still doesn't bother you?" He didn't know why he was arguing with it. He didn't know why he expected it to feel the same way as him.

"I don't know," Isabella shrugged, the smile no longer on its face. "I've never thought about it."

Jacob swallowed. "What if you were leased to someone who didn't have good intentions?"

It raised an eyebrow. "Are you someone who doesn't have good intentions?"

Jacob didn't answer.

"My body is made similarly to a Companion android, if you wanted to know."

Something inside Jacob shuddered violently. It made him want to vomit thinking that Cullen probably was having sex with his robot. Though he acknowledged it was just a machine, it still looked like Bella Swan and it raised a red flag about the dubious lack of consent. "I didn't want to know," he replied.

He said so but his own mind betrayed him as he thought about Bella's body flush against his own. Vivid images of how warm her slender body and the surprising amount of strength the woman had in her legs flashed through his mind. Jacob immediately flushed in embarrassment and shame when he remembered his own wife had died only two months ago.

The android shifted so that it had its arms crossed and leaned one shoulder against the wall. "I am made differently from them," it said after a long time. Jacob saw at its face, its eyes far away. "My body is mechanical, and my skin is made of elastic silicone and urethane but my brain…my brain is organic."

The commercial had ended almost thirty minutes ago, and the channel was already playing the next TV show. Jacob rose from his seat and walked towards it. He realized for a second that even its height was the exact same as Bella's.

"What does that mean?" he whispered. He hated the way his voice sounded hopeful.

For a long time, Isabella stood there, its arms crossed, unlike its normal mannequin-like resting position, its warm, brown eyes trained in the space above his collarbones. "The other androids made in Isabella Swan's image: we weren't just made in her likeness. Our neural networks are made from more than just circuitry and wires." It finally lifted its eyes to meet his. "We have organic material from her brain."

"I don't understand what you're saying," he said, his voice still hushed. His fingers were brushing the sleeve of its navy-blue uniform. It raised its hand to catch his in its own. He flinched slightly at how human the hand felt, but the iciness of its skin seeped into his own.

"Jacob." The way she said his name piqued his interest. It was the way his mother used to say his name when she confirmed something or meant to say, 'you know what I mean.'

"You're not her."

"No, I'm not."

"But you…do you remember what she remembers?"

"Yes."

His hand dropped from hers. "Twilight," he said flatly.

"Wait -" she began, her voice taking on a frightened tone, but before she could finish her thought, the lights behind her eyes turned off and the pigments washed away to reveal red, bionic eyes. Isabella's arm dropped to her side and she stood with perfect posture like the androids found in the stores, expressionless and powerful.

Jacob looked at her for a long time, looking for any kind of flaw on her face, anything to prove to him that it wasn't the real woman in front of him. That Cullen had gotten something wrong, that his love hadn't been as strong as Jacob's and would miss something important. But everything was perfect and imperfect just like she had been.

For the first time, he considered that Edward hadn't been the one to take Bella away but him who stole her in the first place.