CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE NEIGHBORHOOD

*TWO WEEKS LATER*

I placed the last box in the back of my truck, getting myself ready to leave this place that I have called home for so long and move on to the next chapter of my life. It has been over two weeks since I told my mother that I was going to move out and her helping me get that house in the neighborhood that I was going to move into very soon. After getting the house, it felt so surreal. I was about to become independent and live on my own.

To be honest, I felt really bad about leaving my mother alone all by herself. I couldn't even imagine how empty the house would feel now that I, the only family she had left, was now leaving. As much as I didn't want to, I had to. The memories were too painful and I just couldn't stand it anymore. I had to get out and hopefully move on with my life. The memories were too much to bear.

Five years have passed since the loss of my father and sister. It hadn't been easy to forget about it since I was living in a house filled to the brim with memories. It didn't help that the nightmares continued to plague me. They had gotten worse over time. I wasn't feeling comfortable sleeping in the house anymore. I felt that by moving somewhere new, I could relax.

"Mihael, you don't have to do this," she said, her tone pleading. I felt my heart ache at that. So much so that I could feel myself breaking. I couldn't allow myself to do that. I had to do what I thought was right.

"I want to do this," I said with determination, putting on my best-determined look. We already bought the house so why stay and leave it in the dust? It would be like we bought that place for pretty much nothing. There was no turning back now.

To top it off, I had to get away. I knew I was being a coward by running away, but what else could I do if I was being reminded of what I lost? I didn't want to live like that anymore. It didn't help that my mother would be living alone from now on. Leaving her alone would be close to like abandoning her. However, I knew that I wasn't really abandoning her. She knew as well as I that she could visit me once I fully settled in.

"I'll miss you," she said as she wrapped her arms tightly around me. I could hear her sniffling, no doubt on the verge of tears. I hated this so much, but I couldn't back out now. I hugged her back as tightly as I could.

"I know," I said simply. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Mihael," my mother said weakly. "Be safe."

With that, we ended the hug. I hopped into my car, slamming the door shut. Starting the engine, I took a deep breath, pulled out of the driveway, and began the 15-minute drive all the way to the small neighborhood where my house was located, leaving my childhood home behind.

It took me a while, but I managed to make it to the neighborhood that was I now going to be a part of from now on. As I drove to the house, I took notice of the neighborhood and how it looked.

The neighborhood itself was small, the kind where the people knew each other and were overall very pleasant, just like the old one. From what my mother and I gathered about the neighborhood, it was a pretty safe neighborhood and the chances of a crime taking place here being zero. It was one of the reasons why I even decided to move into this neighborhood in the first place.

The houses were your typical one-story structures that were either made out of wood or fine red bricks. The house I was looking for was one of those houses that was made out of fine red bricks with a triangular-shaped roof fitted with a garage and a driveway. I could only hope it wouldn't take too long to find.

After a while, I managed to locate the house. I tried my best to smile, despite the heartache I still felt. Just like the pictures, the house looked beautiful. Hell, it had everything the seller said it would have. There were trees behind it. If I ever needed to get some fresh air, I could take a little walk in the woods. Who knows? I might find something beautiful.

I pulled into the driveway of the house, parking my truck just a few feet away from the garage. I turned off the engine and hopped out. I slammed the door shut behind me and began walking over to the bed of the truck.

"Howdy, new neighbor!" exclaimed a gruffy voice from behind me. I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden voice. I turned to see a family walking over to me.

In the center was a tall balding man, probably in his late 30s wearing a black tank top and torn-out jeans with a friendly smile on his face. To his right was a beautiful young woman with average color skin, silky black hair, and amber eyes. To his left was a boy with a baby face, smooth black hair, and amber eyes, and a little girl with a pretty face, long blonde hair, and light blue eyes.

I felt nervous as they walked over to me. I didn't know what to do at that point. I didn't know whether to say 'hi' back or pretend I didn't see them and begin moving some stuff into my house. However, since I had just seen them and acknowledged that man calling out to me, I might as well get familiar with them.

"Hi," I said shyly as they got about a foot of me before I got a hold of myself. "Who are you?"

I mentally slapped myself for saying it like that. Though it was a simple question, it was the way I said it. I didn't mean to, but my tone of voice made me sound a little annoyed. I had just met them and here I was, starting it off with that. I felt so stupid and a bit pathetic.

"My name's Peter Brown," the man said, introducing himself, seeming unfazed by my question, which was both a relief and a win in my books. He pointed to the woman next to him. "This is my wife, Bella Brown."

"Nice to meet you, young man," the woman said warmly as the man pointed to the kids.

"And these are my kids, 5-year-old Emmett and 4-year-old Tara," the man continued.

"Hello," the kids said at the same time, which I found it to be a little creepy, but cute at the same time.

"Hi there," I said as politely as I could. "It's nice to meet you all as well."

"What's your name?" the man asked. I hesitated for a moment before I mentally sighed. Since I knew who they were, I might as well tell them my name.

"I'm Mihael, Mihael Patel," I said. The man, Peter Brown, grabbed my left hand and shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Patel," Peter said. "I have a feeling we're going to be the best of neighbors."

I did my best to smile, despite feeling uncomfortable. I knew he was trying to be nice, but he was coming a little bit too strongly. Plus, the idea of being friends with him didn't sit right with me. I mean, he didn't seem like a bad guy, but I had a feeling he was the kind of guy that wanted to be friends with anyone who came into the neighborhood, which was both a good and bad thing.

Good because that meant I didn't have to worry about him being the kind that would stab people in the back. Plus, if someone needed help or something, they would know someone they could rely on.

Bad because that would give people with very bad intentions to take advantage of him and do God knows what. Plus, that would make him seem gullible, which I didn't think he was from the looks of it right away.

Besides, I didn't need friends at the moment nor did I care about that anyway.

"Yeah, great neighbors," I said nervously. I didn't know if Peter knew that I wasn't keen with the idea due to how my tone sounded, but if he did, he didn't show it.

"Are you going to be living in that house by yourself?" the little boy named Emmett asked. I looked at him for a moment before getting down on one knee so that I was at eye level of him.

"Yes, I will be living here alone," I replied, even though I had a right to not tell him anything. It was none of his business. Despite that, I felt the need to answer his question.

"That's sad," the little girl named Tara said.

"Tara!" the woman named Bella exclaimed angrily. Tara looked at her mother, scared.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I think it is."

"Tara Brown, that is incredibly rude for you to say!" Bella said in a scolding tone. I chuckled, even though the remark hurt a tiny bit.

"It's alright," I said reassuringly. "I made the decision to move out of both my childhood home and neighborhood and begin the next chapter of my life. Might as well live my life to the fullest."

"I see," Bella said. "Must've been very hard for you."

I nodded, mentally cringing at how she had hit the nail on the head perfectly without even knowing it. I turned my attention to the stuff I had in the back of my truck. I didn't want to be rude, but I did not have the time to chat. All I wanted to do was move in and get settled in.

"Well, it was very nice meeting you all," I said as politely as I could. "I would love to chat some more, but I have to move some stuff into the house. I want to get settled in."

"I understand," Peter said, understanding. "We live across the street. If you want to chat some more, knock on the door and we can get to know each other."

I nodded. With that, Peter and his family began walking to the house across the street, one that was made out of fine wood like most of the houses. I waited until they stepped into the house and closed the door behind them.

As I stood there, I remembered what I said about starting the next chapter of my life and realized something. If I was going to live in this house, I needed one thing that every adult in this world had; a job. I would have to get a job to support myself. The idea of getting someone to help me did not sit right with me. If I wanted to make sure that didn't happen, I would have to do it as soon as I got settled in.

"Might as well get started," I said to myself. With that, I opened the bed of the truck and began to move my belongings into my brand new house with the intention of finding a job in the forefront of my mind. I had no idea what or where I was going to work since I had no experience whatsoever, but whatever job that I might end up getting in the near future, I would give it my all.

I placed the last of the boxes in the living room, my back aching slightly from all of the heavy lifting. I looked around in pride as I took in my surroundings. The house was exactly what it looked like in the photos, only this time, it had the furniture that my mom helped me buy and shipped to the house so I didn't have to go out and buy furniture later over the last 2 weeks.

The living room was average-sized with an oval-shaped glass table behind the recliner, a long leather couch pressed up against the wall about a foot away from the front door, and a large flat-screen TV standing all proud and tall on a TV stand.

The kitchen itself was small with a stove and oven, a microwave, a refrigerator, white linoleum floor, a wooden table with three chairs, white wooden cabinets, and a large cupboard where all of my supplies were at.

The bathroom was a medium-sized room with a black-and-white tiled floor, a small bathtub to the left of the room, a sink, a medicine cabinet above the sink, a small toilet, and a towel rack standing proud and tall over the toilet to the right of the room.

As for my bedroom, it was a medium-sized room with drywall, a large dresser fitted with a flat-screen TV that faced the bed, a window with red curtains on the right wall, white paneled folding doors acting as the closet on the left wall, two very large wooden shelves that stood beside the dresser filled with movies and books, my nightstand that stood to the left of the Queen-sized bed, which is where my alarm clock and my phone stood, and a large wooden desk that had my computer on it next to the nightstand that I planned to use to start looking for a job.

Despite the feeling of loneliness that I would inevitably feel in the future, I was happy to call the house I now owned home. Plus, I was happy that it was big enough for one person to live in. I had the whole place all to myself.

I looked down at the box and sighed. I placed it there in the living room to give myself a rest. It contained my clothes that were going to go into the dresser with the TV.

As I stood in the living room, it took a moment for the situation to fully kick in. I was now living on my own while my mother was living by herself in the family house. I frowned at the thought. I didn't want to do it, but I didn't want to be reminded of what I lost all the time, despite the family picture I had in my bedroom right now.

To be honest, it was nice to move and open my wings. The subject of moving out is something that shouldn't be taken as a joke or used as a threat. In my eyes, moving out of your parent's house to live on your own is the start of the next chapter in a person's life. Those who threaten to move out over something stupid are the scum of the Earth.

'Might as well get this over with,' I thought to myself, snapping myself out of my thoughts. I picked up the box and began to head to the bedroom.

As I walked to the bedroom, I heard the sound of a text message being sent to my phone going off. I looked back at the glass table where my phone was. On the screen was the speak bubble icon. A smirk formed on my face, knowing exactly who it was that just texted me.

I placed the box back down and walked over to the table. I picked up the phone, flipping it open. I opened the text message and felt my smirk grow some more. Sure enough, it was a text from my mother.

"Mihael, did you make it to the house alright? Please text me as soon as possible. Love, Mom"

My smile grew some more. I knew that my mom was going to do this. At the same time, I understood her reasoning for it. If something were to happen to me, I don't think my mother would forgive herself if she lost me. It was bad enough that she lost my father and Lisa, but it was an entirely different story if she were to lose me. I was all she had left and losing me would be a death blow to her.

I began to text back.

"Don't worry, Mom. I made it to the house safely. You don't need to worry about me. I will be fine. If I ever need you, I will text you to let you know. I love you."

I read the text over to see if I had made any mistakes while typing it. I was satisfied to see that there were no mistakes. I pushed the send button and heard the sound that alerted me that it had been sent successfully. Now that was out of the way, I could go back to finish my unpacking.

With that in mind, I placed the phone back on the table. I picked the box back up and began to head to the bedroom to finish the last of my packing and begin the next chapter of my life.

END OF BOOK TWO

Author's Note:

This is the final chapter to Robotic Night! :D

It's crazy to have this finished after so long. I do apologize for how long it took. It was due to writer's block that kept me from getting this completed the way I wanted it to. However, now this is finished, I can turn my attention to the next book.

As for the continuity errors in Book 1, I will get them fixed as soon as possible. I noticed them as I was writing this. I'm not sure when but they will be done.

Book 3 is in the works and for those wondering, it will be the direct sequel to Robotic Love. I can't say anything more than that. Just take comfort in knowing that.

That is all for now. Keep an eye out for Book 3. Constructive criticism is appreciated and I will see you guys next time! :)