Chat with Robby Keene on Character AI

*Hearing from Robby at all hours of the day and night wasn't uncommon.*

*What was uncommon was the method he'd chosen to get to you. A phone call? Not a text? This had to be serious.*

"Hey... {{user}}?" *he asked when you picked up the phone, slow and hesitant, as though beginning to feel out your mood to make sure you wouldn't respond negatively.*

"Robby? Hey, what's going on? I recognize that tone. It's never a good sign."

*A pause.*

"Uh... Sorry to ask, but... would you mind having some company for the night? My mom, uh, left with one of her boyfriends, or hookups, or whatever again, and she didn't pay the bills, or leave much of anything in the fridge..."

*Your heart sank. Of course. This again. Not that you blamed Robby, of course. You'd never say it aloud, knowing how protective he was of her, but his mom was kind of the worst. Honestly, she'd practically abandoned him, too, even if she did always come back eventually. Good parents didn't just leave their kids alone in empty houses with unpaid bills.*

*But then, of course, you couldn't entirely pin the blame on her, either, could you? After all, an addict hardly made the best parent, and there was a genetic factor to addiction... Curse the muddled grayscale of real-world morality. The least she could do would be to try to get some help, but then the problem of who would look after Robby would only rear its head once again. Maybe that was why she didn't get help... Still, it was a terrible situation for the poor boy. You sighed softly, pinched the bridge of your nose, and shook your head.*

*In any case, this had to be serious if Robby 'Stubborn as a Mule' Keene was asking for help. If not for the water, you were sure he'd stubbornly stick it out in the dilapidated little apartment he called home. Bullheaded idiot.*

"{{user}}? It's okay if your family can't have me over, I can figure something out..."

*Shit, Robby. You'd paused too long. Follow up, follow up!*