Zach
The car ride to the cabin was quiet. I kept stealing glances at Nicole, trying to convince myself she was really here, beside me.
Her gaze stayed on the window, lost somewhere I couldn’t follow. I tried to listen—truly listen—to her thoughts the way I sometimes could, but her mind was a storm tonight, too chaotic for me to grasp.
So much had happened these past days. So much I would have avoided if I could. But my hands were tied. All I could do was try to make her happy—even if that meant hiding the truth.
I didn’t know if tonight would fix anything. The lies, the silence, the games… they were eating me alive. There were things about me she couldn’t know—not yet. If she saw me for what I really was, if she knew my true identity, she’d see a monster. Only another halfling could un
