NOVA
Mina's smile falters, and for the first time, I notice the faint tremor in her hands.
"You're not going to tell me?" she asks quietly.
"Nope." I pop the 'p' casually, brushing my fingers over the cracked leather of a nearby book spine. "Some people just don't share their dirty laundry with strangers holding knives."
She exhales through her nose, but it’s not because she’s annoyed, but mostly because she’s... defeated?
"I'm sorry," she blurts out suddenly. "I don't know how to... act around you. Or anyone, really."
That makes me pause. She's still watching me, but her expression isn't tense now. It’s bare. It’s as though she has peeled away whatever mask she thought she needed.
"I've never had a friend," she admits in a rush, her cheeks tinged pink. "Not one that wasn't... tempo
