"It was like losing an arm," I said finally, which was true enough to sound honest without being the whole truth. "One day it's just part of you, and then it's not, and you spend a long time walking around like you can still feel it there."
"Phantom limb," Rhys said quietly.
"Basically."
He nodded slowly, like that landed somewhere real for him, and I hated how easy it had been, swapping the actual truth for a metaphor close enough to pass, close that nobody watching would know the difference. It was getting easier every time. That was the part that scared me most. Lying!
"Sorry," he said after a second. "Didn't mean to make you talk about something heavy after a good night."
"You didn't make me do anything." I said
"Still. Sorry."
"It's fine." I pulled my jacket tighter, mostly fo
