I feign a smile and turn back to face Timofey. “Will do. Talk to you later!”
The forced cheer in my voice sounds beyond fake to me, but I hope Timofey doesn’t know me well enough to realize I’m speaking several octaves higher than normal.
My screen turns dark and I shove my phone back in my pocket. Having Noelle on the line made me feel less alone.
Now, there’s nothing to hide behind. No one to cling to.
It’s just me and the monster in front of me.
“That sounded important.” Timofey watches me walk back towards the table carefully.
“Nothing Noelle says is important.”
Can he hear my voice shaking? Is it actually shaking? My entire body feels like it’s vibrating. It’s making it hard to judge how well I’m pulling this off.
“Noelle is the third member of your trio,” he says flatly.
I a
