Page 164 of Silent Shadows

“Oh.”

Neither of us moves. For one stupid second, I almost pretend I heard nothing. Almost. Then something uglier wins. Something hurt. Something so sudden and protective that it’s stupidly, humiliatingly vulnerable.

“Good to know,” I say.

Her expression shifts to alarm. “Miles,” she says, her voice tight as she strides towards me.

“No, really.”

My voice sounds foreign to my own ears.

Too calm. Too careful.

“Helpful clarity.”

“That’s not⁠—”

“No?” I laugh once, short and thin. It sounds bad even to me.

“I gotta go. Love you, Riss. I’ll call you back,” she fumbles with her phone as she rushes to end the call, then shoves the phone into her pocket.

“You only heard part of that conversation.”

“Enough of it.”

“Miles—”

“Did you really mean what you said? It’d be safer to make fun of us than stand up for us?”

Her face tightens.

“That’s not what you think.”

Something hot flashes under my ribs.

“You think I don’t know what people say?”

She blinks. “What?”

“About me.”

My throat works once. Hard. “About this.”

I gesture toward the woods. Toward the Machine. Toward all of it.

“Crazy guy chasing monsters. Conspiracy man. Guy who never grew out of believing in monsters.”

“That’s not true.”

“No?” I step closer. “Because it kind of sounds like you’re workshopping how to package us into something digestible. Something you can distance yourself from.”

Hurt flashes across her face, quick and sharp.

“Us?”

“The team,” I correct too quickly.

“Miles.”