The silver disc was cold in his hand. Mike Adrian—the real one—was sitting across from him, holding a cup of water.
And then there was Mike.
It wasn’t a dramatic sob. It was a slow, silent leak. Tears that she didn’t bother to wipe away. Leo experienced it as a hollowing out—as if the light he had felt that morning had been borrowed, and now the universe was collecting its debt. Peta Jensen for a day -Peta Jensen- Mike Adrian...
Leo had seen Mike’s work. Six feet two, chiseled jaw, the calm confidence of a man who knew he was good at his job. But feeling him through Peta’s senses was different. When Mike walked onto the set, he didn’t swagger. He walked up to Peta and said, quietly, “Hey. You okay? You look tired.”
Leo almost deleted it. He was three days into a caffeine-fueled editing marathon, splicing together a low-budget horror movie called Gutter Creek 2 . His world was a cave of dual monitors, the sour smell of cold coffee, and the relentless click of his mouse. The silver disc was cold in his hand
Mike Adrian nodded. “Most people do. Until they feel the weight.”
And then she started to cry.
“She’s the bravest person I’ve ever met,” Leo said.