Josie
I clutched the phone to my ear, trying to breathe normally. My chest felt like it was being squeezed by invisible hands, and I didn't want my voice to shake when Marcy picked up.
"Josie?" Her voice came sharp and alert. "You better not be crying. What the hell happened?"
I bit my lip and swallowed the lump in my throat. "I'm fine."
"Bullshit," she snapped. "You've been off all week, and now you're calling me out of nowhere, sounding like you're trying not to fall apart. Tell me what happened, Josie. Don't make me come over there to drag it out of you."
My eyes darted around the living room like I was searching for a way to escape the conversation. "It's not that serious."
"If it wasn't serious, you'd have told me already." Marcy's voice had that sharp, no-nonsense tone that never failed to cut through me. "Stop running from me. You do this every time. Just speak. Now."
I chewed on my thumbnail, hating how raw everything felt inside me. "It's… it's Varen."
