Leon heard the doorbell ring, a polite, cheerful chime that sounded like a death knell.
He heard his mom's welcoming voice, the happy, excited yapping of Gaffer, and then a voice he had only ever heard through a phone or in his head.
"It's so lovely to meet you, Mrs. Couch," Maya's voice, bright and clear, drifted up the stairs.
"I'm Maya. I work with Ethan."
Work with Ethan?
He was a shelf-stacker. She was a secret football manager who lived in a glass palace. It was the understatement of the century.
He scrambled to make himself presentable, threw on a clean hoodie, and took a deep, steadying breath.
You've faced down a Premier League legend and a mind-reading supervillain, he told himself.
You can handle this.
He walked down the stairs, trying to project an aura of cool, casual confidence he was a million miles away from feeling.
Maya was in the living room, effortlessly charming his parents and giving Gaffer a belly rub.