She held onto him perhaps a second or two longer than was necessary. Margo had never really been a sentimental person before, but all of this jumping from world to world was wearing on her. With each jump came the fear that she had jumped alone, that she had left Seth in the last terrible world and moved on to another awful place on her own. Of course she could survive, but could she really live? It had felt like he’d become her other half, though she’d never said it out loud. She was sure that Seth didn’t know just how important he was to her.

She nodded to his question with a tiny smile. “I’m alright. No mysterious sound-eating or mind-controlling creeps, so far.” Margo didn’t say a word about it, but she was incredibly relieved that she could make sound even if the trade-off was living in complete silence.

“How ‘bout you? Been here long enough to find a skinnier version of me?” It was a joke. Margo wasn’t that insecure about their relationship.