Heat rises in my cheeks. “I do other things!”
“I’m not judging your hobbies.” His lips quirk up into an almost-smile. “Since you’re not judging mine.”
“I think I am,” I say under my breath.
“Besides, you had better talk to your online reading friends soon.” There’s the click of keys as he types. “They’ll miss you.”
“You’re going to just keep me with you all day?” I’m so confused by all this.
“Yep.”
And that seems to be the end of the conversation, as far as Kirill is concerned. He keeps his gaze on his computer screen, and with a lack of any better ideas, I flop onto the sofa opposite him, pick up my phone and the e-reader, and consider my options.
I can’t be obvious. I can’t just call the police.
But maybe he’s not monitoring the e-reader?
I find a short book I stopped reading a while ago, and only has about half an hour left to go. I carefully go through the pages, not taking them in. But I think at a normal pace.
Then, at the end, there’s a little request to leave a review, and I laboriously type using the impossible e-reader keyboard.
Stunning!
Ought to be made into a movie, it was a rollercoaster.
Series potential, but I’d rather stop now.
I’m pleased with it. It’s a bit more poetic than my usual reviews, but it’s plausible, and the S.O.S distress signal is clear without being too obvious. I submit it, and open another book. If I can do a few of these and put information about how far from London I am…
A notification pings on my phone.
I lean over to check it, and find a friend request on the review site I use, from “YourVillain”.
That’s odd.
I go to the app, and there’s a cascade of notifications from a conversation “I might like” according to the app. And the friend request.
It’s too weird. With a heavy sensation in my arms, I view the profile.
The picture is a pink grinning face on black, with crossed out eyes.
It’s just like Kirill’s mask.
I click accept. What else can I do? Immediately, a message pops up.
YourVillain
Nice try, but no.
I stare. Then I look over at Kirill. He doesn’t pause in typing, but shoots me a side-long glance that I swear is amused, and I have to repress an answering smile.
He got me.
I take a photo of my e-reader with my hand casually on it and my legs in shot. My finger is pointing to the word “help” in thetext. It disappears when I try to post it. Next, I try a picture of my e-reader on my current page with the geolocation on. It posts with it off.
The video I make recommending a sweet, fluffy hockey rom-com but including violent heavy metal music with lyrics about being in hell? It’s changed to have the latest Taylor Swift release. Totally on brand for me.
There’s a lot of chatter about the sudden appearance of books many of us had on our wish lists but were expensive and not included in our subscription. Everyone is really excited about it.
