I sit on the floor with Pyramus bundled against me, watching the way the holonet explodes like dry grass catching flame. I don’t tap into the live reels, but Reflector—loyal as always—spools a few samples through his internal projector.
Just headlines.
Just enough to know what’s coming.
He filters the worst.
“Want me to block the IP trails?” he asks, lens spinning, voice low.
“No,” I say, eyes fixed on the screen. “Let them watch.”
He bobs once. Hesitates.
“You should respond.”
I shake my head.
“What would I say?”
Reflector doesn’t answer. And I’m grateful. Because if hehada suggestion, I might’ve broken something.
I don’t answer my door.
Not when the press drone hovers near the window, blinking like it knows me. Not when the clinic sends follow-up messages asking if we’d consider making a statement “for clarity.” Not even when the Verrix crest flashes on my comm—a direct ping from my mother’s private channel.
No.
She lost the right to reach me a long time ago.
I mute the feed, press my cheek against Pyramus’s forehead, and rock him gently. His little body is a furnace, always running warm, like his veins still hum with the fire of a father he’ll never meet.
The stars stretch across the sky in silver bruises. I pull the curtain aside, just a little, just enough to see the night bleed in. Pyramus stirs. Doesn’t wake.
“You’re safe,” I whisper, like maybe saying it enough will make it true.
But I’m not sure I believe it anymore.
The first time he smiles,it’s because of a shadow on the wall.
Not a toy. Not a face.
Just light and movement and something his new little brain connects to wonder.
He opens his mouth, this tiny, toothless shape, and lets out a soft gurgle, like the universe just told him a joke he hasn’t shared yet.
And I laugh. Not the polite kind. Not the stage kind. A real, cracked laugh that pushes tears from the corners of my eyes.
“Oh, stars, baby,” I breathe, pressing kisses into his hair. “You really are everything.”
He flails a little, a claw catching the edge of my collar.
I don’t wince.
I just keep holding him tighter.
By nightfall, the net is in full storm.
Not just speculation now.Debate.
