“Nobody Believed Him… Until the Man Everyone Feared Did

Different world.

Connor’s mom—Lena—sat beside him, fingers wrapped around a cup she barely drank from. There were still shadows under her eyes. Healing doesn’t happen all at once. But every few seconds, her hand would drift to Connor’s shoulder, like she needed to remind herself he was still there.

Still breathing.

Still hers.

The bell above the diner door jingled.