Chapter 395

Madison

She didn’t push, returning her attention to her book while Ethan debated between dinosaurs and superheroes with the seriousness of someone making a life-altering decision.

I sank onto the couch, watching my son’s animated expressions as he explained why dinosaurs were objectively better than superheroes, but also that superheroes could fly, which was pretty cool too.

The movie started, some animated thing about a T-Rex who wanted to be a vegetarian. Ethan curled up next to me, his small body warm against my side, his laughter filling the room at the dinosaur’s antics.

Twenty minutes in, his laughter grew quieter. Thirty minutes, and his breathing slowed to the steady rhythm of sleep.

“Out like a light,” Mom whispered from her chair, glancing over with a soft smile.

I looked down at Ethan, his face peaceful, one hand clutching my sleeve.

“I’ll take him to his room,” I murmured, carefully extracting myself from the couch.