Chapter 32 - A stifled sob.

Alex sat quietly on the edge of his bed, his fingers moving in slow, absent circles over the curve of his stomach as though he was still trying to familiarize himself with it, as though the reality of it had not already settled into his bones. The room around him was calm, almost unnaturally so, carrying that peculiar stillness that followed chaos, where everything appeared at peace on the surface but beneath it lingered the weight of everything that had already happened. It was the kind of silence that did not comfort but instead reminded you that you were alone with your thoughts.