she didn’t even cry when he said it. not at first.

he stood there in her doorway, like he hadn’t disappeared. like he hadn’t broken up with her the day after she told him she was pregnant.

he said, “i see him everywhere. i can’t live like this.” and she just looked at him. not blinking. not breathing. just… looked.

because how do you respond to something like that? how do you respond to the boy you once loved — who left you, abandoned you, chose freedom over family — suddenly deciding he’s haunted?

they were together two years. it was quiet. intentional. never about the cameras. he was tired of all that. she was never in it for the attention. they used to joke that their relationship existed in its own universe — no one could touch it.

and then she got pregnant. and everything cracked.

he pulled away so fast she couldn’t keep up. one minute he was holding her at night, saying they’d figure it out, and the next… he was gone.

he broke up with her in the kitchen. sat across from her, said “i’m not ready for this. i thought i could be but i can’t.”

she said “but i can be.” he said nothing.

and then she was alone.

no spotlight. no tabloid story. just a regular girl in a too-small apartment with morning sickness and silence where his voice used to be.

she didn’t tell anyone. not until the baby was born.

months passed. she healed in pieces. she decorated a nursery by herself. painted stars on the ceiling and cried when the crib arrived.

and then one night — after a long day, after rocking her son to sleep — she posted a photo.

just a soft, blurry shot of him in her arms. she wasn’t looking for anything. just proud. exhausted. in love.

and the internet noticed.

someone zoomed in on the baby’s eyes. commented, “wait… are those…?” another said, “he looks just like drew starkey.” the post went viral.

suddenly everyone had something to say. “is that his kid?” “why did he leave her?” “he better come get his son.”

but she didn’t respond. she never has. the photo stayed up. the truth didn’t change.

she wakes up every morning to a tiny laugh. to fingers gripping hers. to a love so loud it drowns everything else.

until today.

because today, drew came back. stood on her porch with red eyes and shaking hands and said — “i see him everywhere. i can’t live like this.”

he said he hears the baby in songs. sees him in shadows. he said he thought leaving would protect her. that he wasn’t good enough. wasn’t ready. he said he was wrong.

and she stood there. arms crossed over a sweatshirt stained with spit-up. and she didn’t say yes.

she didn’t let him hold the baby. she didn’t let him inside.

she just said, “now you see him?”

and closed the door.

⸻

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