Late that night, Jeremy was on the phone.
His voice was low and serious.
"Lucas must not find out," he said. "Not now. Not ever. If he does, everything will fall apart."
There was a pause as he listened.
"I'll handle it," he added. "Just… don't say anything."
He ended the call and stood there for a moment, staring at nothing.
That was when Lucas walked in.
"Hey," Lucas said, dropping onto the bed. "You know Lily? He's changed a lot. He doesn't even feel like the same kid we used to know."
Jeremy's heart skipped, but he didn't let it show.
"People grow up," he said calmly. "That's all."
Lucas smiled to himself. "Still… it's weird. In a good way, though."
Jeremy nodded, pretending to be relaxed. Inside, his thoughts were loud.
Lucas had no idea.
And Jeremy was determined to keep it that way.
Lucas leaned back and sighed. "You know what? Let's go downstairs. I feel like Lily might still be uncomfortable. He just joined Gotham School and all… I think I should be closer to him."
Jeremiah looked at him. "How close?"
"I don't know. We've known him since we were kids. I don't want him to feel like he doesn't belong."
Jeremiah gave a small, dry smile. "Look at you. All gentle and careful. You know your friends are nothing like Lily, right? They're loud. They take up space. Lily doesn't do crowds. He never has."
"So what?" Lucas said. "He's changed, sure, but he's still Lily."
"How are you going to make him feel welcome when your friends alone could scare him off?"
"Hey," Lucas snapped, "leave my friends out of this."
His phone buzzed.
Jeremiah glanced at it. "Who's that?"
Lucas looked at the screen. "Veronica."
Something flickered in Jeremiah's eyes, just for a second.
"I'll take this outside," Lucas said, already standing up.
Outside, Veronica's voice came through the phone, playful but sharp. She was trying to get him to talk — about the woman he'd met earlier at the university, about what had really happened.
"Not now," Lucas said quietly. "We'll talk when we meet. Just drop it."
She hesitated, then sighed. "Fine."
She still cared. Even after everything.
Lucas didn't say it out loud, but he knew it.
The scene shifts to Lily.
He couldn't stop thinking about Lucas.
Why would Lucas cry like that?
What kind of pain makes someone forget everything around them?
It worried him. It confused him.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice his uncle until Darius tapped him lightly.
"Hey," he said. "You okay? You zoned out."
"Oh— sorry, Uncle. I was just thinking about school."
Darius smiled. "So? How was it?"
"It was good," Lily said. "Everyone seemed nice. I even made a few friends."
"That's good. Remember — good friends, not bad ones." He reached out. "Pass me the purple wrench. No — the blue one."
Lily froze.
Colors blurred together in his mind. Purple. Blue. They looked the same to him.
Darius noticed the way his face tightened. "Oh… sorry. I forgot."
He reached for the wrench himself.
Lily felt that small, familiar sting — the quiet sadness of not being able to do something so simple.
"It's just color," Darius said gently. "Don't worry about it."
Just then, Poppy walked in.
"Hi, Uncle Darius."
"Hey, Poppy. Back from school already?"
"Yeah."
"Shouldn't you be doing homework?"
"I just came to say hi."
Poppy turned to Lily and grinned. "We've only met once, but it already feels like we've known each other forever."
Lily rolled his eyes slightly, but he couldn't help smiling.
Darius chuckled.
Poppy's mother walked in just then, hands on her hips.
"Poppy," she said, "you just got back from school. Go take a bath, eat, and then you can come talk to Lily."
"Okay, Mom!" Poppy said, already turning away. "Wait for me, Lily! We're going to have fun."
"I'll be here," Lily said with a small smile.
The maid turned to Lily. "I need your help. Matthias and Jacob aren't around, and I have some things to do. Can you take these towels and dry cleaning up to Master Ezekiel's room?"
Lily nodded. "Sure."
He left his uncle in the garage and took the laundry upstairs. He cleaned his shoes first — the house rules were strict about dirt — then quietly walked down the hallway.
Ezekiel's door was slightly open.
Lily knocked twice. No answer.
He stepped inside.
The room was dark and quiet. He assumed Ezekiel wasn't there, so he walked in and set the clothes down. Then he noticed a small lamp glowing softly on the table.
It was pretty.
Without thinking, Lily walked over to it.
Behind him, Ezekiel was standing in the shadows.
He was about to ask what Lily was doing in his room when the light from the lamp touched Lily's face. For a second, Ezekiel forgot to speak.
Lily looked almost unreal — eyes bright, smile soft, standing in that warm glow like someone who didn't belong to the dark.
Ezekiel hadn't seen that kind of light in a long time.
Lily suddenly turned and froze when he saw him.
"Oh— I'm so sorry!" he said quickly. "I didn't know you were here."
"It's fine," Ezekiel replied, snapping out of it. "Just leave the clothes and go."
Lily nodded and rushed out, holding his chest as he left, heart racing.
Ezekiel watched him go… then let out a small laugh.
Clumsy. Strange.
But somehow… warm.
Outside, Lily nearly ran into Lucas.
"Hey," Lucas said. "I'm heading out to meet my friends. Come with me."
Lily hesitated, then smiled. "Okay."
Part of him was still worried about Lucas. If being there could help even a little, he was ready.
For old times' sake.
Lily followed Lucas to meet his friends.
They were at a loud, crowded bar high above the city. The music was heavy, the lights too bright. The moment Lily walked in with Lucas, some of the boys laughed.
"Which maid did you bring this time?" one of them joked.
"He's cute though," another added.
Lucas frowned. "That's not a maid. That's my childhood friend. Leave him alone."
Lily smiled politely, but he already felt out of place.
Veronica, who was sitting close to Lucas, kept watching him. Her eyes followed Lily wherever he moved, and it made his skin feel tight.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Lyros," Lily said softly.
"Lyros," she repeated. "That's… unusual."
"Thank you."
Lily sat beside Lucas because he was the only person he knew. But Veronica shifted closer to Lucas and then looked at Lily.
"Could you move?" she said lightly.
Lily hesitated, then nodded and went to sit farther down the lounge. Lucas didn't notice — he was already caught up with his friends.
Time passed. Drinks came. Laughter grew louder.
When Lucas reached for Lily's hand, it wasn't there.
"Where's Lily?" he asked.
"I don't know," Veronica replied, already pulling him back into conversation.
Across the room, Lily wasn't okay.
One of Lucas's friends had led him away while he was dizzy and unfocused. Lily could barely stand. He didn't understand what was happening — only that something felt wrong.
Then Lucas saw it.
The look in his eyes changed instantly.
He shoved through the crowd and pulled Lily back to himself.
"Don't touch him," Lucas snapped. "Don't you ever touch him."
Everyone froze.
Lucas didn't care who was watching. He wrapped an arm around Lily, holding him upright.
"My Lily," he said quietly, but dangerously. "He's not yours."
They tried to calm him, but he wouldn't let go.
He took Lily outside and got him into the car.
"What happened?" Lucas asked softly, brushing Lily's hair back. "What did they do?"
Lily was weak, barely able to answer. His face was hot, his body shaking.
Lucas's hands trembled with anger — not at Lily, but at himself for not noticing sooner.
He drove straight home.
When they arrived, Lucas stayed with Lily the whole time. He helped him clean up, gave him water, stayed close when he got sick, stayed close when he couldn't stand on his own.
He didn't leave.
Not even for a second.
Because whatever Lily was feeling, Lucas wasn't going to let him go through it alone.
Somewhere else, Veronica was starting to panic.
It wasn't supposed to go like that.
She only wanted Lucas away from Lily for a while. That was all. She never meant for anything bad to happen. She didn't know the person she had paid was someone dangerous.
Now her chest felt tight.
She called Lucas again and again.
No answer.
What she didn't know was that Lucas had put his phone on silent. He wasn't thinking about her, or his friends, or what anyone would say. He was sitting beside Lily, making sure he was breathing, making sure he was safe.
Nothing else mattered.
For the first time in a long while, Lucas wasn't choosing the world.
He was choosing Lily.
That night, Lily wasn't dreaming.
He was back there.
Back in the room where no one had protected him.
Back in the place where his voice didn't matter.
Back where his body wasn't his.
He was small.
He was scared.
And no one came.
"Don't touch me," he cried in his sleep.
"Please… don't…"
His body curled in on itself, shaking like he was trying to disappear.
Lucas woke to the sound.
"Lily?"
Lily gasped, choking on his own breath, tears running down his face. His hands clawed at the sheets, like he was trying to escape something only he could see.
"No… no… please…"
Lucas pulled him into his arms.
"You're here," Lucas whispered. "You're safe. I've got you."
But Lily was still fighting something from years ago.
A child who had learned that love could hurt.
A child who had learned that silence was survival.
When he finally came back to himself, he was crying so hard his whole body hurt.
Lucas held him. He didn't let go.
Whatever had happened to Lily had broken something deep inside him — something that never healed right.
And Lucas knew it.
He didn't know the details yet.
But he knew the truth.
Someone had stolen Lily's childhood.
And Lucas swore, in that quiet, shaking moment, that he would never let anyone hurt him again.