Page 38 of Catalyst

Her sleepy eyes blinked open as she made a face, one that was mostly hidden by her hair, and burrowed herself back into my chest. “I’m serious. Just five more.”

“Mmmm, what’s in it for me?”

“I’ll let you feel the baby move.” She yawned as she readjusted herself.

Her cheek still lingered on my chest, and while it was clear she was more awake, it was also clear she wasn’t going anywhere yet.

“It does that?” I asked with a curl of my lip.

“He.” Callie corrected. “He’s been doing it for a while, but last night was the first time Isawit.”

“He’s pissed you took his powers away.” I shrugged, still trying to decide if I wanted to take her up on the offer.

The idea of feeling a baby move seemed gross. Something writhing underneath someone’s skin sounded like the premise of a horror movie, not a magical moment to enjoy. But… It was Callie, and obviously, she was excited about it. Why else would she offer to let me do it?

She pulled back just enough to look up at me. “Do you want to? … It’s okay if you don’t.”

Something about the way she said it—like she was already preparing herself for me to say no—irritated me to no end. I could brush off a lot of things, but disappointing her? Howdareshe think I’d do that.

“It’s not that–I just, I’m not used to babies,” I said, trying to sound casual as I lifted my hand, letting it hover above her stomach. “Uhh… where is he?”

I didn’t miss the small smile she tried to hide as she took me by the hand, guiding my palm to rest low on her stomach. Something about this act of intimacy felt heavier than everythingelse we’d been doing… but it also feltnice. Like somehow, this made us more than fuck buddies.

We sat there in silence, my hand against her belly, waiting. I almost felt stupid. And then—there it was. A faint push against my hand. Like the little guy was telling me to get off his mom.

“I… wow.” My voice came out rougher than expected.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to recoil in disgust or if I wanted to chase the feeling just one more time to make sure that it was him and not some undisclosed parasite.

“It’s weird, right?” She laughed, and I had to admit it was nice seeing her perk up a bit.

“Yeah,” My admission was soft. “Weird.”

But that didn’t quite cover it. Feeling that little thump had done something to me—something I wasn’t sure I liked. Something that made all ofthisfeel way too real.

She nudged my palm back against her stomach, and I didn’t fight it. In some fucked up part of my brain, I was glad she’d made my decision for me. We waited in silence for the baby to kick again, and I kept my gaze on my hand, but I could feel her watching me. I just didn’t know why.

Eventually, another, much softer flutter brushed against my hand. This one caused a weird lump to form in my throat.

The kid was real—alive and kicking. I could almost picture him in there, probably getting bigger by the day. It should have freaked me out. And honestly, it did a little, but it was also kind of exciting.

“Does he have a name?” The shake in my voice was fucking embarrassing.

She let go of my hand, leaving me to run it back and forth over the curve of her stomach.

“Sulien mentioned the name Sawyer before he died… but, he was also convinced we’d be having a girl.” She said, almost sounding a little disappointed.

Sawyer Seo…orSawyer Voltaris. I wasn’t super into Callie keeping her family’s last name after everything they’ve done to her, but the name sounded good either way.

“I think Sawyer is a good name for a boy too… assumingyoulike it.”

She nodded.

“Then Sawyer it is.” My throat tightened as soon as the words fell from my lips.

I just helped name Sulien’s kid… was I allowed to do that? Sure, it wasn’t like he was going to fucking do it. But… that felt like I was crossing an invisible boundary. Part of me wanted to blurt out that she could change it, that she wasn’t obligated to let me doanyof this. But… she didn’t seem to mind.

She placed her hand back on mine, softly tracing the red vine-like tattoos that wrapped around my fingers.

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