Chapter 6
Two weeks later, Ethan’s life is unrecognizable.
He’s moved into the new house.
Three bedrooms.
Big backyard.
Batting cage going in next week.
He’s taken a job as a consultant with a local security firm.
Good money.
Flexible hours.
Enough time to be at every practice.
Every game.
Every school event.
Lucas is thriving.
He’s talking to Ethan every day.
Texts him silly memes.
Asks him to practice.
Calls him “Ethan” still.
Not “Dad.”
But that’s okay.
It’s enough.
For now.
Clara is… complicated.
Some days she’s warm.
Laughs at his bad jokes.
Remembers things from when they were kids.
Other days she’s distant.
Cold.
Remembers that she’s married.
That this man showing up has turned her whole world upside down.
Mark is harder to read.
He’s polite.
Civil.
They coach practice together now.
Ethan helps with the pitchers.
Mark does the hitting.
They make a good team.
But there’s always that edge.
That unspoken thing between them.
Who does Lucas really belong to?
It comes to a head on a Tuesday night.
Lucas has a fever.
A hundred and three.
Clara calls Ethan first.
She doesn’t even think about it.
Just dials his number.
Panicked.
“Ethan. It’s Lucas. He’s burning up. Mark’s out of town on a job. I don’t… I don’t know what to do.”
Ethan is there in four minutes.
He’s had his bag packed since the day he moved in.
Children’s Tylenol.
Cool cloths.
Gatorade.
Popsicles.
Everything a sick kid might need.
He takes over.
Calms Clara down.
Gets Lucas into cool pajamas.
Monitors his temperature.
Sits by the bed all night.
Tells him stories.
Stupid stories about the army.
About training exercises gone wrong.
Lucas laughs even though he feels terrible.
By morning, the fever breaks.
Lucas is asleep.
Pale.
But breathing easy.
Ethan and Clara sit in the kitchen.
Drinking coffee.
Exhausted.
“Thank you,” Clara says quietly.
“You don’t have to thank me. He’s my son.”
She reaches across the table.
This time she doesn’t pull back.
She covers his hand with hers.
“I was so scared last night. And then you were just… there. Like you always should have been.”
Her voice cracks.
“I hate them, Ethan. I hate your father. I hate my father. They took all of this from us. All these years. All these nights. We could have had this. A house. A family. Together.”
Tears spill down her face.
Ethan turns his hand over.
Laces their fingers together.
“We can still have it. Not… not this. Not right now. But we can have something. Lucas can have both his fathers. He can have all of us. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.”
Clara looks at him.
Really looks.
And for a second—
Just a second—
Ethan sees it.
The same look she used to give him.
When they were eighteen.
When the whole world was just the two of them.
She leans forward.
Just an inch.
Ethan’s heart stops.
And then—
The front door opens.
Mark walks in.
He’s been driving all night.
Got the call about Lucas.
Rushed home.
He stands in the doorway.
Sees them.
Hands laced together.
Leaning across the table.
The look on their faces.
His face goes white.
Then red.
Then something worse.
Betrayed.
“Mark—” Clara starts.
She yanks her hand back like she’s been burned.
But it’s too late.
He saw.
They both know he saw.
Mark drops his duffel.
Doesn’t say a word.
Just turns and walks right back out the door.
“Mark!”
Clara runs after him.
Ethan sits there.
Alone in the kitchen.
Listening to them argue on the porch.
He can’t make out the words.
But he hears the tone.
Hurt.
Anger.
Years of trust… cracking.
He knows he should leave.
That he’s the cause of this.
That his being here is destroying a marriage.
A family.
But then he hears Lucas crying upstairs.
Confused.
Scared.
And he can’t leave.
Not when his son needs him.
He goes up.
Sits on the bed.
Holds the boy while he cries.
“I heard them yelling,” Lucas whispers.
“Is it my fault? Are they fighting because of me?”
Ethan holds him tighter.
“Listen to me. None of this is your fault. None. Adults… we’re stupid sometimes. We make messes. And we say stupid things. But none of it is because of you. You are the best thing that ever happened to any of us. Do you understand? The best thing.”
Lucas nods into his chest.
Ethan holds him.
And makes a decision.
He’s going to end this.
Not by leaving.
Never by leaving.
But by finishing what he started with Harrison Carter.
And Robert Bennett.
Clara’s father.
The other man who helped steal his life.
May you like
Once they’re gone…
…maybe everyone can finally breathe.
