CHAPTER 3: Ethan

The name "Ethan" didn’t even faze me when Mom first mentioned it. I mean, everyone knows an Ethan, right? It’s one of those names that’s everywhere. And yeah, there was an Ethan at my school who was basically the most popular guy there, the kind of guy who could have anyone he wanted, who everyone either admired, feared, or secretly crushed on. But what were the odds? I just didn’t make the connection.

Until now.

Because there he was, standing right in my doorway.

The Ethan. The one from my school. The Ethan who was in my grade, who girls swooned over, who teachers let slide by on charm alone, and who was always surrounded by a group of friends. The Ethan who had never even glanced my way before.

I felt my stomach drop. It was like the ground shifted beneath me, like I had just stepped into a nightmare where nothing made sense. This couldn’t be real. Of all the people in the world—of all the Ethans—it had to be him?

He stood there, looking at me, his eyes widening just a fraction before they narrowed, like he was piecing together who I was, too. I could practically see the gears turning in his head. And as we locked eyes, I felt frozen, like my feet were glued to the floor. I couldn’t look away, couldn’t even breathe.

Seconds passed, maybe only a handful, but they stretched out, each one heavier than the last. And then, just as fast as he had appeared, he turned and walked away, not saying a single word. No smirk, no greeting, nothing. He just…left.

I stood there, still staring at the doorway he had disappeared through, my mind racing in a million directions. So much for a fresh start. I had gone from "just Camila," the quiet, unnoticed girl at school, to "the girl who lives with Ethan."

If anyone at school found out about this, my life would be over. Done. Ruined. It didn’t take much for high school drama to spiral out of control, and something like this? It would spread like wildfire. I could already hear the whispers in my head: “Did you hear? Camila lives with Ethan now. She’s his stepsister.”

My heart pounded. I could picture the gossip and rumors twisting into all kinds of wild stories. And knowing the way people are at school, they would turn this whole thing into something it wasn’t. They would assume we were close, maybe even too close. High schoolers never needed the truth to make a mess out of someone’s life.

I sank onto the edge of my bed, pressing my palms against my face. This was not happening. I had been so nervous about this move, about meeting Greg and even Ethan, but this? This was beyond anything I could’ve prepared for. And the worst part? There was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I was stuck.

After a while, I got up, unpacking a few things to distract myself. I tried to shake it off, to tell myself that maybe he would just ignore me, and maybe, if I was really lucky, he would pretend he didn’t know me at school. We would just coexist in silence, pass each other like strangers. I mean, he hadn’t even said a word to me—just stared, probably as shocked as I was. Maybe he wasn’t any happier about this than I was.

Eventually, I wandered downstairs to grab a snack and see if Mom needed help with anything. I expected to bump into him again, to get some kind of second interaction, but the house was silent. Mom and Greg were somewhere, maybe on the back patio, laughing softly. The sound drifted through the house, and for a second, I almost felt calm again. Almost.

I tiptoed around the house, peeking into rooms, kind of half-expecting Ethan to pop up and make things awkward again. But he was nowhere to be found, and I didn’t see him for the rest of the day. Maybe he was hiding out in his room, or maybe he had gone out to see his friends. He was the kind of guy who always had somewhere to be, people to hang out with, things to do. And here I was, trying to figure out how I was going to survive even a single day of this.

I didn’t know what to do with myself, honestly. The whole day felt surreal. I was technically home, but I didn’t feel comfortable. I couldn’t just curl up in bed and read or scroll through my phone like usual. I felt on edge, like he might walk through the door at any second, and the quiet wouldn’t let me forget it.

By the time the sun started setting, I was exhausted, even though I did practically nothing all day. I slipped into my room, closed the door, and flopped onto the bed, hoping maybe sleep would come quickly and give me a break from all the stress. But as soon as I closed my eyes, my brain went into overdrive, replaying the image of Ethan standing in my doorway over and over again, until it was all I could see.

Finally, I gave up on sleeping and decided to text my best friend, Lexie. She was the only one who would get just how massive this was, how much my world had flipped upside down.

I typed out a message: Lex, you’re not going to believe who I’m living with now.

A few seconds later, my phone buzzed. What? Who? Tell me!

I took a deep breath and typed back: Ethan. Yes, that Ethan. Playboy Ethan. Popular-guy Ethan.

It took her a full minute to respond, and I could practically feel her shock through the phone. YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME. Are you serious?! Like, our school’s Ethan??

Yep.

She sent a series of exclamation points, then: How are you even handling this? Like, how is this real?

I have no clue. It’s like the universe just decided to mess with me, I replied, staring at my screen. I didn’t talk to him, and he didn’t talk to me. But if people at school find out…

Lexie’s response came instantly: You have to keep this quiet. You know how people are. They’ll turn this into the gossip of the year.

I groaned, sinking further into my bed. I know. But it’s like a ticking time bomb. I just know someone will find out eventually.

She sent a comforting message back, but it didn’t help much. As I lay there, staring at the ceiling, all I could think about was how everything had changed in just one day. How I had gone from quiet, unnoticed Camila to the girl living under the same roof as the most popular guy in school.

And the worst part? I had no idea what this was going to mean for me, for school, for everything. The peace and quiet I had counted on was gone, replaced with this never-ending anxiety that I couldn’t shake.

But, deep down, a tiny part of me knew that nothing was ever going to be the same again.

Not by a long shot.