The next few days passed in a careful rhythm. During the day, everything looked normal. Ryan went to work, Ethan spent time at his garage, and I tried to focus on my college assignments. But at night, the house felt different. Every creak of the floorboards made me nervous. Every time Ryan looked at us a little too long, my stomach tightened.One evening, Ryan had to work late on a project. The house was quiet again. Ethan texted me: “Come downstairs when you’re free. I’m in the living room.”I waited a few minutes before going down. Ethan was sitting on the couch, the TV on low. He smiled when he saw me and patted the spot next to him. I sat close, but not too close — just in case.“I missed talking to you today,” he said softly. He took my hand under a throw pillow. “It’s getting harder pretending nothing’s changed.”“Same here,” I replied. “I keep thinking about the lake house. How simple it felt when it was just us and the snowstorm.”Ethan nodded. He gently rubbed his thumb over
最後更新 : 2026-06-18
