The Day Ethan Cole Got Sick — And Greyhaven Refused to Let Him Be Alone
Chapter 10
That afternoon, Ethan received a message from Claire.
You scared everyone.
He stared at it.
He typed:
Sorry.
She replied:
That’s not what I meant.
Ethan waited.
Another message appeared.
You don’t have to apologize for getting sick.
He smiled.
Then another.
You just have to let people know when you’re not okay.
Ethan thought about that.
He had spent years believing that admitting weakness gave people power over him.
Now he was starting to see the opposite.
Maybe honesty gave people a chance to help.
Maybe hiding pain only made it heavier.
That evening, Ethan walked along Harbor Road.
The town was quiet.
He passed houses.
Porches.
Cars.
The harbor.
He remembered the storm.
The festival.
The nights at the diner.
The people who had slowly become familiar.
He had once arrived in Greyhaven expecting to leave.
Now he had stopped thinking about leaving.
That realization didn’t frighten him anymore.
It felt good.
