THE HOUSE ETHAN COLE BUILT FOR TWO
Chapter 5
Lily arrived on a cloudy Saturday afternoon.
Ethan had been waiting outside for twenty minutes.
He checked the road.
Nothing.
Checked again.
Still nothing.
Then a car appeared.
Ethan’s stomach tightened.
The car stopped.
The door opened.
Lily stepped out.
She was carrying the same little backpack.
Ethan noticed that immediately.
It looked smaller than he remembered.
She saw him.
For a moment, she didn’t move.
Then she ran.
Ethan barely had time to open his arms.
She crashed into him.
He held her.
Tightly.
Neither said anything.
The driver stood nearby, smiling quietly.
Eventually Lily pulled away.
“You came.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I said I would.”
She looked past him.
“Is that the house?”
“Yeah.”
She stared.
Then looked at him again.
“Ours?”
Ethan nodded.
“Ours.”
Lily walked toward the front door.
Ethan followed.
He unlocked it.
The door opened.
She stepped inside.
Her eyes moved across the living room.
The couch.
The table.
The fireplace.
The stairs.
Then she saw the hallway.
“Where’s my room?”
Ethan pointed upstairs.
She ran.
Ethan smiled.
