THE HOUSE ETHAN COLE BUILT FOR TWO
Chapter 7
The first night was difficult.
Not for Ethan.
For Lily.
At 2:13 a.m., he heard footsteps upstairs.
He opened his bedroom door.
Lily was standing in the hallway.
She held Charlie against her chest.
Ethan crouched down.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head.
“Can’t sleep.”
He nodded.
“Nightmare?”
Another shake.
Ethan waited.
Finally, she whispered:
“I don’t know if this is real.”
Ethan’s chest tightened.
He looked at her.
“What?”
“The house.”
She looked toward the bedroom.
“Tomorrow… will I still be here?”
Ethan didn’t answer immediately.
He understood the question.
It wasn’t about the house.
It was about everything before it.
Every place that had never truly been hers.
Every adult who had promised something and disappeared.
Every morning when she didn’t know what would happen next.
Ethan sat on the hallway floor.
Lily sat beside him.
He looked at her.
“You’ll be here tomorrow.”
She watched him carefully.
“And the day after?”
“Yes.”
“And next week?”
“Yes.”
“Next year?”
Ethan smiled.
“Yes.”
She was quiet.
“Forever?”
Ethan took a breath.
“Forever.”
Lily leaned against him.
Ethan stayed there until she fell asleep.
