Love Died One Apology at a Time Chapter 04

Love Died One Apology at a Time Chapter 04

Ethan hadn’t been home for days.

The night he finally returned, he seemed surprised to find me awake.

“Why are you back?”

His voice was quiet.

“Just grabbing some things.”

Then he added, “Riley’s unstable. I’m going to stay with her.”

I ignored him.

He sighed. “Claire, you saw what happened today. I had no choice.”

The room was silent except for my movements.

Ethan frowned.

He pressed a hand against the half-open closet door and grabbed my wrist.

Then his anger seemed to fade when he realized I was only packing his clothes.

“Just bring a few things. I’ll be back in a few days. You don’t need that many.”

I looked at him calmly.

“Take everything as soon as possible. “I’m selling the house.”

The pile of clothes slipped from my hands and fell to the floor.

Ethan yanked me toward him.

His words came through clenched teeth.

“Claire Bennett, what crazy thing are you saying now?”

“I already explained it to you. Teenagers are sensitive. I was just humoring her. It doesn’t count!”

I met his glare.

“Ethan, we got together on my eighteenth birthday.”

He didn’t understand. Or maybe he refused to.

“So what? Was I supposed to let her die?”

“What are you even upset about?”

I said nothing.

Ethan was busy fulfilling his promise.

He and Riley seemed determined to cram everything they would never be able to do in the future into those seven days.

I was busy too. Moving. Selling the house.

Every so often, anonymous numbers would send me pictures.

Photos of Ethan and Riley together.

I thought that was it.

But life always found new ways to surprise me.

The day the house went on the market, I found out I was pregnant.

The weather was wrong. The rain never came. The air was heavy.

“I was injured before. I had injections.”

“I fell that day. My stomach hurt, but I didn’t think much of it.”

“After that, I cried several times. One time I even started bleeding afterward. I thought it was just because I was emotional.”

I stared at my doctor. Tears blurring my vision.

My thoughts felt slow.

My words came even slower.

She sighed. “Take it easy. I’ve booked you for tomorrow’s checkup. We’ll see how the baby’s doing.”

I had no idea how Ethan found me.

“Claire, you actually sold the house?”

Just hearing him made every part of my body ache.

“Claire, I’m talking to you!”

The test results slipped from my fingers and landed on the floor.

Ethan saw them. Read them again, like he couldn’t believe it.

His voice cracked.

“Claire, you’re pregnant?”

“We’re having a baby?”

He looked like he was trying desperately to contain himself.

His hand reached toward me, then stopped halfway.

“I’ll move back tonight. I’ll take care of you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I let out a quiet laugh.

“Aren’t you busy dating someone else?”

His smile immediately faltered.

“Claire, it wasn’t real.”

“Besides, the seven days I promised her are almost over. Today’s the sixth day.”

“Just wait for me.”

“Riley’s here too. I’ll explain everything to her right now.”

Explain? Could he really?

Right then, Riley came charging at me with a knife, and drove it straight into my stomach.

She was screaming.

“I won’t let you take him from me! He’s mine! He’s mine!”

“We’ve already done everything together! I slept with him!”

“If you can have his baby, then so can I!”

At first, the wound felt cold.

Then agony exploded through my body.

Blood poured endlessly from the wound.

For a moment, Ethan just stood there.

Riley had asked to talk to me alone. He’d let her.

Then the blade caught the light.

And the rain that had been threatening all day finally came down.

A violent storm erupted overhead.

Rainwater mixed with blood.

Red streaks spread across the ground and washed everywhere.

I watched Ethan stumble toward me.

For the first time in my life, I saw him completely broken.

I had never realized rain could make someone feel this cold.

My consciousness began slipping away.

I felt smaller and smaller.

Like I was disappearing from the world.

“Claire—”

“Don’t close your eyes. Please, please look at me—”

Ethan was screaming.

Rain. Tears. Blood. All mixed.

Only moments ago, he had been looking at me with certainty.

Promising me a future.

“From now on, it’ll be the three of us.”

But Ethan…

Look at us now.

We don’t even have a tomorrow.