He Thought I’d Never Leave Chapter 05
By the time Ethan brought Claire back to The Parker Postnatal Center after the hospital, it was fully dark.
He drove in silence. Claire sat in the passenger seat, glancing at him now and then.
“Ethan, don’t be angry with Emily. She really didn’t mean it.”
Claire’s voice was soft and low.
“She was just having a bad day. When she calms down, I’ll go talk to her.”
Ethan’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. His throat moved once.
“She didn’t used to be like this.”
His voice held a weariness he couldn’t quite name.
“She always used to think of other people first. Never picked a fight. When did she become this?”
Claire looked down and said nothing.
Streetlamps flicked past the window, lighting his profile in flashes.
“Take care of yourself. Don’t worry about her. I’ll handle it.”
He walked her inside, reminded the nurse to change her dressings that night, and left.
He stood outside the entrance and smoked a cigarette. The late-autumn wind cut through to the bone.
When he got home, the living room was dark.
He flipped the hallway light on and headed to the bedroom, shoes traded for slippers.
The moment he opened the door, his eyes went straight to the bed.
Empty.
The covers folded neatly.
He froze for a second, then pulled out his phone to call me. He scrolled to my number—and stopped.
He thought about how it always used to go.
Whenever we fought, whenever I stormed out, I always came back on my own within three days.
Sometimes he’d give me the silent treatment. Sometimes he’d leave me alone for a work trip and I’d get angry and move out for a few days.
But in the end, it was always me. Me who texted first. Me who softened first. Me who said, Ethan, remember to eat when you’re done with work.
He’d never once come looking for me.
This time would be the same, wouldn’t it?
Ethan tossed the phone onto the nightstand, shrugged off his coat, and lay down.
The sheets still carried my perfume. He rolled over and pressed his face into the pillow.
“She’ll come back when she’s done with the tantrum.”
He said it to himself. Then he closed his eyes.