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Chapter 7 - Ethan: Don’t Speak
I was going to kill Lily. I wondered if firing her on the first day would be a bit drastic but, with the anger I was feeling right now, I didn’t care.
I walked my sister to my office. I hadn’t seen her in almost two weeks. Once we were in the confines of my office, I turned to face her.
“What’s going on with the case?”
“I didn’t come here to talk about the case, E. You and I both know why I’m really here.”
I sighed, leaning against my desk. “Are we really going to do this now, Jade? I told you if it’s not case related, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Then when are we going to talk about anything, Ethan? It’s been months of me living here, and you are avoiding me like the plague.”
I could see the hurt swimming in her eyes. It was like a dagger straight to my heart. I didn’t want to hurt her. This was killing me just as much as it was killing her.
“I’m not avoiding you like the plague.”
“You avoid my calls. You ignore my texts. And whenever I come around, you are never home. You are avoiding me, Ethan, and I don’t understand why. I moved back so we could be a family.”
“No. You moved back so you could be close to your boy toy. You didn’t move back for me, Jade.”
She rolled her eyes. “He was one reason, and you were another. I don’t get why you are just giving me the cold shoulder. What is this about? Is it still about mom? I thought you ended things months ago?”
I felt something twist inside my chest. This was not a conversation I wanted to have.
“Leave Jade. I have patients to attend to.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared me down. She was always a stubborn child.
“I’m not leaving until you tell me why you are treating me like this. If this is about mom, then we need to talk about it. I read her letter, Ethan, you even said I wasn’t the one who killed her. So, I don’t understand why you keep looking at me like I deserve to have my head cut off.”
I slammed my hand down on my desk.
“Fucking hell, Jade! None of this is about you. The world doesn’t fucking revolve around you. You are not that important that my every thought is about Jade Masters.”
She opened her mouth to speak.
“Leave!” My voice vibrated off the office walls. I was sure Lily had heard us by now.
Jade shut her mouth and turned on her heels. She placed her hand on the knob, but she didn’t exit my office.
“She would hate this, you know?” Her back was still turned to me. “She wanted us to be a family. She wanted us united, not this stupid divide we have.”
She opened the door and left my office. I didn’t move an inch. The silence around me became louder, and the pressure in my chest increased as the seconds ticked by.
“Fuck,” I choked out. I felt the teardrop on my hand. I quickly blinked away whatever tears had pooled into my eyes.
I stood from my desk and made my way to the cooling station off to the corner. I poured myself a glass of water, wishing more than anything that it was another clear liquid that was much stronger.
A knock sounded at my door.
“What?”
The door opened slightly, and Lily peeked her head through. Her blue-grey eyes watched me cautiously.
“Is now a good time?” She bit down on her lip.
For some reason, I felt the urge to go and pull her lip from between her teeth. The action was stirring something in me that had been dormant for a long time. What the hell was going on with me?
