The wooden chair scraped against the floorboards, a harsh, screeching sound that echoed through the sudden silence of the restaurant.
"Get out of my sight," Ethan said, his voice choking around the raw, ragged edge of his own breath. He swallowed hard, trying to keep the tremor in his chest from reaching his throat.
"I never want to see you again."
Billy pushed himself up from the floor, his fingers tracing the vivid red imprint of fingers blossoming across his neck. His eyes burned with a spiteful, desperate heat. "Fine," he spat, his breath coming in ragged hitches.
"But don't think you've won, loser!!"
He turned and stormed out, the heavy oak door slamming shut behind him. The bell above it chimed once—a horribly cheerful sound in the hollow air.
Ethan stood frozen in the quiet th
