Eleanor hopped off the bus and took off running toward the neighborhood. Just as she turned the corner, she nearly bumped right into Ethan, who was carrying a lunchbox, clearly on his way to take her food at school.
"Eleanor?" Ethan blinked, confused, holding the box mid-air like he hadn't quite processed what he was seeing. Why was she back so early?
"Martin..." The moment Eleanor saw him, all the emotions she'd been bottling up burst out at once.
She rushed over and threw her arms around him, her whole body trembling as she kept whispering, "Martin... Martin..."
She was overwhelmed—scared, exhausted, and for a second, she even considered just giving up completely.
"What happened? What's wrong? It's okay, I'm here now. Don't be scared, okay?" Ethan was flustered, clearly
