The GHOST IN THE ROOM
877 Words
The Ghost in the Room
Ethan didn’t sit. He stood there, hands in his pockets, watching her like she might vanish if he blinked too long. Ava lifted her glass, took a slow sip, and met his stare head-on.
“You always did have dramatic timing,” she said, voice flat.
“You’re back,” he said like it was some revelation. “I didn’t think you’d ever come back.”
“I didn’t plan to.” She swirled the drink. “Life happens.”
“I heard about New York. The firm. You’re doing well.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Spying on me, Blake?”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Keeping up.”
“Well, don’t. We’re not friends. We don’t do that anymore.”
Silence. A long one. Heavy and sharp.
Ethan finally sat on the stool beside her, not asking for permission. He waved at the bartender. “Another scotch. Neat.”
Ava stiffened.
“So,” he said slowly, “what brings you back? Work?”
She looked at him. Really looked at him. He still had that careless charm. That air of a man who didn’t beg, didn’t break. But something about him seemed...off. Older. Heavier.
“I’m here to close a deal,” she lied. “Three days, maybe four. Then I’m gone.”
“Liar.”
Her jaw tensed. “Excuse me?”
“You never were good at it,” Ethan said quietly. “I know that look. You’re here for something personal. Or someone.”
Ava slammed the glass down harder than she meant to. “Don’t do that. Don’t talk to me like you know me. You lost that right the day you—”
She stopped herself.
He looked away.
She stood. “This was a mistake.”
“Ava—”
“No. Don’t ‘Ava’ me like you still matter.”
She turned and walked off without looking back, heart thudding like a warning drum.
Back in her hotel room, she collapsed onto the bed. The ceiling spun. The drink hit harder than expected, or maybe it was the sudden reappearance of the man she’d spent years trying to erase.
She should’ve known he’d be here. Ethan Blake never stayed away from anything for long—not even the wreckage he caused.
Her phone buzzed. Mia: “Saw your post. Dinner tomorrow?”
She replied with a thumbs-up. Anything to distract her. Anything but him.
But sleep didn’t come easy. All night, memories clawed their way up.
The night he walked away.
The lie he told.
The silence that followed.
---
The next morning was grey, wet, and too familiar. London weather always matched her moods.
Ava dressed in black slacks, white blouse, sleek blazer. Hair in a bun. No emotion. All business. She had a meeting to fake her reason for being here. Then maybe she’d visit her parents. Maybe not.
Downstairs, her heels echoed in the lobby. She didn’t notice him until she reached the front door.
Ethan.
Leaning against the marble wall, coffee in hand like this was normal. Like they were normal.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I was hoping you’d talk to me. Properly.”
“There’s nothing left to say.”
“There’s five years of silence between us. That’s a lot of nothing.”
She didn’t stop walking. He followed.
“I’m not here for you, Ethan. I don’t care what you want.”
“Yes, you do. Or you wouldn’t have left like you did.”
Ava spun around. “You really want to go there? After what you did?”
“I had no choice.”
“You had every choice. You just didn’t choose me.”
People passed around them. London life moved on. But their world was frozen in that moment.
“You think I wanted that?” he said, voice low. “You think I didn’t break too?”
“You broke me, Ethan. You broke us.”
His jaw clenched. “You don’t know the full story.”
“I know enough.”
“No,” he said. “You don’t.”
He took a step closer. Too close.
“There were things I couldn’t tell you then. Things I still can’t explain now.”
“Try me.”
“I can’t.”
“Then walk away. Again. Like you always do.”
She turned.
But this time, he didn’t let her go.
“I didn’t cheat, Ava.”
The words hit like a punch.
She froze.
“What?”
He looked straight into her eyes. “That’s what you thought, right? That I cheated. That I picked someone else.”
She said nothing.
“I didn’t.”
“Then what happened?”
He looked away. “It’s complicated.”
“You don’t get to drop that bomb and walk away.”
“I had to protect someone. I had to lie.”
“And you chose the lie over me.”
His silence was the answer.
She shook her head. “You should’ve let me hate you. It was easier than this.”
And just like that, she left him standing there, again, holding words that came five years too late.
- Writer
