WhyDoesHeLookLikeMe?
1407 Words
The next morning, Ethan looked terrible.
Liza noticed immediately.
Dark circles beneath his eyes.
Tension in his shoulders.
A haunted expression.
“You didn’t sleep.”
It wasn’t a question.
Ethan wrapped both hands around a mug of coffee.
“No.”
Liza sat across from him.
“What happened?”
For several moments he remained silent.
Then he spoke.
“I caught you.
Every muscle in her was tensed.
“What?”
“In my dream.”
The coffee suddenly tasted bitter.
Liza carefully set her mug down.
“What kind of dream?”
Ethan’s gaze found hers.
And something in his expression made her heart stop.
Confusion.
Pain.
Recognition.
“I don’t know.”
His voice lowered.
“But you were crying.”
The room fell silent.
Noah continued eating cereal.
Totally unaware that the world around him had just changed.
Liza could not breathe.
Ethan edged a little closer.
“I saw myself, too.
Her pulse pounded.
"What is happening?
His jaw was tight.
His face showed a flicker of anger.
I was pissed.
Liza turned her head.
She already knew it.
Some memories never dimmed.
* * * Five years later.
“I remember feeling betrayed.
The words struck like a punch.
Because that’s exactly what Ethan thought she’d done, betrayed him.
Even though she hadn't.
Even if she had spent years hoping he would hear her.
Years. Wishing he'd believed her.
Years of wanting things to have ended differently.
Ethan looked closely at her.
“You know something,”
This wasn't a question.
Liza stopped.
I don't.
“Yes you do.”
His voice was steady.
But.
“You keep staring at me like you’re waiting for something.”
The accuracy of the observation irritated her.
Ethan said.
Who are you?”
Liza swallowed hard.
“I’m Liza.”
“Nope.
His gaze flew to hers.
“Who are you to me?”
The question took the wind out of her.
Too many responses.
Former worker.
Ex-lover.
Ex-enemy
Mother of the child.
The truth was a bomb between them.
One she wasn't ready to blow off.
Not yet.
Not when he was weak.
Not while danger still clung to him.
And certainly not with Noah just three feet away.
“Mummy?”
Then suddenly the little boy said.
Liza gave a leap.
Noah frowned.
“Why are you sad?
It was an innocent question and broke the tension.
For a moment there was silence.
Then Ethan looked at Noah.
And instantly his face softened.
“Who are you to me?”
The question took the wind out of her.
Too many responses.
Former worker.
Ex-lover.
Ex-enemy
Mother of the child.
The truth was a bomb between them.
One she wasn't ready to blow off.
Not yet.
Not when he was weak.
Not while danger still clung to him.
And certainly not with Noah just three feet away.
“Mummy?”
Then suddenly the little boy said.
Liza gave a leap.
Noah frowned.
“Why are you sad?
It was an innocent question and broke the tension.
For a moment there was silence.
Then Ethan looked at Noah.
And instantly his face softened.
The fury was gone.
The confusion was gone.
The strange connection returned.
Tough.
Natural.
Inexplainable.
Noah smiled.
And Ethan smiled at him.
Neither knew why looking at each other seemed so familiar.
Neither knew why together felt right.
But Liza did.
And to see them nearly broke her heart.
⸻
That afternoon, Liza returned to the bakery while Noah napped upstairs.
Business was not good.
Rain still drizzling outside.
The streets remained quiet.
For the first time that day, she allowed herself to breathe.
Her phone vibrated.
A note.
Unknown Number
.Her stomach tightened.
She opened the door.
The color immediately drained from her face.
There was a photo attached.
A recent image.
Outside her bakery.
In the picture, Ethan was by the window.
Someone had been watching.
Close observation.
Another note came.
YOU CAN’T HIDE HIM FOREVER.
Liza’s hands began to shake.
And then there was a third message.
NEXT TIME WE WON'T BE SO POLITE.
A cold terror settled in her chest.
Because this was no longer about finding Ethan.
This was a danger.
Use caution.
And whoever was hunting him was coming closer.
Closer. Much closer.
Upstairs near Noah’s bedroom was Ethan.
Another Memory Flash hit without warning.
A woman crying.
Green eyes.
Tears.
Then a tiny ultrasound shot.
He took a breath.
Before he could understand it, the image was gone.
But there was one impossible thought left.
A kid.
The memory was of a child.
And for reasons he couldn’t explain…
When he thought of that child...
Immediately, I thought of Noah.
All night the message haunted Liza.
YOU CAN'T KEEP HIM HIDDEN FOREVER.
No matter how many times she locked the door,
No matter how many times she gazed at the windows.
The fear was present.
Someone had known Ethan was here.
Someone was watching them.
And someone wanted him to be found.
Or worse.
There was no way I was going to sleep.
By morning, exhaustion sat heavily beneath her eyes.
Somehow Noah woke up with the energy of three people.
“Mother!”
His voice thundered through the apartment.
Liza let out a groan.
What’s the story?
Noah dashed into her room.
Drowsy.
In full dress.
Holding a toy dinosaur.
“Ethan said he’s going to teach me chess!
Liza blinked.
“What?
Noah nodded with excitement.
“Dinosaurs can apparently learn strategy.”
She couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
Only Noah could understand that sentence.
She found Ethan at the kitchen table downstairs.
Between him and an empty chair was a chessboard.
Noah took the seat across from him.
Very serious looking.
Very determined.
Very unqualified.
Liza made herself some coffee.
“What are you doing?”
Ethan looked up.
“Ready to get beat.
Noah gasped theatrically.
“I will win.
"You don't know the rules,"
I will win still.
To Ethan's surprise, he laughed.
Liza saw it immediately.
Now the laughter came more easily.
The smiles lingered longer.
His eyes were not so firm in their blackness.
And that frightened her.
Because she was starting to forget this wasn’t permanent.
His memories would come back sooner or later.
He would go away some time or other.
That thought hurt worse each day somehow.
⸻
An hour later Noah had learned exactly half the rules.
He ignored the other half.
Dinosaurs can jump over pieces.
“Nah.”
“They can do.”
'They can't.'
Sure they can.
Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose.
Noah grinned.
Liza nearly burst out laughing.
It was easy to see them as a couple.
Natural.
Real dangerously.
Every day their bond seemed to become stronger.
No questions asked.
Neither knew what it was.
But you could see it coming..
Liza in particular.
Noah looked between them suddenly.
Then he glared.
Frowned hard.
The way that children do when they are concentrating very hard.
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
The boy jabbed a finger at Ethan.
Then gestured at himself.
Then he nodded back at Ethan.
“Why do I look like him?”
Silence.
Silence. Complete silence.
Liza froze solid.
She squeezed the coffee mug with her fingers, a little.
Ethan blinked across the table.
Noah continued studying both of them.
Guiltless.
Completely unaware he’d just detonated a bomb.
I mean ...
The boy tilted his head.
We got kinda the same eyes.
Liza could not catch her breath.
Not now. Not now.
Not quite yet.
Ethan stared at Noah.
Really stared.
As if seeing him for the first time.
The same dark hair.
The same smile.
The same shape of eyes.
Things Ethan hadn’t consciously noticed before.
Things his subconscious had recognized immediately.
A strange feeling tightened in his chest.
Something powerful.
Something emotional.
Something he couldn’t explain.
Noah continued.
Blind.
"We have almost the same nose too."
She just wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole.
“Darling—”
"And we're both handsome.
Ethan spit his coffee out.
Noah nodded his head firmly.
"Very handsome."
The tension snapped.
Liza laughed in spite of herself.
Ethan laughed, too.
And somehow, the minute passed.
Later, while Noah wasn't watching, Ethan found himself looking at the boy again.
And again.
And once more.
Because now that he had seen the likenesses…
He couldn't get them out of his mind.
- Writer
