(Clara)
For a few seconds, I genuinely thought I had misheard him, not because the question was unclear.
It was painfully clear.
The problem was that I had spent so much time avoiding that question myself that hearing it spoken out loud felt like someone had ripped the floor out from underneath me.
Ethan sat beside me in the driver's seat, waiting quietly for an answer, and the worst part was that he wasn't angry.
If he had been angry, this would have been easier.
If he had been accusing me of something, I could have defended myself but he wasn't doing either of those things.
He was simply looking at me and waiting, probably trying to understand and that made the guilt twice as painful.
"Ethan..." I said softly, but my voice sounded strange even to my own ears.
He nodded slowly.
