Page 156 of Faultlines

Ethan: That wasn’t a suggestion.

I hate you.

Ethan: No, you don’t.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

PERMANENT DISPLACEMENT

Ethan

“You need to leave.” Claire’s voice carries clearly from upstairs.

“I just want to talk to her,” says an unfamiliar sharp male voice.

I’m suddenly out of my chair taking the basement stairs two at a time. As I reach the first floor the voices get louder.

Rounding the corner, I spot who I assume is Jake. I’ve never met him, but I recognize him from descriptions. He’s taller than I expected, muscular, with dark hair and expensive clothes.

He starts laughing and then his expression changes so quickly I can’t follow it.

Angry.

Heartbroken.

Then smiling.

The smile is the worst part.

Claire steps into his path before he can move another inch toward the residential hallway. She’s standing perfectly still, but I know her too well. Her shoulders are higher than usual. Her right hand is curled so tightly at her side her knuckles have gone white.

She’s scared.

She’s just refusing to let him see it.

The kid points at Claire. “This is your fault.”

She doesn’t back down. “You need to leave, or I’m calling the authorities.”

“You turned her against me.” His voice rises.

“Jake—”

“You filled her head with lies.”

“Go upstairs,” Claire says to the girls standing in the hallway behind her. One girl starts crying. Heidi finally takes a cautious step backward. Then another. The others begin following her.

Jake watches every one of them leave without blinking. He takes another step forward. “I love her.”

Claire folds her arms, crisp and defiant. “No, you want to control her.”

His face twists with rage. “She belongs with me.”

Nobody speaks.

His statement makes my skin crawl. The building feels impossibly quiet. Even the old radiator I’d complained about all week has stopped clanking. Somewhere upstairs, a door closes.

Jake’s breathing sounds unnaturally loud.