Page 74 of Chloé

“Uh oh, looks like your mom is getting talked into another special deal,” Dad said as they stopped on the side of the road and waited for it to clear.

The port and marina only had one road through it, which made it busy during peak hour, like now. But they weren’t in a rush, and Ethan had his gelato, so he didn’t care how long he had to wait.

His dad, however, clearly felt different, groaning with every new item Mom picked up.

“Remind me to never let her loose again,” he said, smiling down at Ethan, not serious in the slightest.

Ethan knew how much his dad loved his mom, and vice versa. He would give her the world if he could. But since that wasn’t for sale, he’d decided he would take her to every place in it instead.

“Looks like a break is coming up. Give me your hand.” Dad balanced the two cups of gelato in one hand and took Ethan’s hand in the other, and as the cars and trucks cleared, they stepped out on the road and made their way across.

At their approach, Mom looked up and spotted them coming her way. She put one of the bowls down, her bright smile widening as she waved and called out to them, and they stepped up on the other side of the curb where the shop was located.

That was when Ethan’s entire world exploded.

The joy on his mom’s face turned to fear, her wave was now an arm reaching out to grab him, and the greeting she had been giving turned to a scream. The smile on her face was replaced with abject horror—then everything went black.

Seconds…

Minutes…

Hours…

Days.

Timehadfrozen.

Or maybe it didn’t exist at all anymore.

Maybe he was dead. Maybe he was—

“So sad what happened…”

“Tragic.”

“How old is the boy?”

“Eight, poor thing.”

Soft voices filtered through the black void of Ethan’s subconscious as he stirred in the hard bed he lay on. He was cold, the sheets draped over him paper thin, and the pillow under his head was flat as a board. There was a weird smell in the air—like bleach and lemons—and as he tried to open his eyes, a bright light flickered off in the distance.

“Come on, Ethan.” The voice was much closer now, right by his ear. “It’s time to wake up.”

Wake up? He wasn’t asleep. He could hear everything she was saying, but when he went to tell her that, nothing came out.

“Little lamb is probably hiding in there. Can’t say I blame him. There’s not much to look forward to out here.”

A shiver skated up his spine as that light in the distance started to flicker. What was she talking about? What did they mean, “out here”? Where were his mom and dad?

He didn’t understand what was going on, and it was starting to scare him.

“Hard to believe it’s been a week now and no one’s come for him.”

“I know. It’s just heartbreaking. The doctors said the only thing wrong with him is the broken arm—other than that, he’s physically fine.”

“Except he won’t wake up.”

“Except that.”

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