Under Her Roof: 3. The Consequence

Morning light spilled across the kitchen, thin and cold.

Ethan sat at the table with his hands wrapped around a mug that had long gone cold, watching the world through the window as if it might somehow explain him. The guilt in his chest was a living thing now — heavy, breathing, and unwilling to let him rest.

Clara hadn’t come down yet. The house was too still, the way it is after a storm when nothing has returned to normal. He’d spent most of the night awake, listening to the rain taper off, to his own thoughts circling back to the same useless questions.

What had he done?

The sound of soft footsteps broke through the quiet. Clara appeared in the doorway, her hair still damp from a shower, a faint trace of nervousness in her smile. She hesitated before speaking.

“Marissa texted,” she said. “She’s on her way back.”

Ethan nodded. “Good.”

It was all he could say without his voice cracking.

Clara lingered, looking at him like she was trying to