Chapter 8 - Choosing the PathTwo agonizing weeks passed.
I quit my job at the tech store the very next morning, taking a night shift at a local distribution warehouse just to keep food on my table and my mind busy. I couldn't bear to see Ryan's empty desk or face the silent judgment of our old routine.
I didn't call Julia. As much as my heart screamed for her voice, I knew she needed space to heal the breach with her son. I spent my nights staring at the ceiling of my thin-walled apartment, wondering if I had ruined three lives just because I couldn't suppress a feeling.
On a rainy Thursday night, my doorbell rang.
I opened the door, expecting a delivery driver.
Instead, Ryan stood on my landing under the dim porch light.
He looked terrible. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, his hair was unkempt, and he was soaked from the rain. He looked younger, smaller, and deeply worn down.
We stood in silence for a long moment while the rain rattled against the aluminum gutters.
"Can I come in?" Ryan asked quietly, his voice devoid of the rage from two weeks ago.
"Yeah," I said, stepping aside. "Come in."
Ryan walked into my messy living room, holding a damp paper bag in his hands. He set it on the coffee table.
"I brought those terrible burgers from next to the shop," he said faintly, offering a ghost of a smile.
I sat on the edge of the couch across from him. "How is she, Ryan?"
Ryan swallowed hard, looking down at his worn Vans. "She's miserable, Ethan. She hasn't cooked a real meal since you left. She goes to work, comes home, cleans the house in silence, and pretends she's okay whenever I walk into the room."
He paused, his hands trembling slightly. "I thought I was protecting her. I thought you were just taking advantage of her... but last week, my dad came by again when I was home. He started talking trash about her, calling her desperate, saying no real man would ever want her."
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My jaw tightened. "What did you do?"
"I threw him out," Ryan said, looking up at me with raw honesty. "And then I realized... the only time in ten years I've seen my mom actually laugh, actually care about herself, and dress up because she felt beautiful... was when you were around."
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