Page 96 of Fight Or Flight

“Hello?” Ethan said, answering and walking out of the room to the kitchen. Luckily, Amy didn’t follow.

“Hey. Where are you?” he asked with an urgency that made Ethan’s fists twitch.

“My parents’, why? What’s wrong?”

“Are you with Natalie?”

It took a moment for the question to sink in. But hearing the question correctly didn’t mean he actually understood it. “Huh?”

“Natalie. Have you seen her?”

“How would I have seen her? I’m here.”

“Yeah, so is she! Why the fuck haven’t you got an Instagram account yet? Ninety-five percent of your problems could be solved with an Instagram account.”

Ethan shook his head, trying to clear the confusion. “Start over, Adam.”

“Natalie is back in Mapleton. She just posted a bunch of pictures to her Instagram Stories of her—”

“I gotta go,” Ethan said, then hung up on Adam.

He stared at the phone in his hand for a minute. If she was back, why hadn’t she called him, or texted him, or stopped by? Maybe she didn’t want to see him. Maybe she thought he wouldn’t want to see her.

He didn’t know.

But he wasn’t about to sit there wondering any longer.

He walked back into the living room. “Sorry, I gotta go.”

“Is something wrong? Is Adam okay?” his mom asked.

“Yeah, he’s fine.”

“Then what is so important that you’re going to miss the first viewing of my wedding video?” Amy asked.

“Natalie is back.”

Without waiting for a reaction, he threw on his shoes at the front door and jogged out to his brand new hybrid Jeep parked in the driveway. He was finally getting a second chance to tell Natalie how he felt, and he was going to take it, even if she was only in town temporarily. Even if he had to scream it at her. Dithering back and forth endlessly analyzing the possibilities and outcomes of every decision was a thing of the past.

He was going to tell her he loved her.

Now.

Ethan pulled his Jeep up to the front of Monroe Manor, turned it off, and sprinted to the front door. He knocked. Waited. Knocked again.

Chelsea’s car was in the driveway, which meant she must be there. He’d been told that Chelsea had moved out when Natalie left, and his brain started drowning in questions, but he set them aside and focused on the task.

He wiggled the door handle, but it was locked, so he knocked again.

Finally, the door swung open, revealing Chelsea and Ben standing together in the foyer, clothes covered in orange paint. Mi and Mi appeared right after, following on their heels and weaving around Ben’s little legs.

“Ethan!” Chelsea said, her eyes going wide. “Hey, how—”

“Hey,” he said, rudely cutting her off. He didn’t have time for pleasantries. “Is Natalie here?”

“No,” she said, looking confused.

He stepped back as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. He knew it was too good to be true. Adam probably read the wrong—

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