ETHAN’s POV

I was just returning from school, dragging my suitcase behind me. The house was quiet, extremely quiet. My mother had told me she would be gone for a while. It was another one of her endless “business trips.” But her closest friend, Daniel, was supposed to be around.

If he was here, where was he?

I paused in the living room, my gaze sweeping the empty couches, the faint smell of whiskey lingering in the air. He hadn’t answered when I called earlier. A part of me thought he was ignoring me because that’s what my Mom is known for. Another part of me hoped he wasn’t.

Because...