Chapter 2

"Didn't I tell you Vivian had an EKG scheduled today? You still called three times in a row. Do you have to make a scene at a time like this?"

Ethan pushed open the door, bringing in the chill of early autumn. He tossed his car keys onto the shoe cabinet by the entrance with a clatter.

I sat on the sofa, my phone screen already dark. The image from that marathon video was still burned into my mind.

"Why aren't you saying anything? What are you sulking about now?" Ethan changed his shoes and walked over.

He sat down beside me. There was a faint smell of sweat and earth clinging to him.

It wasn't the scent of hospital disinfectant. It was the scent of mountain air.

He placed a plastic bag on the coffee table. "Picked up some tacos from a food cart on the way back. Eat while they're hot."

I glanced down at the tacos. Sauce was seeping through the paper bag, and they were loaded with crushed peanuts.

"I don't eat peanuts," I said quietly.

Ethan froze for a moment, then frowned.

"Lily, when did you become so difficult?"

"Vivian had three vials of blood drawn today. I spent all day running around the hospital with her, and I still thought to bring you dinner on the way home."

"Just pick them out. Is that so hard?" He looked at me as if I were an unreasonable child.

I stared at the mud stains on his sweatpants. The color of that mud matched the mud by the finish line in the marathon video.

"She had blood drawn today?" I asked.

Ethan sighed and reached out to ruffle my hair.

I tilted my head slightly, dodging his hand.

His hand hung awkwardly in midair. His expression darkened. "What exactly do you want?"

"I already told you the doctor said her heart isn't getting enough blood. She needs rest."

"You think I want to spend every day at the hospital? It's my responsibility."

"If her brother hadn't gotten into that car accident saving me, would she be like this now?"

He'd repeated this speech countless times over the past five years.

Every time I showed even a hint of dissatisfaction, he'd place this moral crown on my head.

Making me feel like a cold, selfish, unreasonable woman.

I lowered my eyes to my bare ring finger.

There used to be a silver ring there---the only thing my mom left me.

Two days ago, the landlord had demanded rent. Ethan said he'd used all his money on Vivian's hospital bills.

Running a fever, I'd pawned the ring for five hundred dollars.

"Do the shoes you bought her fit well?" I heard my own calm voice.

Ethan's hand froze as he was pouring water. Water sloshed out of the glass and spilled onto the coffee table.

He turned around. His eyes flickered, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Did you go through my phone?" His tone turned cold. "Lily, I hate it when people invade my privacy."

I didn't explain that I'd seen it in a marathon video. It didn't matter anymore.

"The shoes were recommended by her doctor." Ethan set the glass down heavily on the table.

"Vivian has a heart condition. The doctor said she needs shoes with excellent shock absorption for her rehab exercises."

"They're just shoes. Do you have to be so petty?"

He looked at me with disappointment in his eyes, as if I were a vicious woman who would even begrudge someone shoes for medical treatment.

I looked at that familiar face and suddenly felt like I was looking at a stranger.

Rehab exercises. The kind that break women's division marathon records.

I didn't call him out on it.

I just stood up and threw the peanut-laden tacos into the trash.

Ethan took a deep breath, suppressing his temper. "Fine. If you don't want them, forget it."

"I'll return the shoes tomorrow, okay? I'll transfer you the money for rent."

He was certain I was just jealous. Certain that if he backed down just a little, I'd forgive him like I always had.

"No need," I said.

Ethan watched me walk back to the bedroom, his voice tinged with irritation.

"Lily, you'd better know when to stop."