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Ethan feels a shiver trail down his spine as he sets foot onto the concrete driveway of the home he expected to house Jaeden and Hallow. His siblings.
He unfolds the little paper he kept in his pocket, glancing between it and the numbers on the mailbox. They match up, at least. He kicks the stand on his bike down and pulls it to the side of a maroon Mercedes, giving enough room to the owner if they decide they want to go on a late-night drive.
It's a quaint, two-story, brick house with white details on the windows, gutters, and siding. Nothing too fancy. It's a middle-class area, the houses a tad smaller than Mike's, around the size of Ethan's house. Halloween decorations litter the yard, the holiday having just passed a few days ago. Carved pumpkins sit on the porch, next to the door, which Ethan can only assume were carved by his siblings.
His beat-up sneakers clap against the concrete porch as he jumps up and over the two stairs onto it. On second thought, maybe he shouldn't make so much noise. If he wakes up their foster parents, he may get them busted, and he'll have to leave without them. That would be the least productive thing he could do.
His hand, balled into a calm fist, rests over the door. He hesitates to knock, like he hears anxiety-inducing violin and cello in the distance, like a monster is going to creep up on him like some horror movie. The thought of seeing them again makes a shiver trail up his spine, the fact that he doesn't know how this will go, only reuniting with them now that he needs their help. It makes him feel like a monster awaits on the other side of the door, face pressed against it, waiting. Waiting for him to knock, so it can slowly open, revealing the pitch darkness inside the house, then leap out at him.
He feels his stomach twist and turn.
He isn't sure something is wrong, no. He feels only his anxiety. It's paralyzing. Like he can't breathe while he thinks about all the possibilities of what could go wrong, even what could go right. He feels how he does when he feels like he's going to be stuck in the void. Even if he had El with him, there's no comfort in that. It's all about the what-if.
He knocks. Finally.
He patiently waits, staring at the ground. He sways, shifting his weight from left to right. Then the lock clicks, he can hear it from outside. The door opens and he looks up, having eyed a pair of Nike shoes on the person standing in the doorway.
Jaeden.
Immediately, he smiles, running a hand through his shaggy blonde hair that used to be brunette. He wears a baggy t-shirt with some horror movie graphic on it and pajama pants, paired with said Nikes. A dog rushes to the door and stands between his legs, panting, wagging its tail. Seems to be some kind of Labrador.
Jaeden scratches the dog's head before gently pushing it back, wanting to step forward to hug Ethan. Ethan opens his arms, allowing Jaeden to fall into his embrace.
