hidden | ethma

twenty nine

my apartment is utterly ruined.

everything is strewn from its place. books lay open on the floor, pillows and blankets from the couch are everywhere. the cabinets in the kitchen are thrown open and pots and pans lie in random places. the window is thrown wide open, the lilac curtains billowing in the breeze. glass lays on the floor, shattered.

i rush into my bedroom. my bed that was neatly made this morning is disheveled. the sheets are wrinkled and the pillows are all over the place. the picture of aaron and i lies cracked on the floor.

tears build behind my eyes as i struggle to get my phone out of my purse.

i bustle around the apartment, scouting for anything missing. it baffles me when i find that everything — aside from some plates and other china that lie broken on the floor — is here.

there's a harsh knock at the door and ethan steps into my apartment, worry on his face.

"emma? what-" he takes in the appearance of my home and shuts his mouth. a piece of paper is crumpled in his fist.

i sit on the couch and bury my head in my hands. "i think i've been robbed," i mumble. "but it doesn't seem like anything's missing."

i feel ethan sit beside me. he puts a soothing arm around my shoulders and i find myself leaning onto him, soaking his fresh t-shirt in salty tears.

"who would have done this?" i ask. "why would they just ransack the apartment and leave?"

ethan stiffens beside me. he stands up, turning his back to me as he looks out the bay window of the living room. he still clenches the paper in his fist. i wonder what it says.

"ethan?" i ask slowly.

ethan turns slightly, looking at the floor.

"it was..." he clears his throat. "alec and his men."

my breath hitches in my throat and my blood goes cold. "what?"

"they came here because they think you know something," ethan rattles off, beginning to pace. "they think you're hiding information. they're assuming i've told you confidential facts, and they're fucking wrong!" ethan's voice crescendos.

i frown. "what do we do?"

ethan stops pacing and looks at me. "we stay away from each other," he answers simply.

my heart involuntarily drops in my chest. i nod slowly.

"but we both know that won't happen, will it?" ethan's eyes don't leave mine as he speaks.

i feel my pulse quicken as he sits back down next to me. i don't entirely know what he means by his words, but in an odd way i am comforted by them.

"are you all right?" ethan asks me quietly.

i turn my head to look at him. "yeah," i answer, exhaling slowly.

he looks at me, hard. this is the same boy i was furious with hours ago, and now he's here next to me, after my apartment has been ransacked. what a fucking day.