Maya’s eyes widened. “Ethan…”
Her brother closed his book with deliberate calm and placed both hands flat on the table. He was nineteen, home from his first semester at State on winter break. Tall, broad-shouldered, with the same dark eyes as Maya but none of her gentleness.
Derek was still facing Maya, basking in his moment of power. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a—”
“Turn around.”
The voice was quiet. Almost conversational. But something in it made Derek’s spine go rigid.
He turned slowly.
Ethan stood six feet away, hands at his sides, perfectly still. He didn’t look angry. He looked… patient. Like he was waiting for Derek to make his next move.
“You hit my sister,” Ethan said.
Derek’s face went pale, then flushed red. “So what? She wouldn’t move when I—”
“You hit my sister,” Ethan repeated, taking one step forward.
The library had gone dead silent. Even the librarian, Mrs. Chen, had stopped typing and was watching from behind the circulation desk.
Derek puffed out his chest, trying to salvage his reputation. “Yeah, I hit her. What are you gonna do about it?”
Ethan smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant smile.
“I’m going to give you exactly five seconds to apologize to her.”
“Or what?” Derek laughed, but it sounded forced. “You’ll what, hit me? In front of all these cameras?” He gestured at the phones recording them.
“Five,” Ethan said.
