Chapter 9 - The Long Road Back

Six months passed. The seasons changed, and the memory of that suffocating summer began to fade.
We moved into a beautiful, sunlit home near the coast, far away from the suburbs that held so many ghosts. There were no locks on the interior doors, and the kitchen pantry was always overflowing with fresh bread, fruits, and snacks—a visual reassurance for Ethan that we would never run out of food again.
With the help of a wonderful child psychologist named Dr. Aris, Ethan began to open up. He stopped hoarding food under his bed. He started playing soccer again.
One afternoon, as we sat on the back deck watching Emma chase a golden retriever puppy we had adopted, Ethan looked up at me.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, champ?"
"Are we safe now?"
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I pulled him close, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. "We are completely safe. Nobody is ever going to hurt you or Emma again. I promise."
He smiled, a genuine, relaxed smile that reached his eyes for the first time in half a year. "I know. Because you came back."