The Apology She Couldn't Yet Give
Chapter 07 - The Apology She Couldn't Yet Give
Madison found Ethan at a laundromat.
She had expected an apartment.
Maybe a bar.
Instead, he was sitting beneath fluorescent lights, folding June's towels because their washing machine had broken.
When he saw her, his entire body tensed.
"You shouldn't be here."
"I know."
People recognized her.
A woman near the dryers slowly raised her phone.
Madison ignored it.
"I need to talk to you."
Ethan kept folding.
"Your husband already did."
Madison's face changed.
"When?"
"Yesterday."
"What did he say?"
"That I should stay away."
Ethan put down a towel.
"Then he reminded me this isn't a movie."
Madison closed her eyes.
That sounded exactly like Blake.
"I didn't leave Noah in the car."
Ethan looked at her.
"I thought Blake had him."
"Okay."
"That's all you're going to say?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know."
"I lost my job. People think I tried to steal your baby. Somebody painted KIDNAPPER outside my home."
Madison looked stricken.
"I didn't know."
"That's the problem."
His voice wasn't loud.
That made it worse.
"You didn't know anything. You saw me holding your son and decided what the story was."
"I was terrified."
"I know."
"I thought—"
"I know what you thought."
Madison looked at him for a long time.
Then she said, "I'm sorry."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
She kept going.
"I'm sorry I screamed at you. I'm sorry I didn't ask what happened. I'm sorry my fear became your punishment."
The laundromat had gone strangely quiet.
Ethan looked away.
"My sister's name was Sophie."
Madison waited.
"She was two. I was nine. My mother's boyfriend left her in a car while he went inside a house."
Madison's hand moved to her mouth.
"I heard Sophie crying," Ethan said. "I thought an adult would come. Nobody did."
His eyes were dry.
"I promised myself if I ever heard that sound again, I wouldn't wait."
Madison could barely speak.
"You saved Noah because of her."
"No."
Ethan looked at her.
"I saved Noah because he was there."
Madison nodded slowly.
Then her phone rang.
It was her father.
She answered.
Walter's voice was weak but urgent.
"Madison, do not sign anything Blake gives you."
She went cold.
"Why?"
May you like
There was a pause.
Then Walter said, "Because I think your husband has been stealing from us."
