Chapter 509
Julie's POV
I don't know how much time passed before Ethan stirred. Perhaps half an hour, perhaps less. I had stopped counting the minutes the moment I began anchoring myself to the steady rise and fall of his breathing.
His eyelids fluttered open slowly. He blinked twice, stared blankly at the vaulted ceiling for a fraction of a second, and then rolled his head toward me. I watched confusion ripple across his small features, followed by a sudden flash of wariness
I didn't move. I didn't lift my hand from the pillow, nor did I force a brittle smile. I simply held his gaze with quiet steadiness, leaving the next move entirely up to him.
"Where's Mama?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.
The word scraped across my skin like a fine needle, but I held my ground.
"Downstairs, I think," I kept my register low and even. "Would you like me to call her?"
He pondered the question with a comical, childlike gravity before shaking his head.
"No."
"All right."
