The worst day of Ethan's life was the day his mom died. The second worst day of his life was the day his brother committed suicide. The third worst day of his life was the day he learned the reason for Robert's suicide.

He'd known it was going to be a bad day when he learned that Brooks had died, but he'd never imagined it would end with his father disowning him over his brother's mistake. Even after Martin had walked away, Ethan could not wrap his mind around what had just happened. For several minutes, he couldn't do anything except stare in the direction his father had gone. Ultimately, he decided he couldn't stay in the same house as Martin.

Ethan sent a quick text to Leanne, then headed to her house. He hoped she'd see his text before he got there because the last thing he wanted to do was scare her. When he arrived at her house twenty minutes later, she hadn't texted him back, so he let himself in using the key she had given him months earlier.

The house was dark, but when Ethan reached the top of the stairs, he noticed a dim light coming from under Ariel's bedroom door and decided to check on the teen. When he opened the door, he saw that Ariel was asleep in her bed and that Leanne had dragged a chair up from the kitchen and was sitting next to the bed with her back to the door.

Ethan tried to be quiet, but the creaking of the door alerted Leanne to his presence. Without turning around, she whispered, "I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you today."

"Ariel needed you more," Ethan replied as he crossed the room to stand next to Leanne.

"Mhmm," Leanne hummed in agreement. "I've been worried about you. Are you okay?"

"Not really."

Leanne reached blindly for his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'd rather talk about Ariel. How's our girl?"

"Heartbroken, but she won't let herself cry."

"At least she's getting some rest. How long has she been asleep?"

"About an hour."

"Have you been sitting here the whole time?"

"Yeah. I feel like if I don't watch her, she'll disappear."

"She's not going to disappear. We can go to bed.

"I'd rather stay here."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

When Ethan tried to leave, Leanne refused to let go of his hand. "Where are you going?" she asked, looking up at him for the first time.

"To get another chair."

"You can go to bed. You don't have to sit with us."

"I want to," Ethan said while using his free hand to gently caress Leanne's hair. He paused to kiss her forehead, then added, "We're family."

*** CB ***

The next day, Ariel refused to get out of bed, so Leanne laid down next to her and held her while she cried. After Ariel cried herself to sleep, Leanne carefully slid off the bed and left the room.

Leanne knew she needed to go find Ethan, but the sore muscles in her neck and back dictated that a hot shower had to be her first priority. She was just stepping into the shower when Ethan walked into the bathroom. "Do you want some company?" he asked, even though he was already pulling his shirt over his head.

"Yeeeeesssss," Leanne moaned as the hot water washed over her.

Pulling open the shower curtain, Ethan teased, "Is that for me or the shower?"

"Both," she answered. Taking hold of Ethan's hand, she pulled him into the shower. When he was standing in front of her, she leaned forward to rest against his chest. She slipped her arms under his and slid her hands up his back to clasp his shoulders. Ethan responded by placing his hands on her lower back and massaging small circles at the base of her spine. As he started to slowly work his fingers up her back, she mumbled, "That feels amazing. I'm too old to sit in a chair all night."

"Me too, but something tells me we'll be doing it again tonight."

"I wish there was something more we could do."

"I know what you mean. I see her in so much pain and I would do anything to take it all away."

"That's called being a parent."

"It makes me wonder how some parents can intentionally hurt their kids."

There was an edge to Ethan's voice that troubled Leanne. She leaned back slightly so that she could see Ethan's face when she asked, "Did something happen with your dad yesterday?"

"Yeah. You know the funeral I went to? It turned out the guy didn't just die, he committed suicide. And after the funeral, another of Robert's friends tried to kill himself. He told me that Robert made a mistake that screwed things up for a lot of people in his unit and that's why so many of them have committed, or tried to commit, suicide. I told my dad that Robert had made a mistake and he hit me. He hit me and told he doesn't have any sons anymore. I don't think my dad's ever hit me before."

"That's horrible!" Leanne gasped. She was stunned and could hardly process all of the information that Ethan disclosed. Eventually, she stammered, "Wh-what did you do?"

"I didn't know what to do, so I left. I should be angry, but I don't really feel anything. I'm not sure if I'm in shock or just indifferent."

"That's okay. Until you figure it out, I'll be angry for you."

The declaration left Ethan speechless, so he gathered Leanne in his arms and held her tightly until she insisted that they finish their shower before the temperature became unbearably cold.

They had just turned off the water when they heard a faint knocking on the bedroom door. "Shit!" Leanne hissed as she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body. "I wonder how long she's been out there."

"Mom," Ariel called through the door. "Are you in there?"

"I'll be right out!" Leanne called back. She gave Ethan a quick kiss, then left him alone in the bathroom while she quickly got dressed before meeting Ariel at the bedroom door.