Collateral Hearts

one ear. In the faint glow of the streetlight outside the cracked window, the room looked smaller than ever, the walls closer, the ceiling lower and the cold draft seeping through the towel

pen. There had been no one else in the diner when Ethan had slid it to her, but there was always someone watching, wasn't there? She'd learned that young eyes in the neighborhood, in the break room, behind the counter. Everyone wanted a piece of something that wasn't theirs, then a soft cough rattled Lila's chest. Ava presse

photo inside felt heavier now and the grainy smear of the bank's security footage,the circle around the hooded man who didn't even look at the camera with the timestamp clear as day, then she remembered that day too well, how she'd argued with the loan officer and how they'd looked at her like she was wasting air and also how she'd left, holding back tears that froze on her cheeks when she stepped

nothing but the thin slip of something white resting on the welcome mat that hadn't welcomed anyone in years. Her heartbeat thudded against her ribs as she unlatched the deadbolt and cracked the door. The hallway was empty, no footsteps, no lingering ci

talk

the dark, wondering if Ethan was lying or telling the truth. The note slipped from her hands and drifted onto the floor like an autumn leaf,

le,Ethan's card was still there, half-buried under an old grocery receipt. His number and his name in blocky letters, written in the same careful hand that had scribbled " They're framing you" . She hadn't wanted to call him, she'd want

skin and stay there forever. Ava picked up Ethan's card and held it tight between her palms and her fingers trembled as she reached for her phone on the coffee table. The cracked screen glowed weakly in the dark and she ta

ou," she

ft from the hallway cut through her sweater like needles. When she cracked the door open, Ethan was there, just like that leaning one shoulder against the peeling wall out

ce over the shadows, the cheap furniture and the crumpled blanket on the couch. He moved li

e said, voice low.

ap and her fingers lingered on the lock, as if that thin piece

p of paper. Her hands trembled, the paper flu

he message. "Stop talking". He frowned his face and his

ing, when I looked,

ing for anything else like a mark, or a print,maybe an accident someone care

out the fear that pulsed like static between them. She hated needing that steadin

e'd spent years telling herself she could handle anything if she just stayed invisible. B

there, gone as quick as it came. "You're no

ensed, as if the sound alone could break her open then Ethan's

is she?"

eyes when they asked about Lila, the way they backed away, as if her daughter'

ad. "I can't get her to a do

doctor. First, we kee

t the same time. Ava folded her arms tight across her

'm nothing, I'm exactly the kind of nothing people l

im. He moved to the window, parting the frayed curtain with two fingers. Rain tapped against the g

d you rattled,they'll push harder. They want you scared enough

at creaking under hernand she pressed her palms to

ou'll still be here

able in front of her. Ava stared at it, a blurry printout of something that

this?" s

t, acounts tied to people you don't know and your name stuck in the m

nd on it first, his fingers brushing hers then

t. "Why not some other broke wa

. "Because you're quiet,alone,easy to blame,and be

th hitched

ave to,the word hung in the air

ouble," Ethan said. "

cet she hadn't bothered fixing for weeks. Ava's fingers drummed against the table, each tap a note of

we do?" s

e the shape of one that got lost halfway through.

nd that didn't feel like her. "

won't sleep, you don't eve

I don't trus

"Ethan..." Her voice cracked, softer now, "What happens when they come for me?" He looked at her then really l

here to stop t

so small, quite so cold, just a little warmer in the d