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Chapter 35: The Promise He Broke

Author: Alele Tombra
last update Last Updated: 2025-03-28 01:24:00

Ethan couldn’t breathe.

The room was spinning, the walls stretching and closing in at the same time. The shadows near the closet deepened, curling at the edges like ink bleeding into paper. The hand reaching through the gap trembled slightly, fingers flexing, waiting.

Tyler.

The name burned in Ethan’s chest, scraping against ribs that felt too tight, lungs that wouldn’t expand properly.

This wasn’t real.

It couldn’t be real.

But he couldn’t look away.

The hand moved again.

“Why did you leave me?”

The voice his brother’s voice was so soft, so broken, that Ethan felt something splinter inside him.

He staggered forward before he could stop himself, his breath coming in quick, shallow bursts.

“I didn’t,” he rasped. “I”

But the words caught in his throat.

Because he had.

A memory surfaced, sharp and raw.

Ethan was eleven. Tyler was seven. The storm had knocked out the power, plunging their small house into darkness. Their father had already disappeared for the night, leaving them alone.

“S
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  • The Echoes we Bury   Chapter 35: The Promise He Broke

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