"Where the f*ck are you, Ethan?!"
Ethan flinched as the loud voice blasted through the phone speaker. He pulled the phone slightly away from his ear and sighed.
"Mom, calm down—"
"Why the f*ck should I be calm?!" she snapped back immediately. "You said you were going on a trip for two days! TWO! Now it's been FIVE! Who's going to study for your exam? Your lazy-ass father?!"
A second voice popped up in the background, weak and defensive.
"Hey, don't drag me into this—"
"Shut up!"
"…Yes, ma'am."
Ethan rubbed his temple, holding back a laugh. "Mom, really, it's not that serious—"
"It is that serious! I told you no! I told you exams are near! You're wandering around like some damn young master!"
Ethan leaned back on the couch in the Hayes guest room, smiling faintly.
His mother's scolding was intense,but it was comforting. In his previous life, he had never felt this. A warm home, an angry mom who still cared, a goofy dad caught between their arguments.
