I didn’t answer.

The silence spread into a cold, empty gap over the phone line.

“I’ll see you when I see you,” Ethan said.

The call ended with a sharp metallic beep.

The room darkened as the last of the sunlight slipped behind the hills to the west.

I finished hanging up and sat there in the dark living room.

I put the receiver back in its cradle.

The quiet of the farmhouse closed in around me.