I moved closer to the light fixture so that my body hid him from the kitchen.

“Ethan, did you sign it?”

“He said if I didn’t sign, he’d send me off to boarding school in Maine,” Ethan said.

I adjusted my watch strap, cinching the weave tight against my skin until my wrist felt locked in place.

“Did he show you any paperwork about a school in Maine?” I asked.

“No,” Ethan said, his voice getting stronger as he met my eyes.

“He just put the pen in my hand and pushed down on my shoulder.”