Chapter 53 Ch. 32.2
Hm. You sure you can handle it?" Dylan questioned with a raise of his brows.
"I will."
"Goodnight Ethan. Be careful out there. Your father has a lot of enemies..."
"And they're either dead or at his mercy."
"Lorenzo is not as in control as you think he is," Dylan chuckled.
Ethan shrugged. "Why are you disinterested in the throne? I was hoping you'll bail me out of taking over... Overthrow my dad."
"You don't want the throne? Ethan that's a crazy thing to say."
"I prefer normal."
Dylan smiled. "Normal is nice. Too bad it can't really exists for us.'
"Normal? Nice? From you?" Ethan laughed, running a hand through his hair and then he sat on the porch beside his uncle. "It's her... Your girlfriend, isn't it?"
"Goodnight Ethan. You have school tomorrow."
"She's human... You have to let go. You shouldn't have acted on your feelings."
"I shouldn't have. But I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
"She'll get old eventually."
"What if she won't?" Asked Dylan.
"You plan to turn her don't you?" Ethan smiled. "That's what the daylight ring is for?"
"Well... If she agrees... To accept me as I am."
"Well, goodluck uncle," Ethan smiled and walked back to his bike.
What if he turned Zara? She had asked him before, hadn't she?
++++++
"How long have you been watching me?" Questioned Zara as she slowed from a fun to a walk. Her chest was heaving, sweat dripping down her face and neck. Her face was darkened by the sun.
She gave him a look as she pulled out her water bottle from the side of her bag, then gulped down the water. "Hey?"
"Not 'what do you want'?" Ethan chuckled. "Since when were you nice?"
"What do you want?" She asked, a small smile twitching at the corners of her lips.
"Nothing. I saw you and decided to come over here. You should be in class."
"And so should you."
"What are you training for? You... Didn't make the qualifiers."
"Marathon," she blurted before she could stop herself. She hadn't wanted anyone to know before, but she was not exactly sure why she told him.
"You're a better fit. You do long distance already."
"Yeah, three to five thousand meters. Nothing compared to a fourty thousand meter race— honestly, what was the governor thinking... A marathon for highschool-ers?"
Ethan shrugged and sat on the bench. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “So, how are you feeling? The chest pains and all.”
Zara dragged her sleeve across her forehead and let out a breath. “Still there.”
“Then you shouldn’t be running,” he said, shaking his head slowly. “It’s not worth it.”
She capped her bottle and gave him a sharp look. “I like running. You don’t get it.”
“Believe it or not, I do,” Ethan said with a small shrug, “but you’ll like breathing better.”
Zara laughed under her breath, though it was humorless. “Thanks for the concern, doctor.”
He smiled faintly, watching her stretch her legs out, her sneakers tapping lightly against the ground. For a moment, it was quiet between them. Then Ethan’s eyes shifted, catching the tall figure standing at the far end of the field. Coach Santiago. His jaw tightened as he saw that he was watching them with the kind of stare that could pin you in place.
Ethan straightened and looked back at Zara. “Your dad’s coming.”
Her jaw locked immediately. She screwed the cap of her bottle tighter and stood. By the time Coach Santiago reached them, she was pulling her bag over her shoulder, not even sparing him a glance.
“Shouldn’t you two be in class?” Coach Santiago’s voice was calm, but there was an edge underneath it.
Ethan didn’t blink. “Free class,” he said simply, lifting his eyes to meet the man’s.
Zara said nothing. Her hands were tight on her straps, her lips pressed together. The silence was loud enough to tell anyone there was no love lost between them. Without a word, she walked away, not once looking back.
Ethan stayed seated, though his eyes followed her for a few seconds before shifting back to the man standing in front of him.
“So…” Coach Santiago’s tone shifted, almost casual. “What’s your girlfriend training for?”
Ethan blinked, brows furrowing. “Girlfriend?”
“Yes,” Coach said like it was obvious. “What’s she training for?”
“She’s not—your daughter and I aren’t a thing,” Ethan said, his voice steady but edged with disbelief. “And she’s your daughter. Shouldn’t you know?”
Coach’s face darkened slightly, though he gave a dry laugh. “Well, we’re not on speaking terms at the moment.”
“Oh?” Ethan asked, pushing himself up from the bench. He brushed his hands against his pants and studied the older man. “What happened?”
Coach Santiago exhaled, his eyes darting briefly in the direction Zara had gone. His voice was quieter when he spoke again. “You were there at her qualifiers. You saw her. She collapsed ten meters from the line. She was ahead of the others by a wide margin, and if she’d crossed, she would’ve been untouchable this season.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “But because she passed out, she didn’t finish. And now she’s out for the season.”
Ethan nodded slowly. “I remember.”
“After that…” Coach hesitated, then shook his head. “We had words. She doesn’t think I care. She thinks I only show up to manage her, not be her father.”
“She told you that?” Ethan asked.
“More or less.” Coach’s tone was clipped, defensive. “She doesn’t understand what I’m trying to do for her. She thinks I'm focused on you... But I'm just trying to work to give her the best. I don't know how to do this right, and I wish I wasn't doing this parenting thing alone."