Chapter 1: The Homecoming

The day I brought my new wife home, my son didn’t say a word. He just stared through me, like I was the ghost haunting this place.

Ryan’s hand hovered over the banister, knuckles white, before he dropped his gaze and shuffled past us into the living room. The screen door creaked behind us, the TV mumbled from the other room, and a heavy, expectant hush seemed to press in from the walls. I caught a glimpse of Ryan’s red-rimmed eyes, unfocused and distant, and wondered if he noticed the picture of his mom still hanging over the mantel. The guilt gnawed at me, and for a moment I wanted to reach out, to say something that might break through all the pain. But the moment passed, and I just let the silence grow, letting the hum of the fridge and a neighbor’s barking dog fill the gap I couldn’t bridge.

At dinner, I tried to keep things normal. I asked Ryan if he liked his new little brother and sister, bracing myself for him to call Natalie a homewrecker and the kids nothing but trouble. Instead, he just nodded and muttered, “Whatever.” He pushed away from the table and disappeared down the hall. Watching his lonely back, a wave of loss washed over me, but I shoved it down. He’s my son—he’s got to understand me one day, right? Men move on. That’s just life.

The clatter of his chair scraping across the hardwood echoed longer than it should have. He moved like someone twice his age, shoulders hunched, vanishing into the shadows. I told myself it was just a phase—that someday, we’d sit on the porch with a couple cold beers, talking it out like men. But as his door clicked shut, the hope felt as hollow as the empty seat at the table. Still, I put on a smile for Natalie and the kids. No sense dragging them into this storm.

While I comforted my pregnant new wife, I didn’t notice the door to Ryan’s room opening just a crack. It felt like a silent, watchful gaze was fixed on me the whole time…

For a heartbeat, I thought I saw a flicker of light from his room—maybe the glow of a phone, or just the hallway lamp reflecting off his eyes. Goosebumps crawled up my arms. I shook it off—probably just nerves. Lately, I felt watched everywhere in my own house, haunted by what I’d done, and by what Ryan must feel.