They talked the night away on the roof of Mark's home.
The conversation wandered from Ethan's ridiculous family situation to Mark's condition, Kaela's strange new abilities, Elara's discoveries, and countless smaller topics that had nothing to do with Gates or monsters.
It was almost normal.
Almost.
Eventually, however, Elara decided that this was probably as good a time as any to show Ethan her surprise.
Well, it wasn't much of a surprise anymore.
She was fairly certain he had already figured it out.
It was hard to miss.
Every time Ethan visited Mark's family, he noticed the house next door.
The old place that had once been his home, the place that had remained empty for years, and that Elara had been quietly working on.
The thought of finally showing him made Elara strangely nervous. She had been confident about the idea when she'd started, but now that the moment had actually arrived, she wasn't so sure.
Ethan had suddenly learned so much about his past.
