Chapter 18 - DAVID LEARNS TO KNOCK
David’s protective instinct nearly became another cage.
After Ethan returned, he installed cameras.
Locks.
Alerts.
Location tracking.
He checked school doors.
Followed buses.
Called constantly.
At first, Ethan found it comforting.
Then exhausting.
At fourteen, he turned off location sharing for one hour.
David panicked and called police.
Ethan came home furious.
“You said nobody would ever touch me again.”
“I was scared.”
“You’re touching everything.”
The sentence stopped David.
Protection had expanded into surveillance.
He entered therapy again.
They rewrote the safety plan.
Some tracking ended.
Some remained by mutual agreement.
David learned to knock before entering Ethan’s room.
Ask before reading messages.
Trust plans without demanding certainty.
The first time Ethan stayed overnight at a friend’s house, David sat awake until morning.
He did not call.
That was growth no one applauded.
At breakfast, Ethan said, “You survived.”
“Barely.”
May you like
They laughed.
Ordinary adolescence returned in pieces.
