Chapter 3

The last exam ended. Ethan was the first one out of the testing hall.

"Mrs. Voss, Mr. Voss, I did great! Everything's fine. Let's go home and tell Caleb the good news!"

Mr. Voss nodded. His eyes were glassy as he started the car.

"Good, good. It's all over now. We'll head back right now. Your brother's been home alone for two days. That should've been enough time for him to come around.

"We'll pick him up and the whole family can go to church together."

Mrs. Voss sat in the passenger seat, tears running down her face. "I was too hard on Caleb. I know that. As long as he's willing to change, from now on, whatever Ethan has, he'll have too."

I floated there in the void, wearing a smile that was worse than any cry.

Mrs. Voss, Mr. Voss, I had waited 18 years for this. Too bad I never lived to see it.

The car pulled into the driveway before long. Ethan was the first one through the front door.

Then he stopped.

The food on the kitchen table had not been touched. It was already growing mold. His voice started to shake.

"Caleb hasn't... he hasn't come out in two days!"

Mrs. Voss froze for a second. Then her expression went dark. She stormed over to the freezer door and kicked it.

"Caleb! Are you still at it?

"Do you have any idea what your brother's been through the past few days? He couldn't eat and couldn't sleep. He was worrying about you the entire time he was taking his exams! As for you? You're in there playing dead? Who's that supposed to impress?"

Mr. Voss could not hold back either. He walked over with barely controlled anger in his voice.

"Caleb, I am so disappointed in you. We spent two days out there thinking about you every second, but have you thought about what you've done at all?"

Ethan stepped between them, his voice trembling. "Mr. Voss, Mrs. Voss... Caleb wouldn't act like this for no reason. Something's wrong."

Both of their expressions stiffened for a moment. That was when Claire walked in. She went straight to the freezer door, holding up her phone.

"I just got a call from our teacher. She found out Caleb missed the entrance exams and she's already trying to get him into an early admission track at an elite university."

Her voice dropped. "Caleb, did you tell her? Why would you do that?"

Mrs. Voss exploded like someone had lit a fuse. "Caleb! We raised you for 18 years and this is how you repay us? You missed the entrance exams, so now you're going behind our backs to destroy your brother's chances?"

Mr. Voss's face was like stone. "Your brother has done nothing but protect you, yet all you can think about is how to drag him down. Here we were, rushing home to take you to pray with the family.

"Caleb, how did I end up with a son like you?"

Everyone was passing judgment on me, everyone except Ethan, who pushed past all of them and grabbed the freezer door handle.

"Mrs. Voss! The door is freezing cold!"

Mrs. Voss's eyes were bloodshot. "Enough!"

She shoved her way forward and grabbed the handle herself.

"We already told him where the key was! He won't come out because he's determined to wait us out."

Mrs. Voss pulled Ethan away from the handle.

His voice was raw. "Mrs. Voss, Caleb is still in there! We said we'd come back for him and take him to church together."

Mrs. Voss ignored him. She and Mr. Voss each grabbed one of Ethan's arms and dragged him toward the door, no matter how hard he fought.

"If he wants to stay in there so badly, let him. We'll see how long he lasts. Let's go!"

The front door slammed shut. The lock clicked into place, and everything went silent.

I drifted in the void, my face already soaked with tears. The truth was right on the other side of that door. She had been so close. Just a little more and she would have seen me.