Ethan looked away, his jaw tightening.

    Claire spoke up, her voice quieter but firm. "You didn''t even give us a chance, Ethan. The charges were dropped, and you just... disappeared. You ignored us. Do you know how many times I called?"

    His gaze flickered to her for a brief second before settling on the table.

    "I saw," he admitted, his voice low.

    Claire scoffed, shaking her head. "Unbelievable."

    His mother placed a hand on Claire''s arm before looking back at Ethan. "You could have come home sooner."

    "I could have," he said simply.

    Another silence stretched between them.

    His father finally spoke, his deep voice cutting through the air. "So why now?"

    Ethan met his father''s gaze. "Because I''m here."

    It wasn''t an answer. Not really. He didn''t have much to say.

    His father stared at him for a long moment before nodding once, leaning back in his chair. "Hmph."

    Julia, sensing the shift in mood, suddenly ran over to Ethan, tugging on his sleeve. "Big brother, do you wanna see my new drawings?"

    Ethan glanced down at her bright, eager face. He felt something in his chest loosen.

    "Yeah," he said, his voice softer. "I''d love to."

    She grinned and dashed off, her tiny feet pattering against the floor as she ran to get her notebook.

    His mother sighed, rubbing her temples before looking at Ethan with a small, tired smile. "Let''s not do this tonight."

    Ethan nodded. "Alright."

    Claire didn''t look fully satisfied, but she stayed quiet.

    Julia came running back, hopping onto the couch beside Ethan and flipping open her notebook with excitement.

    Ethan listened intently as she started explaining each of her drawings, her enthusiasm infectious.

    Julia continued to chatter excitedly, flipping through the pages of her sketchbook and pointing at each of her drawings with pride.

    Ethan watched her with a small, amused smile, nodding along as she explained each one.

    "This one''s a castle!" she said, tapping a crayon drawing of a lopsided but still recognizable fortress. "And that''s a dragon guarding it!"

    Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Looks tough."

    She grinned. "It is! Only the bravest knights can beat it."

    "Well, good thing I''m not a knight," Ethan said, smirking. "That thing looks scary."

    Julia giggled, shaking her head. "You could totally beat it! You have a fast car, so you could just zoom away if it gets too close."

    Ethan chuckled softly. "Smart thinking, Jules."

    As Julia continued flipping through the pages, their mother moved quietly in the background, retrieving a plate of food from the kitchen.

    The warm aroma filled the air, making Ethan realize just how hungry he actually was.

    It had been hours since he last ate — probably even longer than that, considering the adrenaline of the race had kept him going.

    Ethan took a slow breath, closing his eyes for a second.

    He had expected awkward conversations, expected tension, expected distance.

    But this?

    This was something he hadn''t prepared for.

    The silence stretched between them, but it wasn''t heavy.

    It wasn''t the unbearable kind of silence that filled the house before — when they were too afraid to say the wrong thing, too afraid to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

    This silence felt... peaceful.

    After a while, Claire finally pulled back, sniffling and quickly wiping her eyes as if embarrassed by her own emotions.

    Ethan smirked slightly. "Didn''t know you were such a crybaby."

    Claire scoffed, elbowing him lightly. "Shut up."

    But her voice lacked the usual bite — it was softer now, more vulnerable.

    Their mother chuckled lightly, standing up from her seat. "I''ll go make some tea."

    Ethan glanced at her. "You still drink that stuff?"

    She smiled. "Of course. Some habits never change."

    Ethan leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose.

    He watched as she walked toward the kitchen, her movements slow but steady. She had aged, just a little.

    The stress of the past few years had taken its toll.

    His father, still mostly quiet, sat in his usual chair, observing everything with a neutral expression.

    But Ethan could tell — there was something there, something unspoken.

    Julia suddenly plopped herself onto Ethan''s lap, grinning up at him. "Wanna see my best drawing?"

    Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Best one, huh? Alright, let''s see it."

    She flipped to the very last page, where a colorful drawing of five stick figures stood in front of a house.

    There was a big car next to them, scribbled in dark blue crayon.

    Above it, in large, uneven letters, were the words:

    "OUR FAMILY"

    Ethan stared at it for a long moment.

    Julia beamed. "See? That''s you right there!" She pointed at one of the stick figures — a taller one with scribbles for hair.

    Ethan chuckled, ruffling her hair. "You''re getting good at this."

    Julia giggled. "I know!"

    Claire glanced at the drawing before smirking slightly. "You made his car too big."

    Julia gasped. "No way! It''s the perfect size!"

    Ethan shook his head, smiling despite himself.