Mrs. Harlow, a woman from down the street, stood in front of Caleb’s house. Her arms were tense, her face twisted with frustration.
“This is an eyesore!” she snapped.
Before I could even process what was happening, or anyone could react, Mrs. Harlow grabbed a metal bar lying on the ground and swung it hard.
The wood on the ramp cracked.
Caleb screamed from the porch!
Ethan stood frozen beside me.
“This is an eyesore!”
Mrs. Harlow didn’t stop until the whole thing collapsed.
“Fix your mess,” she said coldly, dropping the bar.
Then she walked away as if nothing had happened.
Silence settled over the street.
Caleb’s mother had joined him as he sat at the top of the steps again.
Watching.
Just like before.
“Fix your mess.”
***
Back inside our house, Ethan sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his hands.
“I should’ve made it stronger,” he muttered, berating himself.
I sat beside him. “No. You did something good. That’s what matters.”
“But it didn’t last.”
I didn’t have an answer for that.
I thought Mrs. Harlow’s actions were the worst part.
Until the following morning.
“But it didn’t last.”
***
I heard several car engines outside.
I stepped onto the porch and saw a long black SUV pulling up in front of Mrs. Harlow’s house. Two more followed behind it. When the doors opened, serious, quiet men in suits stepped out.
They were obviously not neighbors, nor the police.
One of them walked straight to Mrs. Harlow’s front door and knocked.
She looked surprised when she opened it. But she quickly replaced her expression with a bright smile, as if she’d been expecting someone important.
They were obviously not neighbors.
Then the man said something I couldn’t hear.
But I saw it happen. Mrs. Harlow’s smile faded, and her shoulders dropped.
Then she started shaking.
I didn’t know why. Not yet.
But I had a feeling it wasn’t good news.
