She was sorry?

It was the last thing that Ethan had been expecting to hear. He had been preparing himself for more vicious words, for more insults and affronts to his manhood. He had his response to her imagined accusations all prepared. 

Of course, a small part of his mind whispered, she was only sorry now that he had decided to go along with her plan. If he had somehow run into her on the street, would her words be so polite? In many ways, it was just more of the same. But Ethan did his best to push those angry, frustrated thoughts away somewhere that they wouldn’t be recognized or affect his attitude. He was here to help her find a kid, and there was no need to make it any more complicated than that.

“May I come in?” he asked, still somewhat numb, before untangling himself from the cat and stepping into the small room, trying to avoid tripping over the creature. He sat in one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs, near a small desk that, other than a nightstand, dresser, and bed, was the only furniture in the cheap room. He sat stiffly, almost like a wooden chair himself, and his knees angled towards the door, his only route of escape.

“Well, I’m here,” he said, more than a little bluntly. Best to just get things out of the way. “What exactly do you want from me?”