awake, but when she saw her visitor was a

d, “but you can’t sleep here. There

ake again, so she just filled up with g

in the skyline as it grew orange and hopeful, and she was ready to take on whatever was to come at her. This was her first projec

. She swiped away the missed calls and texts from her parents and her siste

with English ivy crawling up. There must have been one hundred windows total in this place. There were seven bedrooms, two living rooms, a

the home. Four months. Mostly interior finishing. Some exterior work. Aliyah had permission to stay at the mansion while she was working on it, so she wouldn’t have

ement in her, so Aliyah drove the final two hours with the radio bla

*

e letters, which appeared to have been carved. Most places had metal signs, nowadays. Aliyah was starting to get some vintage vibes from the

ards. Porches were caving in, but the cars in the driveways were in decent shape. Aliyah didn’t see any people roaming ab

as station up ahead, so she made her way to it, ignoring the chaos of broken-down houses that su

pping white paint, and the windows were thick with dust and grime. The gas pumps themselves se

te had begun to crack and partly because she was kind

ed a couple times back in Santa Fe). Aliyah turned off her car and stepped out into the cool Michigan spring. She inspected the gas pump though she wasn’t in di

e, as she had not he

standing there?” Her voice dropped off as s

d with black and brown. Though he wore a tattered jean jacket, she could tell he was well-built.

rking his sharp jaw, seemi

emeanor, so she arched a brow and stood up taller--her sister

a question at the same time. She closed her mouth an

nger’s face before he repeated his

tions.” She s

f off the pillar and

ight), and he smelled like oil and dust and pine trees. He just looked at her with his head cocked slightly to the l

e looked this man dead in the eyes, wanting to be clear abo