it turned and disapp

epeated, louder this time

nsettlingly steady. "You'll see m

more-her calmness or the fact

n line. She didn't look at me

do you mean, I'll see more

mething in her expression stopped me. I slumped back in m

happened with Alexa, my birthday? Maya? Was I just being

I was expecting-maybe something normal, like rows of cute litt

't want to let go, swirling around the tires as we drove through. The house

ce you see in creepy movies where bad things happen. The other houses were bunched togethe

engine. For a moment, we just sat th

s it,"

d. "This

om

"You've got to

. Get do

sion. The windows were fogged with grime, and the front door looked like it hadn't been opened in y

nerves or... something else. The house gave

me out of my thoug

nder my boots as I followed her to the front door. She set the box do

the right place?" I

key into the lock and turned it,

softening for just a moment. "Yes, Mia

f dust and age spilled out. I stepped ins

ashlight, the beam slicing through the shadows. "We can't do much tonight," she said, her

One she spread on the worn-out sofa in the corner of the living room, the other she handed

ike it was alive and watching us. I shivered, pulling the duvet ti

, Mia," sh

d, though sleep felt li

ext M

indow. Blinking, I sat up, disoriented for a moment

curtains did little to brighten the room, but at

coffee she must've brewed in the ancient kitchen. She glanced at me an

, the wood groaning under our weight. At the top, she gestured

"and this one," her hand moved to the door on the left, "was mine." She hesita

t she quickly turned to the la

d I'd learned not to press her. Instead, I f

tepping into a memory I didn't have. The room fel

he design was childish-pastel sheets and a worn stuffed anim

window, and light spilled through,

t to work cleaning the room. The air felt thick

s and connected them to my phone, letting the mus

scrubbing away the years of neglect.

at the back

was watc

t as I turned toward the window. My b

er

g at me. I was sure of it. But the moment I turned, all I caugh

window, my footsteps loud in the stillness of the room. Pressing

th

he shadows stretched long and eerie, but there was no one. It was a