Taken, Still Mine

the unfamiliar streets. A thick cocktail of excitement and anxiety churned in her chest. Their new

an old-school tune playing on the r

" her mom said, sp

the window. She wanted to say something-anything-bu

had slammed into th

napped, twisting ar

hout looking up, his eyes

" their mom sighed.

ost at a new chap

wo moving trucks hummed into the driveway, filled with every piece of their old life in battered cardboard boxes. Leah stepped out of the car and stretched her

maybe a good ki

tly at boxes. "Careful with that!" she called out, watching nervously

wasn't ready for the chaos of unpacking, of making the strange familiar agai

iggling as they played tag, their s

ed and wa

her with wide eyes. One of them grinned.

ished her final exams at university. Shaking her head with a

The walls were still a little bare, the furniture not yet plac

he cool wall. Each step echoed slightly. The house felt empty, but

ed in front of a c

aving her own space for the first time. No more sh

breath, she op

te afternoon sun. As she stepped in, she noticed something curious: the li

he room in a strange, c

rf

oice drifted in fr

Miss Y

r heart skippe

response followed.

lted to the doorway. "Ava?!"

ago through a mutual friend, and despite their differences, they just

re neighbors - s

o process it before a

, nearly hitting the wall, and Ava stumbl

her bag with a thud and coll

d. "What in

o glare at her. "Don't.

d a laugh.

ight? Only for the devil-I mean, the lecturer-to bring a hundred multiple-choice questions f

s like you're overre

me?! This is academi

ind that loosened all the tension Le

nced at the mess on the chair-a mountain of clo

Ava. "Since you're here,

ed an academic ambush. Now

ou're lying on my bed. Hel

Ava muttered, g

dramatic.

jokes and teasing, they got through the pile quic

d, satisfied.

ll, since I worked so hard, I'm

es. "You never ask

the room grew quiet. They lay in silence, breathin

whispered

mm

xam, you better c

es. "Oh, please. You'

rs. Actual tears. And a

sleep

just know, if I haunt

dark, the corners o

ons about whether she'd ever feel at home. But here, in the soft darkness of her room

lone. And maybe-just maybe-it would tu

g the soft rhythm of Ava's b

with its own mess.