We finally pulled up to the mansion, the tires crunching against the gravel driveway like bones underfoot. The sky was turning that kind of soft orange that screamed “evening nap,” and everything about the place looked way too grand and way too quiet for my current mood. Honestly, it looked like a painting someone forgot to smudge.
I climbed out of the car, hoodie pulled over my head like armor, and dragged my feet up to the front door. My hand fumbled for the key in my pocket, fingers shaking just slightly from all the adrenaline that hadn’t burned out yet. My head was pounding, and my body felt like a used-up battery—low energy, low will to exist, just... low.
I shoved the key in the lock.
Turned it.
Nothing.
I tried again, this time using my whole body like the damn door was out to
