1
I’d barely turned the key when the door creaked open like it had been open all the while. The place smelled faintly of old wood and lavender, like someone had tried to cover up something ancient with something pretty. I stepped inside, dragging my suitcase over the threshold, the wheels rattling across the warped floorboards. The apartment was small but charming in that “this will be cute after I clean the hell out of it” kind of way.
High ceilings, crown molding, and windows tall enough to let in half the sun or the entire night. I liked it. The rent was suspiciously low for this part of the city, but I’d been too desperate to question it. I needed a reset, not answers.
The landlord, Mr. Drayton, hadn’t said much during the walkthrough. He was the twitchy, fast-talking type with nico
