The house didn't feel abandoned.
That was the wrong thing. That was what stopped her in the doorway.
Arianne stepped inside. The air wasn't stale. It smelled clean. Wiped down. She forced her hand off the door frame.
Four months. It shouldn't have felt like this.
Lily didn't hesitate. She slipped past Arianne like she'd been here yesterday. Her hand caught Leo's wrist. Pulled him forward.
"Come on." Already halfway to the hallway. "Let's check."
Leo followed. Steps quick. Familiar.
The sound of them carried through the house.
Arianne stood in the entry and listened to it. Their footsteps on the floors where they used to live. Lily's voice rising somewhere down the hall — she'd found something she hadn't expected. Leo's tablet chiming. The sounds of two children moving through a space that knew them.
