She raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you a bit old to move back in with your mom?”
Touché.
“I didn’t have a choice,” I muttered, following her up the stairs.
At the landing, she paused. The attic door was cracked open just slightly. The air behind it felt cold, even from here.
“That room,” she said, “lock it at night. Father doesn’t like anyone awake after dark.”
I clenched my jaw.
“You’re no fun,” I said, brushing past her. “Sister.”
“I’m not your sister,” she said, annoyed.
Then she stepped forward and slammed the attic door shut behind me.
I heard her footsteps fading down the hall. She was probably fourteen, maybe fifteen. And I knew, even if she wasn’t my blood, I had to protect her. From this house. From the people in it. From whatever lived behind the walls.
The attic was cold. Dusty. The floor creaked beneath my boots.
Mother had won again. She put me back in my place. Out of sight. Out of mind. Out of her new family.
I sat down on the mattress. The springs moaned. The sheets were thin and smelled like an old musk.
My eyes scanned the space, and my gaze landed on an old mirror leaning against the far wall.
Something moved in the reflection.
My pulse quickened.
I stood slowly, eyes fixed on the glass.
But when I got close... There was nothing there.
Just my reflection. Still half-drenched from the rain. Still wearing clothes that didn’t feel like mine. Still looking like someone I barely knew anymore.
Something moved behind me.
I felt it before I heard it. A shift in the air. I gasped, breath catching in my throat, and spun around quickly.
But there was no one there.
I turned back toward the mirror, noticing the surface had started to fog. A pale mist spread across the glass like someone was breathing on the other side. My heartbeat picked up. I stood frozen, watching as letters began to form, traced slowly into the condensation on the glass.
Welcome home.
The words sat there, perfectly clear. Not smudged. Not shaky. Clear.
I stumbled backward, my eyes spread wide. My legs hit the edge of the mattress and gave out beneath me. I fell hard, landing on my back, the fall knocking the air from my lungs.
The plastic tank tipped off the bed and hit the floor. Nagi slipped out, her dark body gliding across the floor toward me.
But I couldn’t focus on her, I just locked my eyes on the mirror.
The fog was gone, together with the written message.
The surface of the glass looked clean again, but I knew what I had seen.
