I move slower this time, taking it in. Noticing things I didn’t before.
The way the light filters through the windows.
The slight creak in the hallway floor.
The quiet.
“My parents lived here,” Jared says suddenly.
I glance over at him. “Yeah?”
He nods once, hands in his pockets. “Good place. Lots of memories.”
He pauses.
“My mom passed a few years back. My dad couldn’t stay after that.” His jaw tightens slightly, like he didn’t mean to say that out loud.
I nod slowly. “Sorry.”
He shrugs it off. “It happens.”
But something in his tone says it still sits with him.
I keep moving until I end up in the master bedroom. A strange sense of familiarity settles over me.
I rub the back of my neck.
I smell jasmine again.
It reminds me of Violet.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say quickly. “Just… thinking.”
Jared follows me back to the living room. “If you’re interested, I can get the paperwork started today.”
“This hasn’t been rented in a while?” I ask.
“Not recently, no.”
“And nothing’s wrong with it?”
He gives me a sad smile. “No. Just needs someone living in it. Someone to care for it so it’s not so… neglected.”
I glance around the room again, only this time, my eyes stop on the front window.
I squint, moving closer.
Is that a heart drawn in the dust?
I don’t remember seeing that the last time I was here.
But maybe that’s because I was here later and the light wasn’t shining through it at this angle.
I step back and shove my hands in my pockets.
I exhale slowly. “Yeah,” I say. “Let’s do it.”
