nt snapped, her voice a

ing to keep my tone neutral. There was

. "your room? You think you can bring me to my ho

ing myself to stay calm. I had heard

s goi

y you even have a roof over your head. After everything I've done for yo

e snapped. I couldn't take it anymore. The whispers from the box, the

e," I muttered, my voic

narrowed, and I could see t

"You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to live with some

pointed a finger at me. "How dare you! After everything I've

sked you to take me in. I never asked you to treat me like I'm invisible in this house. You've done nothi

nd closing like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even

life, I had spoken back.

rom the confrontation. As soon as I reached my room, I slammed the door shut and leaned again

od up for

ox still echoed in my mind, and I couldn't shake the fee

ng was, it had come from the mansion. And that was where I needed to go. I wasn't going to si

r a quick shower, I changed into a shirt and shorts, pulled my hair into a messy bun, and

ation, I climbed out the window and jumped down into the yard. My feet hit the ground wit

now why, but something inside me told me th

ghts of the box, the whispers, and the strange man I had seen in my dream. None of it mad

hed the gates of th

omeone stan

mer in the fading light. His back was turned to me, but even from a

nce, the man turned around s

id black, absorbing the light around him, and his features were sharp and defined, giving him an almost o

d to the spot, staring at him. My mind screamed at me to

ny hint of an ethereal quality. "You live here?" I shook my

r," he mused, a smile curling at the corners of

l "You too," the words slipped out before I could stop myself. I jolted at

cing his hands in his pockets. "