Gemotions

The key scraped in the lock, a sound that grated against Leo’s teeth. Sunlight, fractured and dusty, leaked through the grimy windows of the old Victorian. He shoved the door open, the scent of mildew and forgotten things washing over him. His sister, Clara, trailed behind, chattering about the potential renovations, her voice a bright, unwelcome intrusion into the silence. He didn't answer, his jaw tight. He simply wanted to be left alone to assess the damage, the weight of the inheritance pressing on him like a physical burden.

He ran a hand over the peeling wallpaper in the hallway. The floral pattern, faded and familiar, felt like a mocking echo of a life he wasn’t sure he wanted to remember. He’d hoped, when the solicitor called, that the will wouldn’t involve this. A clean break, a simple inheritance of money. He should have known better.

Clara skipped past him, humming. He watched her, a knot forming in his stomach. He felt the need to get away from everything, to be in a place where no one knew his name. A place where the past didn’t exist.