Gemotions

He'd been expecting this, but the actuality of it still floored him. He’d seen the neighborhood changing, the slow creep of gentrification. The listing, however, felt personal. He knew that house like the back of his hand, every squeak of the stairs, every draft from the windows.

The current owners, whoever they were, had clearly gutted the place. Everything was bland, beige, and undeniably new. He imagined them, the couple in the real estate photos, their perfect smiles plastered on their faces. They knew nothing.

He reread the listing, his lips thinning. The phrase "move-in ready" seemed to taunt him. He closed the browser, the screen going dark. Then, he got up, grabbed his keys and left his apartment. He was going for a drive.