Gemotions

Rain lashed against the windows of the old Victorian house, mimicking the furious drumming in Leo's chest. He slammed the car door, the sound swallowed by the wind. Inheriting the house was supposed to be a good thing, a fresh start. But the ache in his jaw, the tightness in his shoulders, said otherwise. He kicked a loose stone across the overgrown lawn, watching it disappear into the tangled weeds. He didn't want this. He wanted his grandmother, not this crumbling monument to her absence.

The front door creaked open, the sound echoing unnaturally in the cavernous hallway. His sister, Maya, stood silhouetted against the dim interior, a small, tentative figure. "Leo, are you okay?"

He didn't answer, just pushed past her, heading straight for the kitchen. He yanked open a drawer, the sharp clatter of cutlery filling the silence. He needed something, anything, to distract him from the swirling emptiness inside.