I killed the engine in the driveway and just sat there for a minute, staring at the house, glancing in my mind. Four years away at college and it still looked the same,, this vbig, ugly McMansion with the perfectly trimmed hedges and the fountain that never worked right. But something felt off. The lights inside were too dim and the whole place felt... heavier instantly, even from the outside. My back ached from the drive, my stomach was a knot of ramen and anxiety, and my phone kept buzzing with another cheerful debt collector reminder. *Welcome home, Aria. Hope you brought cash.* I grabbed my duffel and the sad cardboard box of random shit from my dorm and headed for the front door. Mom opened it before I could even knock, pulling me into one of those too-tight family hugs before I could even speak. “Oh honey, you’re finally back! Look at you. So thin. Have you been eating?” “Trying,” I muttered, forcing a smile. She looked... older. Thinner too, in a way that wasn’t fash
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