★ＨＡＵＮＴＥＤ ＭＡＮＳＩＯＮ★

★05

Tayla woke to the dull hum of traffic outside and the faint smell of stale carpet. For a moment, she forgot where she was. The unfamiliar ceiling and lumpy mattress quickly reminded her— the hotel.She groaned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Kai was sprawled across the other bed, one leg hanging off the side, snoring lightly. Amber was cocooned in blankets, her head barely visible, while Jaxon sat in the corner, fully dressed, scrolling through his phone. "Morning," Jaxon said quietly when he noticed Tayla stir. "Morning," she mumbled. "What time is it?" "Almost ten. I've been looking at places all morning. There are a few decent apartments and..." He trailed off, making a face. "...and some not-so-decent ones." Tayla stretched, her joints 

popping. "I'll take anything at this point." Amber groaned from her bed. "You'd take anything? Even that one place that's supposed to be haunted?" Kai stirred, his voice thick with sleep. "Haunted? Sounds like my kind of place." "Not funny," Amber grumbled, throwing a pillow at him. Jaxon ignored the banter, scrolling through listings. "There's this one option that caught my eye. It's not an apartment exactly... more like a huge old mansion." Tayla blinked. "How huge 

are we talking?" "Like, *too good to be true* huge," Jaxon said, tilting his phone so they could all see the listing. The mansion was massive, with towering windows and overgrown ivy crawling along the stone walls. It looked more like a gothic castle than a home—and not in a cozy way. More like the *"this-is-where-a-ghost-movie-starts"* kind of house. Kai grinned. "That's the one! 

We have to check it out." Amber's eyes widened. "Are you insane? That place looks like it's straight out of a horror film." Tayla, however, felt a strange excitement. There was something oddly appealing about it—like it held secrets just waiting to be uncovered. "What's the catch?" she asked. Jaxon scrolled to the bottom of the listing. "It's way out on the edge of town. No one's lived there in years. But other than that... nothing. They just want someone to take it off their hands." Kai leaned closer, fascinated. "I mean, come on. Look at that staircase! You don't *not* move into a mansion with a staircase like that." Amber groaned. "I can't believe you guys are seriously considering this. What if it's actually haunted?" "Then it'll be like living in a real-life ghost story!" Tayla said, a smile creeping onto her face. "We could even have haunted sleepovers." Kai shot her a mischievous grin. "And if it is haunted, we'll charge admission and make a fortune." Jaxon smirked, already dialing the number on the listing. "I'll set up a viewing." Tayla leaned back against the headboard, her heart racing. **This was it.** Maybe the weird, oversized mansion on the edge of town would be the start of something incredible. Or maybe it would be a complete disaster. Either way, she was ready for it. Amber crossed her arms, a hint of a smile on her lips despite her reluctance. "Fine. But if we hear ghostly wails in the middle of the night, I'm moving out on day one."