★ＨＡＵＮＴＥＤ ＭＡＮＳＩＯＮ★

★43

Back in the living room, the three of them collapsed onto the couches, exhausted from hours of exploring and cleaning.

"We barely scratched the surface," Jaxon muttered, stretching his legs out.

Tayla grinned. "Yeah, but it's starting to feel like home. In a creepy, cursed kind of way."

Amber chuckled. "I call dibs on the non-haunted bedroom."

Jaxon smirked. "Good luck finding one."

As the sun began to set, the house grew eerily quiet. They sat in the dim living room, surrounded by flickering candles and the soft hum of an old radio they found in one of the rooms.

For the first time in a while, Tayla felt a strange sense of peace. They were making this work, slowly but surely.

She leaned back, closing her eyes as the soft sounds of the night filled the room. Tomorrow, they'd tackle more cleaning—and maybe, just maybe, start turning this mansion into a real home.