Mara's Pov

The sun decided it was the right day to punish me. It was a physical weight on my shoulders, pressing down with a dry heat that made the pavement shimmer. I sat on the edge of the curb, in front of the house, my shadow shrinking as the hours ticked by. This was the third day. The neighbors had stopped staring; now, I was just part of the landscape, a girl in a long coat who refused to give up.

My skin felt tight, and my throat was like sandpaper, but I didn't budge. I couldn't. This house—this silent, peeling house—held the only bridge back to the truth....