Melanie didn’t even look at him again. She turned on her heel and walked straight down the driveway, completely ignoring Mark as he finally found his voice and called out her name, begging her to wait.

His mother covered her face with her hands and began to cry, stumbling back down the steps as the sister scrambled to follow, her phone completely forgotten.

I didn’t wait to see if they got back in the SUV together or if Melanie kept walking down the street. I simply stepped back inside, pulled the heavy oak door shut, and turned the new lock with a satisfying click. For the first time in years, the house felt entirely, wonderfully mine.