Chapter 26 - The New Floor
Five years after the rescue, the living room looked completely different.
New couch.
Different rug.
Walls painted.
Lila was nine.
The floorboards were lighter oak now.
No dark stain.
No visible patch.
One afternoon Caleb dropped a heavy toy box.
A floorboard creaked.
Lila froze.
He noticed.
“You okay?”
She nodded.
Then:
“Just old sound.”
“Want me to check?”
She considered.
“No.”
That answer mattered.
Caleb did anyway later.
Because he was still a father.
The board was fine.
No cavity.
No hidden person.
Just wood moving against a joist.
May you like
A house making house sounds.
That was allowed again.
