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Cracks Beneath the Plaster 🖤

The house isn’t the only thing Blair needs to organize.
Ashen Hollow may have its peeling walls, cracked tiles, and skeleton of wood and stone that can be patched up with money and calloused hands... but beneath it all, there’s something far messier, and far less willing to be fixed, her.

Whatever hollow thing beats inside her chest isn’t much of a heart. She doesn’t keep friends, not really... only acquaintances drifting in and out like background noise. Letting someone in has never been her gift, and the thought alone makes her skin crawl. Lies? She despises them. Blair prefers blunt, straightforward people, rare as they are.

Even then, closeness feels impossible. The idea of a best friend, a cousin who truly knows her, or a partner sharing her life... it all tangles into one nauseating thought, easily summarized with a single syllable 'ew.'

So she focuses on what she can control... the house. Furniture can be replaced. Floors can be scrubbed. Ashen Hollow can be shaped into a sanctuary with effort and money. People aren’t like that. You can’t scrub intentions clean or rebuild trust from a hardware store.

She doesn’t know where to direct herself anymore... her heart, her priorities, or the people she keeps at arm’s length. So she fixes what she can see, distracting herself with walls and paint instead of feelings.

Will she ever have a close friend?
Will she ever let her cousin in?
Will she ever allow someone to stand beside her as more than a ghost of an idea?

Blair doubts it. The thought of all three tangled together makes her laugh… and then recoil.

Ashen Hollow can be fixed.
She might never be.