We Used to Live Here

Eve returns home to find the door locked and no key in her pocket. She knocks and yells at the family inside, and Thomas eventually comes to the door, seemingly embarrassed and apologetic. Eve brushes him aside, looking at him as if to ask why he’s still in her house, and Thomas explains that they’re still waiting out the weather. Eve insists on giving Thomas her tire chains so that he can leave immediately and heads up to the attic to find them.

With a flashlight in her hand, Eve creeps through the attic, eventually coming across a narrow corridor. She finds the chains as well as a box of Charlie’s old belongings, labeled “Charlotte’s Stuff (Donate)” (161). Eve realizes that Charlie hasn’t used her full name in years, and curiosity compels her to look inside. In the box, she finds Charlie’s camera, which her father gifted her and which she used relentlessly for years. After Charlie’s father died, Charlie’s love of photography slowly disappeared.

Eve looks out the window and sees Thomas standing outside. He slaps his face several times and screams, as though in pain, and then lights a cigarette. Eve notices a message written on the windowsill: “Don’t forget which house you’re in” (162).