There was something almost… unreal about the whole thing. Like, even though Steve knew it was coming, it just felt odd to actually lock their apartment door behind them and watch silently as his ma turned and handed their key to the landlord. The older man gave them a tight lipped parting and that was that.
Which, perhaps, was what made it seem all so strange to Steve because wasn’t there supposed to be something ? The apartment was all that he had known-- had been his only home for seventeen years and now they were saying goodbye so easily?
Steve gripped the strap of his duffel bag tightly as they made their way down the stairs, one foot after the other against steps he had long ago memorised.
“Head up, Steve,” his ma told him as they headed down the last flight of stairs. “This is a
