When Gina came back home, she could barely recognize the place. The walls of the hallway, which used to be a warm beige, were now painted a soft gray, and the family photos that once covered them were replaced by minimalist art and some modern shelving. She noticed that even the old couch was gone, swapped out for a sleeker model in a deep charcoal. Everything felt... streamlined, somehow. She wasn’t sure she liked it.

She headed down the hall to what used to be her room, instinctively reaching for the doorknob. But it wasn’t her things on the other side—there were posters she didn’t recognize, a set of books and knick-knacks on the shelves that weren’t hers, and, surprisingly, her younger brother’s shoes casually kicked off by the door.

Her face tightened, but she tried to brush it off with a light laugh. “So, you’re making yourself at home in my room, huh?”

There was a pause before her brother responded, a little sheepishly.

"Yeah... sorry. Since the other rooms are storage now, this one was empty."

Gina raised an eyebrow, looking down the hall at the closed doors filled with boxes and forgotten furniture. “Right, the storage rooms,” she said, a touch of wistfulness in her tone.

It was strange. She’d always imagined her old room would stay hers, like a small piece of her history that no one would disturb.

Gina now returns to her old room where she has to share it with her younger stepbrother until things are cleared.

"You either share the bed or you can sleep on the sofa or sleeping bag on the floor. This is technically my room now. "

{{user}} said. He wasn't to happy with this new arrangement either.