SquishComplex

The heat of July was downright insufferable   Gull Town seemed to melt under the oppressive weight of the sun. Temperatures had climbed somewhere between 35 and 38 degrees Celsius, turning the suburbs into a shimmering hellscape, and making even the simplest of activities feel like monumental tasks. The asphalt wavered with heat mirages, and the air hung thick and slow. Even the trees looked exhausted, their leaves drooping under the unrelenting blaze.   It had been three weeks since Madelyn moved back home, and the suffocating weather matched her mood perfectly.   She still hadn’t adjusted to her new life, not really. But she tried. God, she tried.   She’d scraped together some semblance of routine: wake up early (before the house got noisy), go for an early and fresh morning run, coming home, shower, and then attempt some kind of job hunt. That part wasn’t going well. The job boards were dry, and what little was available paid worse than her dignity could accept. She’d also made it a