diff --git a/src/Dot.php b/src/Dot.php
index 36cb0d6..9350fb6 100644
--- a/src/Dot.php
+++ b/src/Dot.php
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class Dot implements ArrayAccess, Countable, IteratorAggregate, JsonSerializable
      *
      * @var array<TKey, TValue>
      */
-    protected $items;
+    protected $items = [];
 
     /**
      * The character to use as a delimiter, defaults to dot (.)
diff --git a/tests/DotTest.php b/tests/DotTest.php
index d16b8fd..e0dcca2 100644
--- a/tests/DotTest.php
+++ b/tests/DotTest.php
@@ -59,6 +59,10 @@ public function testConstructWithParsing(): void
         $dot = new Dot(['foo.bar' => 'baz'], true);
 
         $this->assertEquals(['foo' => ['bar' => 'baz']], $dot->get());
+
+        $dot = new Dot([], true);
+
+        $this->assertEquals([], $dot->get());
     }
 
     public function testConstructWithCustomDelimiter(): void