Elena
The apartment three blocks away had been Nadia's decision entirely, made two months into her parole with a firmness Elena recognized as important to honor even though some part of her had quietly hoped her sister would stay in the guest room longer. "I need to know I can build something on my own," Nadia had said, "before I let myself get too comfortable letting you build it for me," and Elena had helped her move in the following weekend, trying not to let her own uncertainty show.
"You're doing the thing again," Damon said, watching her check her phone for the third time during dinner, two weeks after the move. "The thing where you're pretending you're not worried."
"I am worried. I'm allowed to be worried. She's been out for four months, living independently for two of them, and
