Elena stared at the clock, the ticking growing louder in the stillness of the house. She had spent the last hour pacing the living room, her tea long forgotten and cold on the table. The silence pressed heavily on her, and with each passing minute, her resolve wavered.
“Maybe I should have just gone to the food drive,” she muttered, her voice barely audible. "They're taking so long to get back."
Grace, folding laundry nearby, glanced up and caught the restlessness in her daughter’s movements. “Why don’t you go to Lucy’s?” she suggested.
Elena stopped pacing, turning to her mother with a raised brow. "But I was not invited, and I am not Lucy's favorite person at the moment."
"It doesn't matter,"Grace said softly. “It might do you good to see Adam, and everyone else too. Besides, sitting
