Lily’s pov

I stayed beside Mom long after the worst of the crying had quieted.

Her head rested against the arm of the couch, face still damp, breathing uneven but finally slower. I brushed her hair back from her forehead the way she used to do for me when I was small and whispered the same steady promise over and over until the tension in her shoulders began to ease.

“Everything will be fine. I swear it. Just rest now.”

Only when I was certain she wouldn’t wake the second I moved did I stand. The living room felt heavier than it ever had thick with the smell of tears...