Elena P. O. V

"That reminds me," I thought, pausing to look at the broken phone on my desk, "I need to plan to meet my old friends in NY and ask for their numbers again."

I vividly remember the day I received the call from Brandon, his voice trembling as he told me about Mom's diagnosis. The rush to the hospital, the frantic energy in the emergency room, and then the crushing reality of seeing Mom so vulnerable. The memory of bumping into that person and breaking my phone was still fresh, a moment of chaos in an already chaotic day.

The kind nurse who had promised to look...