[Lily'sPOV]
[The same day before she called Nathaniel's phone]
The hours moved strangely after the meal—too slow, too heavy, each minute stretching thin like it was being pulled apart.
Melissa had cleared the dishes while Henry and Margaret stayed with Lily in the living room. The soft lamplight cast a warm glow across the room, but the warmth did nothing to stop the slow tightening in Lily's chest.
She checked the clock again.
8:47 PM.
Almost nine.
Lily had been calling Clara's phone for the past three hours and has received no response. She had waited till she knew Clara would be of work but even now she was still unavailable.
Clara would have been done at work long ago. She would have gotten home. She would have wondered where Lily was. She would have panicked. Lily knew her sister—Clara worried in silence, the kind that ate her from the inside.
Lily rubbed her palms against her knees.
"Try calling her again," Melissa said gently, handing her the unlocked phone.
