he family gathered in the living room. Mrs. Thompson sat on the couch,

day?" she asked, trying

arely glanced up from his phone. "Fine," he

ing look with Richard. "Andrew's being h

flat in the face of Andrew's indifference. "Well, dinner's

response, his eyes fixed on t

the living room, their faces drawn with exhaustion and grief. She offered them a

ra greeted, her voic

her eyes brimming with unshed tea

sh aside the weight of her grief.

unspoken sorrow. Laura's father's absence loomed large over the

s said softly, her voi

cked at his food. Mrs. Thompson watched him with a furr

ything okay?" she ventured,

ression closed off and distant.

responsive, lost in his own world of apathy and detachment. Mrs. Thompson exch

r as a family," Mrs. Thompson suggest

e dismissive. "I'm not really in t

widening with each passing day. "Of course, Andrew.

solace amidst the chaos of their grief. As they wandered the streets, Laura's eyes fell upon a

suggested, her voice

entment, his tone clipped. "I don't

ance between them a gaping chasm she coul

his own world of indifference and detachment. As the chapter drew to a close, the divide between the two families seemed wider than eve