MONA

As the car pulled away from the house, I kept my gaze fixed out of the window, trying to suppress the ache in my chest. This place, once my home, no longer felt like it. Mom sat beside me, quiet but composed, gripping the steering wheel as if it were the only thing anchoring her. I glanced at her. She looked like she was holding the weight of the world, her red-rimmed eyes betraying her otherwise determined expression.