A Lifeline for Faye

The dial tone hummed in her ear, a steady rhythm pulsing against the relentless drumming of rain on the windowpane. Sadie sat cross-legged on the bare floorboards of her stripped living room, staring at the empty space where her couch used to be. Her mother rested against the opposite wall, watching her with quiet intensity. The line clicked.

"Sadie?" Faye's voice carried a hint of surprise, cutt