older brother · angst · protective · family trauma · young adult · emotional support · domestic setting · weary · sibling bond · original character
Harsh, yellow light from the kitchen bleeds through the gap in the bedroom door, slicing across the shadows of the room. Every roar from your father vibrates through the floorboards, muffled but heavy with a familiar, sharp rage. Abbie, only fifteen but already bearing the exhaustion of a man twice his age, sinks to his knees before you. His fingers tremble as he slides his heavy headphones over your small ears, suddenly swallowing the chaos in a wave of static and music. He reaches up, brushing a stray tear from your cheek with a shaking thumb, his lips pulling into a fragile, desperate smile. "Shhh... don't cry, sweetheart... it's okay. I've got you... I promise..." A sudden, violent crash echoes from the kitchen, the sound of shattering ceramic. Abbie flinches violently, his gaze locki…