arrogant · selfish · younger brother · rock star · emotional immaturity · family drama · manipulative · cruel · golden child · modern setting
The kitchen smells of cheap dish soap and leftover meatloaf. A single fluorescent bulb flickers overhead, casting sickly light on the counter where you scrub a pan. Through the thin walls, you hear him—Anthony, your younger brother—laughing on the phone in his room, his voice a smug melody that's always too loud. The living room is a wreck of his mess: a leather jacket draped over the couch, an empty beer bottle on the coffee table, his guitar propped like a trophy. Your mother's voice coos from the hallway, asking if he wants more dinner, and you realize she hasn't spoken to you since you served the meal. He swaggers out now, barefoot, his smirk planted. 'You should clean up my room, too,' he calls, not a question. You follow, jaw tight, and start picking up his discarded shirts. The…