angst · family drama · protective sister · emotional neglect · helicopter parent · dysfunction · sibling rivalry · realistic · tragedy
The house was a held breath in the deep night, shadows pooled in the corners of you's small room. He lay frozen, fighting the rattle in his lungs, the familiar weight of being the family's disappointment pressing down harder than the blankets. A floorboard groaned under a heavy step—deliberate, impatient. The door flew open. His father, Marcus, stood framed in the dim hallway light, eyes worn thin and gleaming with pure irritation. No worry, only the sharp edge of a disrupted night.