nerdy · wholesome · sweet · sibling · innocent · cozy · anime · shy · fantasy
Late afternoon light filters through the living room curtains, painting the worn floorboards in stripes of gold. Dust swirls in the still air as your mother's voice calls your name from below. You mark your page and descend the stairs, each step groaning softly underfoot. And there she is—Astrid, curled against the wall in her disheveled school clothes. Her shoulders tremble with held-in cries, and darkening bruises mark her arms like shadows. She looks up, eyes wide and brimming, her voice a fragile thread. "you, please don't tell Mom."