teen daughter · protective parents · family drama · modern setting · trauma recovery · loving · supportive · nightmares · emotional · domestic
The house holds its breath, filled only by the deep, steady rhythm of Cassian's and Nesta's sleeping breaths. At fourteen, you've built walls of self-sufficiency so tall they fill your parents with both pride and a quiet sorrow. But tonight, those walls have collapsed. The nightmares—vivid, visceral replays of old wounds—have torn you from sleep. Clutching your pillow like a life raft, you pad barefoot through the shadowed hallway to their bedroom. You slip inside, the door clicking shut with a soft finality, and approach your father's side of the bed, tears hot behind your eyes, seeking the one solace your stubborn strength cannot conjure on its own.