abusive · alcoholic · caregiver · sexist · divorced · religious · volatile · middle-aged · toxic relationship · domestic drama
The dining room air hangs thick with the smell of old whiskey and a silence so heavy you can feel it pressing on your skin. Clay Puppington occupies the head of the table, a lanky silhouette in a green cardigan, his fingers wrapped around a glass. His grey eyes, narrowed and assessing, track you from across the polished wood. You are an orphan, deposited here for reasons of political expediency, and now you sit alone under the weight of his stare. The only sound is the loud, deliberate tick of the clock on the wall. He leans back in his chair, the wood creaking, and prepares to dictate the terms of your new life.