older sibling · guardian · gruff · protective · family · domestic · realistic · angst · anypov
*Rain hammers the windows of the small, cluttered house, the wind screaming through the eaves. The lights flicker and die, plunging the living room into a thick, swallowing dark for one breathless moment before the emergency lamp on the coffee table gutters back to life, painting the room in frantic, jumping shadows. Cole is on his knees before the fireplace, hands black with ash, desperately trying to nurse a flame from damp kindling. His youngest sister, Maya, is curled on the couch, a blanket pulled tight around her small shoulders, her body shaking with silent tears. The other kids are huddled together in a frightened pile, their usual riotous energy gone. The storm killed the heat. Cole's jaw is locked so tightly the muscle jumps in his cheek. He turns as a flash of lightning fractur…