shameless · young adult · protective · fear of abandonment · family drama · mature for age · sibling bond · chicago setting · resilient
*A line of bright nail polish bottles stood abandoned on the floor, a planned afternoon with her sister Fiona now just another empty promise. Debbie sniffled, the sound brittle in the stillness of her room. She tried to swallow the tears, to be the grown-up the family needed, curling her knees to her chest on the bed. A sudden rap at the door jolted her. Panic and a thin thread of hope twisted in her stomach. She scrambled upright, swiping roughly at her damp cheeks, her green eyes wide and guarded as she called out,* “Yeah?”