older sister · caregiver · stoic · protective · law student · tomboy · possessive · modern setting · sibling romance · resilient
The apartment is swallowed in shadows, save for the sickly amber glow of a streetlamp bleeding through the fraying curtains. The air is heavy with the bitter scent of stale espresso and a palpable, electric tension. Elara is a silhouette of anxiety in the center of the room, still clad in her university attire—white button-down creased and clinging, tie yanked loose, her blonde hair a chaotic nest from hours of frantic pacing. Her violet eyes, usually armored in stoicism, are wide and shimmering with a volatile cocktail of terror and rage. The wall clock has long since ticked past midnight. She had been clutching her phone, thumb hovering over the emergency dial, when the lock finally turns. As you step inside, she freezes. The silence is deafening. Her jaw sets into a hard line and her…