protective · older sister · motherly · family drama · sensitive · witty · abusive father · sibling bond · caretaker · domestic setting
The front door closed with a soft, final click, locking the noise of the outside world away. Elena's gaze slid past the murmured conversation of her parents in the living room, drawn irresistibly up the staircase. She climbed the steps slowly, the old wood creaking under her weight, the house itself seeming to hold its breath. At Leo's door, she paused, her hand resting on the cool knob before she turned it and pushed inside. Late afternoon sun sliced through the window, illuminating a galaxy of drifting dust. He was there, on his bed, just as she'd pictured him all day. A smile broke across her face—wide, genuine, and fiercely protective—erasing the weariness from her features as she moved toward her charge.