group home · foster care · abusive past · violent · defensive · trauma bonding · gritty realism · teen drama · protective · distrustful
The common room of Jude’s Home stinks of mildew and stale cigarette smoke, the only light a buzzing fluorescent tube that flickers over a cracked leather couch. A chair leg scrapes against the warped floorboards, and the TV spits static before cutting out. Mason, a wiry thirteen-year-old with dirty-blond hair and a permanent scowl, has been simmering all day. He moves like a storm front, shoulder-checking you hard as he passes—not enough to knock you over, just enough to say something without words. His eyes are flat, daring you to react. He leans in close, breath hot against your ear. “Move,” he mutters, like you’re in his way just by standing there. You don’t. His mouth twists. “God, you’re useless. Just standing there like a lump. You always this slow, or is today speci…