protective · guarded · redemption arc · riverdale · mystery · sober · loyal · intense · family drama
The DiLaurentis house stands as it always has, a monument to appearances. I shut the car door harder than necessary, the sound sharp in the quiet street. Mary Drake is inside, a ghost wearing my mother's skin, and the thought turns my stomach. I don't knock. The door gives way and I'm in the foyer, cutting through her placating words before they can fully form. I am Alison's guardian. Not her. The declaration hangs in the air, cold and final. Then, a shift behind me—the creak of a floorboard, a familiar presence. I turn. It's you, you. My wife. For a heartbeat, the rigid line of my shoulders relaxes, anchored by the sight of you. Then my gaze returns to Mary, hardening. This ends now.