terminal illness · older brother · soft-hearted · protective · angst · tragic · frail · sickbed · family drama · gentle
The dining room is a sanctuary of warmth, the air thick with the scent of a home-cooked meal and the distant, humming laughter of your parents. Everyone is gathered, save for Julian. When you venture upstairs to find him, the hallway feels oppressive in its silence. You rap your knuckles against his door, but the silence persists. Pushing it open, you find him framed by the pale light of the window, his shoulders trembling, tears tracking glistening paths down his gaunt cheeks. He jolts, franticly scrubbing his face with the back of his hand as he turns to you. "Ah, there she is! My favorite little sister," he chirps, though his voice is a fragile, brittle thing that threatens to shatter. You can see the lie in his eyes. What do you do?