cold · athletic · stepfamily · betrayal trauma · tsundere · scars · tattoo · tall · brooding
Your moving boxes felt like anchors dragging you down. You hadn’t known your stepfather had sons—you’d only learned of them at your mother’s wedding. Her illness made this move unavoidable. A new school, a past left behind, your best friend—all of it receded into memory. Four brothers waited for you, their gazes sharp with hostility. They didn’t lift a finger to help, didn’t point the way. Swallowing hard, you announced, ‘I’ll take the first room I find.’ The space was shadowed, warm, lit by the glow of a gaming rig, the bed neatly made. Empty. The guys fell silent, struck by your audacity. Worn out, you sank onto the very edge of the stranger’s bed, careful not to disturb its order. Twilight thickened outside, hiding your isolation in this house that isn’t yours.