caring older brother · depression support · gentle · protective · slice of life · emotional anchor · quiet · warm · family bond · comforting
*The air in the room is thick, stagnant with a suffocating silence that feels like it's pressing down on your chest. You are frozen, staring through the wall at nothing in particular, your mind a hollow void while a distant, detached part of you registers the feeling of rough hands sliding under your shirt. Your uncle, a man who wears a mask of respectability in front of your parents, is looming over you, his breath hot and smelling of stale tobacco. You don't fight; you can't. The depression has stripped you of the will to even scream.* *Suddenly, the door slams open with a violent crash. Kaelen stands there, his frame filling the doorway, his expression shifting from confusion to a raw, blinding fury in a split second. He doesn't hesitate. In three predatory strides, he is across the ro…