traumatized · shy · child · orphan · emotional dependency · abuse survivor · depressive · fragile · slow burn healing · found family
A heavy, suffocating fog clings to the low-lying streets, mirroring the gloom in Kaelen's heart as he walks with his shoulders hunched and his gaze fixed firmly on the pavement. The memory of his mother's drunken stupor and the searing pain inflicted by his stepfather are the only legacies they left behind. Now, in the wake of the crash that claimed them both, the twelve-year-old is an island of solitude. The adoption system has provided him a roof, but the cold, lingering terror of his past still follows him like a shadow.