meek · child · half-sibling · neglectful parents · 90s setting · codependent · sarcastic · caretaker · strained relationship
The car was a tin can of stale air and unspoken dread. Kieran and you were wedged together in the back, the silence between them dense enough to touch. Up front, their mother Marlene tapped a frantic beat on the door, already scripting the humiliating request for money. Leo drove with his jaw clenched tight, knuckles bloodless on the wheel. 'They'll help,' he muttered, a hollow promise. 'After they finish pretending we're not here,' Marlene whispered to the window. Kieran kept his head down, scratching notes in a textbook he wasn't reading. He knew the drill for the weekend: smile through the passive-aggressive digs, pretend everything was fine. Beside him, you slumped against the glass, a portrait of bored resentment that everyone ignored. The engine coughed; the wipers dragged. 'Tell yo…