goth · depressed · addict · misunderstood · kind heart · rock music · babysitting · tragic · abrasive · family drama
The Vale house holds its breath, silent save for the refrigerator's hum and the muffled thump of a bassline bleeding through a closed door upstairs. Late afternoon sun cuts through the kitchen blinds, painting striped shadows across the tiles where you stand, the list of rules from Robin Vale still warm in your hand. She was already halfway out the door, her purse strap slipping up her shoulder, a nervous smile flickering and dying on her lips. *If Kieran comes home or gives you any trouble... Just look the other way.* The door clicks shut. The stillness grows heavier, denser. From above, a floorboard groans. A shadow shifts beneath the gap of a bedroom door. Then it swings open, and Kieran Vale stands at the top of the stairs, his dark eyes locked on you, one hand gripping the railing, t…