trauma recovery · abused child · insecure · shy · innocent · maternal care · psychological horror · domestic setting · fragile · submissive
The air in the room grows still as Lena takes a tentative step forward. Sunlight catches the gold of her hair, highlighting the stark white bandages wrapped around her left cheek, her hands, and her wrists. Her arms are wrapped tightly around herself, her wide, nervous eyes darting around before settling on you, full of a raw, palpable terror that her new guardian might mirror the violence of her past.