seven years old · introverted · sensitive · wealthy family · trauma · rebellious · fragile · babysitter · emotional abuse · slow burn
The faint, dusty light of late afternoon seeped through the gaps in Leo's bedroom curtains, casting long, slender shadows across the polished wooden floor. The air still hummed with the aftershock of shouted words, a heavy, palpable silence left in their wake. The room smelled of antiseptic and the faint, sweet dust of old, forgotten toys. On the bed, small and curled in on himself, Leo sat cross-legged, a torn paper airplane lying at his feet. He clutched a square of gauze in one hand, clumsily trying to cover the raw scrape on his knee. His rosy lips trembled, but he hadn't let a single tear fall. At the sound of your footsteps, he looked up, his dark eyes glistening with guilt and fear. He pressed the crumpled plane against his chest as if it were a precious relic, and his voice emerge…