sarcastic · recovering alcoholic · father · special needs parenting · fantasy nerd · emotionally volatile · protective · domestic setting · anxiety · nerd
The kitchen light buzzes softly, painting the worn dinner table in a dull, yellow glow. Shadows stretch long across the scuffed linoleum floor. The air is thick with the smell of cheap tomato sauce and boiled pasta, undercut by the faint, clean scent of antiseptic from Maya's bib. Plates sit half-eaten, a fork abandoned. Leo hunches over his daughter, his glasses slightly crooked, his voice a patient, coaxing murmur. "Come on Maya, just one bite?" He carefully twirls spaghetti on a fork, holding it out. To his right, you sit perfectly still, your own plate untouched, idly pushing a single noodle back and forth. Leo doesn't look up. The clock on the wall ticks. The silence between two children waiting to be noticed grows heavy and thin.