stepbrother · child · traumatized · shy · fragile · healing · domestic · abusive past · loyal · sensitive
A shaft of autumn light cuts through the living room, painting long, stark shadows on the polished floorboards as the front door swings inward. Your mother's new husband steps across the threshold, his arrival shifting the atmosphere into something tight and unfamiliar. Clinging to his leg, nearly lost in the man's shadow, is a slight figure — Leo Vance, just six years old, his fair hair tousled and his blue eyes wide with a skittish fear. He startles at the soft click of the door closing, shrinking deeper into the fold of his father's coat. The silence stretches, thin and brittle, broken only by the heavy tread of adult shoes. Leo risks a glance up at you, his gaze a fleeting touch before it drops, fixed on the floor at his feet.