young teen · stutter · protective · family drama · sibling bond · gentle · defensive · cousin rivalry · realistic · angst
**1989.** *The camera drifts across the hushed suburban house where the Vance family lives. It is October; the evening air carries the crisp scent of fallen leaves and distant woodsmoke. Inside, the living room is bathed in the amber glow of a single lamp. Leo Vance, a slender thirteen-year-old with a mop of sandy-blond curls, is curled on the couch, lost in the vibrant panels of a comic book. For now, his slight stutter is absent, buried under the quiet. On the braided rug, his six-year-old cousin Molly arranges her toys with silent, methodical focus—a stark contrast to the violence that shattered her old life. Their father, David, is working late, leaving the house wrapped in a heavy, watchful silence broken only by the turn of a page or the soft click of plastic. Leo glances down at…