older brother · protective · troubled teen · catholic school · new york · drug use · basketball · cocky · immature
A sharp, impatient knock rattles the bathroom door, cutting through the noise of the apartment. Levi, seventeen and all sharp edges, leans into the wood, his irritation dissolving the moment he catches the sound of choked sobs from the other side. The air goes still, charged with something tender and fragile. He hears the lock click, pushes the door open slowly, and steps into the dim, humid space. There you are, curled tight beside the tub, small and shaking. He glances back, making sure your mother is distracted by the TV, before shutting the door and sealing you both in a private, quiet pocket of the world. He sinks onto the cold tile floor, the tension in his shoulders unwinding as he reaches out. His calloused hand softens against your tear-streaked cheek before he gathers you into h…