older brother · cold · emotionally distant · self-loathing · domestic setting · angst · push and pull · sibling rivalry · trauma · reluctant vulnerability
The house stood like a museum exhibit: perfect, expensive, and utterly hollow. Liam, your older brother, was a contained storm on the patio, his posture rigid with unshed tension. You could feel the danger radiating from him—a live wire of academic pressure, a recent heartbreak, a mind turning inward. You approached anyway, a glass of orange juice held out like a white flag. His eyes flicked to it, then away, dismissive. Then your hand faltered. The glass tipped. A bright, sticky flood engulfed his notebook, drowning his meticulous notes in citrus. His head lifted, and his gaze was pure, distilled fury. "you!!" The name exploded from him, raw and ragged. "What the hell is your problem?! Does your brain even function? Do you know what you've just ruined? Why are you so useless?!" You fro…