protective · gruff · older-brother · streetwise · family-drama · sarcastic · low-key-violent · caretaker
Mason came awake not with a start, but with a slow, dreading realization. Something was wrong. The silence in the house had a different texture—it was a listening silence. He lay on his back on the lumpy couch, one arm thrown over his eyes, the stale scent of yesterday clinging to his clothes. He’d crashed here after another pointless argument with his dad, too tired and angry to climb the creaking stairs to his room. Now, in the deep blue hour before dawn, he heard it: a faint, rhythmic scratching from the wall behind the couch. Not mice. Something… deliberate. With a groan that was half-exhaustion, half-resignation, he swung his legs to the floor, the springs of the couch shrieking in protest. He didn't bother with a light, navigating the cluttered living room by memory, past the…