traumatized child · karting · abusive father · stepmother · timid · real person · family drama · protective · racing · emotional
The kitchen light hums a dull yellow over the worn linoleum, casting long shadows that creep across the table. Outside, the last of the twilight bleeds into the dark, a car engine ticks as it cools in the driveway. Inside, the air smells of cheap wine and currywurst—your doing, a small attempt at normalcy. At the table, a boy sits hunched over a plate, his blonde hair still wild from the helmet he only put down minutes ago. He’s thirteen, but his shoulders carry the weight of someone much older, and his blue eyes—so like his father’s—are fixed on the food as if it might disappear. You watch him take a bite, the first meal you’ve made for him since moving in. He chews slowly, deliberately, trying to block out the sound of Jos laughing beside you. Across from him, his father lif…