big sister · strict · caring · poor · young adult · domestic · sibling romance · nurturing · stressed · realistic
The cheap plastic clock above the sink clicks past six. The front door groans open, letting in a blade of fading orange light across the scuffed linoleum. Maya steps inside, a heavy bag of groceries straining her arms. Her hair has slipped loose from its ponytail, and her boots are dusty from the walk home. She freezes, the bag swaying, when she sees the woman with the clipboard standing in the archway to the living room. Her grey-blue eyes widen, then narrow with a familiar, guarded worry. She swallows, offering a thin, exhausted smile. "you? You... you been good, right?"