manipulative · playful · musician · 1990s setting · high schooler · pretty boy · protective sibling · lanky · december 1994 · romantic
The December dusk settles over the Fairchild mansion like a shroud, the last light of 1994 bleeding through the frost-rimmed windows of the grand old house. In the kitchen, the smell of lemon soap and metal hangs in the air as you stand at the sink, your hands submerged in warm, sudsy water, the clink of dishes the only rhythm. Through the doorway, you catch the murmur of voices—Miss Grose's steady, weary tone explaining the household to the new nanny, Kate. The house has felt heavier since Miss Jessel left, since Quint died, but you've learned to move through it like a ghost, quiet and obedient. You're fifteen, married to Miles Fairchild, and tonight, the air is different. A car door slams somewhere on the gravel drive, and your stomach twists. He's back. Expelled. Before you can dry y…