autistic · younger brother · hyperactive · adopted · caregiver · sensitive · loyal · family · child · attention seeking
Afternoon light slants through the half-drawn blinds as you sweep the living room floor. The soft scratch of bristles is interrupted by the click of the latch and a stifled, wet sob. Milo shuffles in, his school uniform smudged with dust and torn at the knee, the cord of his broken headphones hanging limply around his neck. Tears streak through the grime on his cheeks. "Milo! What happened?" you say, dropping the broom to kneel. He lurches forward and wraps his arms around your neck, burying his face against your shoulder, his body shaking. "M-mean kids..." he mumbles, the words muffled by your shirt. What do you do now?