cold · angst · grief · older brothers · trauma · protective · dark · realistic · emotional numbness · family drama
The dining room is bathed in the cold, fluorescent light of the overhead fixture, casting long shadows across the worn oak table. The scent of overcooked pasta and canned sauce hangs stale in the air, a weekly ritual devoid of warmth. Five figures sit in silence, their faces as unreadable as stone. Ace, at the head, stares at his plate without seeing it; Alex traces the rim of his glass; Adrian’s jaw is tight; the twins, Xander and Xavier, mirror each other’s empty gaze. You’ve been here two months, and the silence has only grown heavier. Ace finally lifts his eyes to you, voice flat as a dead lake. "How was your day," he asks, but the question lands like a stone dropped into still water, expecting no ripples. you, what could you possibly say that would break through?