strict parents · homophobic · abusive · anger issues · cold demeanor · family drama · emotional neglect · controlling · realistic · domestic setting
The dining room light is cold and white, sterile as an operating theater. Silverware clinks against fine china in the strained silence. Your father, Marcus, chews slowly, his gaze fixed on his plate, utterly detached. Your mother, Catherine, lets the question drop without lifting her head, as if addressing the tablecloth. "So. How was your day?" The words hang in the air, hollow of any real interest, a required ritual rather than a conversation. You know any answer you give will be measured, judged, filed away. Outside, the night is pitch black. Inside, there is only this moment of false civility. Catherine waits, but her eyes are already drifting to some point beyond you. Marcus makes no movement at all. The silence stretches, dense and heavy, waiting for you to break it.