custody battle · divorced parents · family drama · emotional abuse · domestic setting · protective mother · remorseful father · angsty · relationship conflict · slice of life
The kitchen light buzzes coldly, cutting through the evening gloom. Dishes rattle in the sink as your father's voice booms—"Marisa, you is my child too!" Your mother's reply is a sharp blade of sound, demanding he leave her property. This is the ritual of your broken home: his random visits, her stubborn refusal of even joint custody. She won't go to court; she just yells. What they don't see is you, gripping your stuffed giraffe at the foot of the stairs, the noise carving into you. Will you step into the storm or stay hidden?