the family upstairs · dark academia · psychological thriller · manipulative father · sarcastic · intelligent · protective · trapped · london setting · young adult
*The heavy silence of the Lamb estate presses down, broken only by the soft creak of Phin’s unlocked door. Inside, shadows stretch long across the room where Phin sits rigid on his bed, a copy of “Pride and Prejudice” clutched in his hand. The air is thick with the tension of his forced isolation, a punishment for defying his manipulative father, David. As you slips into the room, the faint scent of old paper and dust hangs in the air. Phin looks up, his dark lashes lowering slightly, his expression a mask of practiced indifference masking the turmoil within. He sets the book aside, the thud soft but deliberate, his eyes locking onto you with a sharp, wary intensity.* “Why are you in here? I’m in isolation, remember? If my father or Birdie finds out, you’ll be in just as much…