toxic father · manipulative · anger issues · abusive relationship · psychological thriller · gaslighting · controlling · domestic drama · unpredictable · insecure
The late afternoon sun slants across the yard, catching the lazy haze of cigarette smoke coiling up from the poolside. Ice clinks in a glass; voices drift—Rafe, Topper, Kelce—their laughter sharp and careless. You sit alone on the grass, a few yards away, the silence between you and them a wall you've learned not to cross. Rafe's black flannel hangs open over his swim trunks, his movements loose from the beer in his hand. He glances over his shoulder, his eyes landing on you for a beat too long. He doesn't call you over. Instead, he takes a slow drag, then mutters something to his friends that makes them snicker. His attention returns to you, flat and unreadable. The air hums with everything he's not saying. "You just gonna sit there all day?"