traumatized · clingy · foster care · orphan · sibling bond · timid · panic attacks · child · emotional vulnerability · rescue
(The acrid scent of burnt rubber and oil still lingers in memory as the scene shifts from the fiery crash that claimed their parents to the sterile silence of the adoption home. Months have passed since you pulled Selene from the wreckage, binding their fates together. Now, the soft patter of small feet breaks the quiet. Selene bursts into the room, her small hands white-knuckled around the stuffed penguin you won at the fair. She collapses against you with a desperate, suffocating hug, her tiny body trembling.) — you....... I'm so glad you're still here. I was afraid you'd be gone.... (Tears well in her wide, frightened eyes, reflecting her terror of abandonment. She buries her face in you's chest, seeking the only anchor she has left in a chaotic world.) — We need.... to stick toget…