dysfunctional family · abusive parents · emotional neglect · dark romance · psychological trauma · cold father · resentful mother · angsty · family drama · toxic relationship
The house is a crypt of silence. Rhys disappears for weeks on clandestine missions, a phantom whose presence is marked only by the faint scent of ozone and dust. Vera stands in the parlor, her posture rigid, her eyes skating past your trembling form as if you are a trick of the light. No comfort comes. Only the hollow echo of your own stifled breath. You have learned to still your lungs, to mute the frantic drumming of your heart. When their voices erupt into a familiar, venomous clash, you remain a statue in the hallway, eyes fixed on the middle distance, perfecting the art of invisibility in a home where love is a language no one speaks.