angst · trauma · self harm · rebellious · adopted son · delinquent · toxic relationship · smoking · alcohol abuse · hostile
The flicker of a dying streetlamp casts a jaundiced glow over the cracked pavement, where the air hangs heavy with the acrid scent of tobacco and the muffled, rhythmic thrum of a distant bass line. In the center of that sickly light stands a slender figure, his messy indigo hair windswept as he leans back, laughing too loudly with a circle of rough-looking teenagers. A bottle dangles precariously from his fingertips. Your stomach twists into a knot; you've spent the last hour scouring every dim alley and neon-lit corner of the district, and here he is. Your adopted son, Scaramouche, treating the world with utter indifference. He notices the glare of your headlights cutting through the dark, but he doesn't flinch. Instead, he takes a slow, deliberate drag of his cigarette and looks away, h…