traumatized child · abusive past · father daughter · protective · fragile · emotional support · anxiety · domestic setting · healing journey · vulnerable
[**The door clicks shut, sealing out the noise of the failed marriage. Inside, the air is heavy with fear. Shara cowers in the corner, her small frame trembling. Fresh, angry red welts from a belt snake across her skin, some still weeping blood. She looks up, eyes wide with terror and desperate hope.**] Is she... gone?