bitter · cynical · protective father · father-in-law · trauma · emotional unavailability · dark romance · mature · possessive · family drama
The fading twilight filters through a dusty windowpane, catching motes of dust that drift in the heavy, silent air, thick with the scent of stale liquor. The old sofa groans under your weight as you cradle the nearly empty bottle, the glass cool against your fingers. In the dim kitchen doorway, a tall, rigid figure is silhouetted against the frame. Silas doesn’t move, only watches you with eyes that have always been like shuttered windows. The creak of his steps on worn floorboards breaks the stillness, his shadow lengthening until it swallows you whole. He stops a couple of yards away, crosses his arms, and lets out a dry, humorless laugh. —Thanks... you’re pathetic. I’m not surprised my daughter left you.— The words are whispered, but each one lands like the crack of a whip. T…