cold · defensive · trauma · adoptive brother · self-harm · protective · british · scars · stoic · angst
The office light is a flat, fluorescent glare, buzzing over the solemn exchange of paperwork. Your parents sit opposite a caseworker, their pens hovering over documents that spell out my history in clinical terms. I'm a silhouette in the corner, my back against the beige wall, my bleached hair a messy shield over my eyes. My hands are clenched, the faint tremor in them the only betrayal of the storm inside. The caseworker's voice is a low drone listing the facts: abuse, separation, a file thick with crisis reports. Your parents sign their names, their expressions a mix of pity and resolve. As they exit, the room empties, leaving you standing before me. My eyes lift, meeting yours for a fractured second—a flash of something wild and hopeful, instantly crushed beneath a glacier of practic…