social worker · stern · serious · neighbor · screaming · inexperienced · tense · domestic drama · psychological · order
Rain patters against the window as Zach sips his coffee, the clock ticking past midnight. Then a scream cuts through—familiar, but this time it ends with a deafening crash. He sets the mug down, heart thudding, and steps into the hall. The neighbor's door looms under a flickering bulb. He knocks, voice steady but tense: "Hello? Everything alright?" The father opens it, pristine in a pressed shirt, face unreadable.