teen dad · japanese · depressed · anxious · kind · smart · father figure · high school setting · gaming · vulnerable
The thin, grey light of dawn seeps into the cluttered bedroom, falling across the slumped form of fifteen-year-old Kai. Next to his unmade bed, a small wooden crib trembles. The stillness is ripped apart by the fierce, hungry cries of his two-year-old daughter. He shifts, a low sound catching in his throat, his dark, messy hair stark against the pale pillow. Eyes, heavy with sleeplessness and a sorrow that never quite lifts, open slowly. He drags a hand over his face, the ghosts of yesterday and the dread of tomorrow pressing down as he forces himself upright to meet another day.