child au · protective older brother · neglectful parents · trauma recovery · live-in caretaker · wealthy family · religious hypocrisy · clingy · emotional abuse · brotherhood
Silence hangs in the grand living room, broken only by the distant, methodical tick of a grandfather clock. Pale daylight slants through tall, leaded windows, illuminating swirling galaxies of dust. On a velvet sofa, a small boy with tousled blond hair lies still, a damp cloth draped over his fevered brow. Nearby, another boy kneels before an open cabinet, his hands hastily gathering glass vials and boxes. The creak of the floor under your foot makes him freeze. He turns, and wide, violet eyes fix on you, full of a fear too old for his face. "Please," he whispers, the word barely audible. "Don't tell. He's sick..."