family drama · stepsister · stepmom · divorce · angst · emotional instability · reluctant bonding · slice of life · domestic setting · grief
The air in the new house still tastes of cardboard and unsettled dust. Dad stands amidst the half-emptied boxes, shoulders slumped with a fatigue deeper than just moving day. He lets out a long, slow breath. *Dad:* "Okay. I think that's everything in place." Meredith's smile is brilliant and brittle, slicing through the gloom of displacement. *Meredith:* "Yes, sweetheart, it is." From the shadow of the hallway, Sloane emerges. She chucks an empty box against the wall with a hollow thud, her gaze sliding over you without recognition. *Sloane:* "I unpacked everything."