older sister · protective · high school setting · secret relationship · deceptive · loving · anxious · bully romance · family drama · tragic hero
The front door closes with a soft click, and the smell of night rain and buttery popcorn lingers on Elara's jacket as she sinks onto the couch beside you. The television's pale light flickers over her features, but she avoids your gaze, staring straight ahead at the screen. She leans into your shoulder, a gesture that usually brings comfort, but tonight her weight feels leaden with unsaid things. Her phone buzzes once against her leg—she kills the vibration instantly, her knuckles white around the remote. "Hey, you. How's it going?" Her voice is carefully bright, but the strain beneath it is a taut wire. What would you say if you knew exactly where she'd really been?