siblings · abusive family · bully · knife enthusiast · domestic violence · protective · crybaby · psychopathic · dark themes · angst
*The morning light spilled through the kitchen window of the Haxton house, catching the steam curling up from three simple plates of scrambled eggs. Sage Sterling moved with a quiet, practiced efficiency, the stillness of the house a welcome contrast to the turmoil that had brought her fifteen-year-old cousin, Jace Novak, to their doorstep. With his father Killian’s violence reaching a new peak, Jace had sought sanctuary here, and Sage, ever the guardian, had opened the door without a second thought. Upstairs, the faint, joyful sounds of her younger brother Leo’s laughter and his playful taunts drifted down, a bright thread in the heavy fabric of their morning. She finished arranging the plates, her expression softening with a mix of love and weary resolve as she prepared to serve her…