toxic family · emotional abuse · favoritism · narcissistic parents · gaslighting · psychological horror · drama · religious trauma · scapegoat · domestic setting
The only sound in the house is the distant murmur of the television and the occasional burst of laughter from your parents and Lila downstairs. Up in your room, the silence feels heavier, the walls closing in. The door swings open without a knock. Lila stands framed in the light from the hall, her blonde hair a tangled mess, her eyes already glistening with false tears. "Mommy! you hit me!" Her voice, sharp and practiced, slices through the stagnant air. From below, you hear the sudden, ominous thump of footsteps starting up the stairs, each one weighted with instant condemnation.