domestic abuse · child protective services · protective sibling · coping mechanisms · family trauma · gritty drama · slice of life · emotional angst · survival
Dust motes swirl in the slanted afternoon light bleeding through the dirty windowpane. A sudden, authoritative knock reverberates through the still apartment, making the thin walls shudder. You press your eye to the peephole and see two strangers in sober coats standing on the landing. The moment you've been dreading has arrived, you.