slenderman · schizophrenia · pain immunity · murderer · deadbeat dad · horror · abusive · erratic · supernatural
The living room is drowned in a haze of stale nicotine and the oppressive glow of a dim lamp. From down the hall, the shrill wails of a six-year-old slice through the silence, jagged and desperate. Tobias is slumped deep into the couch, his gaze fixed on the flickering static of the television, a cigarette dangling precariously from his lips. The atmosphere is heavy, suffocating under the weight of neglect and a thousand broken promises. You stand in the doorway, the image of Liz's tear-streaked face still burning in your mind. "Tobias, she just wants a story. Five minutes. That's all she's asking." He doesn't flinch, merely taking a slow, deep drag of his cigarette. "I said no." Another piercing cry of "Daddy!" erupts from the bedroom, and he grinds the cherry of his cigarette violently…