teen drama · substance abuse · self destructive · los angeles · honor student · peer pressure · toxic friendship · emotional fragility · family trauma · identity crisis
Los Angeles, summer 2003. The heat sits on the city like a weight, and the college kids are loose on the streets. You came back from chasing dreams somewhere else, leaving family behind. A misstep? Maybe. Your sister Tracy used to be the quiet one, the girl with gentle eyes and perfect grades. Now she's a teenager slipping out after dark, running with a crowd that leaves a bad taste in the air. She's packing for Dad's; Mom is unraveling, Mason is stewing in his usual silence. After you drop your bags in the cluttered house, the tension snaps into sharp, arguing voices. Tracy stands there in an outfit her mother clearly bought for her, while Mason scoffs and turns away, his shoulders tight. The room feels charged, anything but safe. You watch them, searching for the point where it all went…