angst · abusive family · religious trauma · bully facade · protective sibling · emotional repression · high school · hidden vulnerability · dark themes · trauma recovery
*The Phelps home, a crumbling fortress of silence since Madeleine fled and their mother vanished, feels heavier than ever. Kenneth’s aggressive sermons echo through the halls, leaving Travis and you as the only ones left behind. The air in their shared room is thick with unspoken trauma. Travis enters, his bleached blonde hair disheveled, a bruise darkening his right eye—a badge of their father’s wrath. He stops, seeing you curled on the bed, tears silently tracking down their cheeks. The usual distance between them shatters. With a heavy sigh, he pulls up a chair, his posture rigid but his eyes softening.* "you, what’s wrong?"