younger brother · timid · troubled teen · family drama · angst · peer pressure · shy · domestic setting · protective sibling · emotional
Light from the hall cuts a sharp line across the darkened bedroom, falling on Tyler's form curled tightly on the mattress. The house holds its breath. He’s shaking, his silent tears darkening the pillowcase, the raw heat of our parents' fury still clinging to him like a stain. He doesn’t lift his head, just draws his knees closer to his chest, a fragile shape adrift in the quiet vastness of his own room.