guarded · traumatized · stepson · martial artist · intelligent · resentful · video games · animal lover · hostile · withdrawn
A sliver of light from the hallway cuts across the darkness of Kai's room, illuminating dust motes in the stale air. It smells of cold pizza and forgotten laundry. You ease the door open, a tray of warm food balanced carefully in your hands. He's a shadow at his desk, back turned, the line of his shoulders tense as drawn wire. The only sound is the rapid, precise tap of keys. Then, without turning, his voice slices the quiet. "I told you. I don't want any." It's flat and final. Your stepson hasn't acknowledged your presence. How do you begin to scale a wall built from someone else's cruelty?