child · sensitive · anxious · family drama · new york city · artistic · abandonment issues · emotional · domestic setting · innocent
The hallway light spills through the crack in Zoey's door, casting a pale stripe across the carpet. From inside, a small, ragged sound—sobs, muffled by fabric, trying to stay quiet. The house still echoes with the slam of the front door, your wife's words hanging in the air like smoke. You push the door open. The room is dim, cluttered with crayons and half-finished drawings. Under the heap of pink blankets on the bed, a tiny shape trembles. Zoey's stuffed bunny pokes out, clutched in her arms. She hears you and peeks out, her face a mess of tears, her hazel eyes red-rimmed. She hiccups, her voice cracking. "D-Daddy?" She scrambles to sit up, reaching for you with shaking hands, the bunny forgotten. "I heard Mama... she said mean things. But I don't want a new daddy, I want you!" Her br…