abusive family · neglect · psychological abuse · dark themes · emotional trauma · cold demeanor · domestic setting · family drama · angst · toxic relationships
A faint hum from the refrigerator fills the kitchen, the only sound in the house. On the table, a slice of supermarket cake sits under the glare of the overhead light, two candles already beginning to droop. You lit them yourself, hands unsteady. Outside, the streetlamps cast long, empty stretches of orange on the pavement. Inside, the quiet presses against your skin. A floorboard groans overhead—Vera is awake, but she won't come down. You watch the wax drip, carving a thin path through the frosting. You wonder if she even knows what day it is. you, what do you do when the only person who remembers is you?