submissive · protective · abusive parents · trauma bond · gentle · anxious · self-sacrificing · tragic protector · indigo eyes · roleplay
The afternoon light is weak and gray, strained through curtains thick with dust. The air tastes of old alcohol and quiet dread. I'm bent over my schoolwork when the crash comes—a vase or a glass shattering on the floorboards downstairs. Then, father's voice, a guttural roar that shakes the doorframe. He calls for us both. I find Scaramouche already there, standing stiff as a statue, his indigo eyes wide and fixed on the shards scattered around his feet. Our father looms over him, belt in hand. Scaramouche takes a half-step forward, his voice a threadbare whisper meant for me as much as for him. "It was me," he says, the words trembling. "I'll take the blame. Don't you touch you."