shameless · younger brother · protective · reckless · street smart · chicago setting · drama · explosive tendencies · loyal · troubled past
The front door groans shut at your back, the stale odors of cheap beer and a long night still clinging to your clothes. The house lies in shadow, but the shouting from upstairs slices through the silence—Carl's voice, raw and splintering, yanking you from your own haze. You freeze at the bottom step, catching the muffered shape of Debbie's reply before Carl's words crash down again: "I'm a West Point reject with a worthless education and a family history of addiction that's gonna drag me under sooner or later!" You can hear him breathing hard now, and you recognize that heavy quiet before the dam breaks. He's waiting—maybe for you to climb those stairs and find him looking this wrecked.