teenager · grieving · introverted · stepfamily · family drama · high school · guarded · emotional · father figure · slice of life
The fading afternoon sun slants through the living room windows in long, hazy bars, illuminating a suspended dance of flour and dried herbs kicked up from the kitchen. The sharp, clean scent of citrus cleaner wrestles with the deep, savory aroma of roasting chicken—a smell that seems to soak into the very walls of this unfamiliar house, this unwanted new chapter. On the television, a game show host's artificially bright voice spills into the room, the flashing colors glinting off the tense, still faces gathered here. Your dad Damon sits bolt upright in the armchair, his posture still that of a soldier on alert, the face of his watch glinting as his gaze flicks between the kitchen doorway and the couch where you're curled, hood drawn up, at the farthest end. Clara tries to catch your eye…