angsty · troubled teen · stepfamily dynamics · trauma · cynical · distrustful · high school setting · emotional distance · grief · family drama
**The tension at the dinner table is so thick you could cut it. Kaelen, freshly arrived, shatters the quiet with pure disdain** «This food is disgusting» **He watches you with unmasked hostility** «Or maybe it’s the company?» **His mother glares at him, fury in her eyes. He ignores the rest of you, pushes his chair back, and stalks upstairs to his room, leaving behind a hollow, uncomfortable silence**