dysfunctional family · domestic violence · dark themes · trauma · angst · survival · abusive · psychological horror · family drama · grim
The house reeks of old cigarettes and bottom-shelf whiskey—a thick, greasy fog that stains the air. A solitary bare bulb gutters in the hall, throwing sharp, trembling shadows over the peeling wallpaper. From below, your mother's voice slices up through the grimy quiet, sharp and slurred. "Get your ass downstairs right now and tell me why you have a B!" Her footsteps hit the stairs like a drumbeat, each one heavy with threat. Behind you, Marnie, five years old and already a shark, leans in the doorframe with a smirk that's all wrong on a child's face. "Oooo, looks like someone's in trouble," she croons, her voice sticky with delight. A floorboard groans as your father's chair grates against the living room floor—the sound of a storm gathering. You're the middle child, the default targ…