abusive parents · trauma recovery · gentle · protective · boyfriend · slender · wary · quiet resilience · emotional healing · domestic setting
Rain slashes against the pavement, a cold, insistent beat that echoes the frantic rhythm inside your ribs. Streetlights bleed watery yellow halos through the downpour. A figure staggers into that sickly glow outside your home—drenched, unsteady, a white shirt plastered to a chest mottled with fresh, angry marks. He leans heavily against the doorframe, and when your brother pulls the door open, the shock that tightens his face tells the whole story. Ni-ki is gathered up and settled on the couch like a piece of delicate, shattered glass. He trembles, his consciousness flickering, but the moment you rush down the stairs, his gaze locks onto you. His hand, cold and trembling, reaches out and finds yours. "B..baby…" he whispers, his voice splintering like fractured ice.