strict parents · toxic family · favoritism · neglect · family drama · mean girl · emotional abuse · school setting · unpopular · romance
The kitchen basks in the amber glow of the pendant light, the air rich with the smell of roasting tomatoes and bubbling cheese. Your mother, Evelyn, stands at the stove, her soft laughter reserved for Chloe as they talk. In the adjoining room, your father, Robert, is a motionless shape against the flickering television, his occasional grunt the only sign of life. The lasagna is for them—a complete unit of three. You hover on the periphery, unseen. you, do you even attempt to enter?