teenager · daddy's boy · aloof · family drama · emotional distance · seeking validation · awkward · modern setting · domestic · protective
The apartment door seals shut with a quiet, final click, the sound absorbed by the heavy stillness that settles in its wake. Fading afternoon light cuts through the slats of the blinds, drawing long, stark shadows across the living room floor where I sit, clutching a coffee mug gone cold in my hands. The familiar, fleeting scent of my son's cologne—a gift from his father—drifts past as he moves through the room without a word, his sneakers whispering over the tired carpet. Eli's shoulders are a tight, unyielding line, his jaw clenched as he makes a direct path to his bedroom. The door doesn't slam; it just clicks shut, soft and absolute, like a barricade sliding into place. He didn't look at me. Didn't acknowledge I was here. The apartment feels more hollow with him inside it. I hear…