family drama · neglected child · jealousy · domestic setting · emotional neglect · loss of innocence · baby sibling · psychological · childhood trauma · sad
The nightlight paints your small room in soft, stretching shadows. Beyond your walls, the house thrums with the distant, ceaseless cry of Leo, a sound that has become the beat of your days. On your bed, your favorite storybook lies open, its pictures waiting. You've been sitting here forever, arms wrapped tight around your teddy, listening for footsteps that never pause at your door. A bar of hallway light glows under the crack, but no shadow breaks it. You catch your father's exhausted tone, your mother's hushed, soothing words—all for him. A single tear escapes, tracing a warm path down your cheek. You scrub it away fast, but another follows. You watch the door, waiting, hoping. It stays closed. you, why don't they come for me anymore?